Sweet victory: Comeback effort fuels title win for Columbia City Golf champion
After the first 10 holes of the Midlands Chevy Dealers Columbia City Golf Championship on Thursday, defending champion Patrick Stephenson stood at 4-over par and on the verge of shooting himself out of the tournament at Spring Valley Country Club.
By Saturday afternoon, he had roared away from the field and hoisted the championship trophy for the second straight year.
Coming back “makes this one sweeter,” Stephenson said. “It’s always a lot of fun to win, and winning like this is special.”
He responded to his 4-over dilemma with a birdie and an eagle on the next two holes to right the ship and eventually won by five strokes at 9-under-par 207.
“I’m big in faith and asked for help to enjoy the moment and play to the best of my ability,” said Stephenson, who works for Lourie Life and Health Insurance.
He finished the first round at 1-over 73, then took command with 7-under 65 on Friday and completed his conquest with a 3-under 69 on Saturday.
After his 4-over start, he played the final 44 holes in 13-under par. But his romp toward the finish line tightened with five holes to play, thanks to Luke Sullivan’s three consecutive birdies coupled with Stephenson’s bogey.
His five-stroke lead had dwindled to two, but Sullivan’s tee shot on the par-4 14th flew right into a marshy area and could not be found. The former A.C. Flora High standout re-teed, made double bogey and Stephenson picked up a stroke despite a three-putt bogey.
“I missed two short putts and was leaking oil,” the champion said.
Then, he curled in a 60-foot putt for birdie on the par-3 16th to regain command and birdied the last to stretch his final advantage to five.
The former East Carolina University player now has won the city title in his only two tries. After moving to Columbia two years ago, the lefthander who hones his game at the Spur at Northwoods captured the 2022 city title on his home course.
Sullivan finished second at 4-under 212 with a final 69 and John Obrien, who began the final round three shots off the pace, struggled with his putter and slipped into a tie for third with David Dargan and Matthew Hutto at 215.
The senior division represented a flashback to years past. Steve Liebler, who won the amateur title 11 times, captured the competition for players 55 and older in a one-hole playoff over Danny Sullivan.
After the pair tied at 4-over 220, Liebler parred a par-3 16th to prevail. Sullivan’s tee ball found a bunker and he could not salvage par.
Bob Edens, with a 5-over 221, edged Gus Sylvan by a shot in the super-senior division (65 and older); Rohan Allwood won the professional competition by a stroke over Burke Cromer; and James Sullivan, Luke Sullivan’s younger brother, claimed the junior title.
Midlands Chevy Dealers Scores
Amateur Division
Patrick Stephenson ..... 73-65-69—207
Luke Sullivan ..... 72-71-69—212
John Obrien ..... 70-71-74—215
David Dargan ..... 68-77-70—215
Matthew Hutto ..... 71-75-69—215
Eddie Hargett ..... 72-74-72—218
Drake Cassidy ..... 74-71-74—219
Lee Gronkiewicz ..... 72-75-73—220
Robert Dargan ..... 72-75-74—221
Brian Lee ..... 77-73-71—221
Spencer Skiff ..... 75-76-70—221
Jarrett Grimes ..... 71-77-74—222
Jonathan Strauss ..... 77-71-75—223
Timmy Smith ..... 76-76-71—223
Scott Sullivan ..... 75-73-77—225
Blake Vaughn ..... 74-75-78—227
Cole Krantz ..... 77-75-75—227
John Weiss ..... 76-78-74—228
Donald Taylor ..... 75-80-73—228
Gilbert Jacobs ..... 74-78-77—229
Steve Paley ..... 75-79-76—230
Chase Sturkie ..... 77-78-75—230
Steve Peterson ..... 76-77-79—232
Patrick Talledo ..... 76-78-78—232
Harrison Long ..... 78-77-78—233
Guy Buffum ..... 74-82-77—233
James Sullivan ..... 76-78-81—235
Scott Mudger ..... 80-76-82—238
Griffin Patterson ..... 80-78-82—240
Bryan Mitchell ..... 79-78-86—243
Senior Division
X=won championship in playoff
X-Steve Liebler ..... 71-75-74—220
Dan Sullivan ..... 73-72-75—220
Hueng Kim ..... 71-76-75—222
Brad Krapfel ..... 75-77-71—223
Tim Tester ..... 72-76-79—227
David Lovit ..... 75-75-78—228
David Collins ..... 80-76-73—229
Tim Eich ..... 77-76-81—234
Herman Belton ..... 83-74-77—234
Leon Gurevitch ..... 77-80-81—238
John Sullivan ..... 79-81-83—243
Danny Stubbs ..... 81-80-86—247
Super Senior Division
Bob Edens ..... 73-73-75—221
Gus Sylvan ..... 71-76-75—222
Jimmy Martin ..... 73-76-85—234
Robin Alley ..... 77-81-76—234
Eddie Shannon ..... 79-79-76—234
Mike Calkins ..... 79-80-79—238
Michael Pate ..... 78-76-85—239
Darryl Averyhart ..... 81-75-84—240
Steve Gantt ..... 78-84-84—246
