Zach Fowler shot an even par 72 on Sunday, to withstand some strong competition and win the Springfield City-Am at Reid Park last weekend.
After cutting down to the final 30 after Saturday’s third round, five golfers battled within four shots on the final day, before Fowler pulled away. He recorded two birdies in the first six holes as he hit the back nine, and shot par on the final two holes to get the win.
Only three golfers shot par or better on the final day, including Fowler, Jeff Hall and Northwestern alumni Dan Schuler.
Fowler finished two shots ahead of Joe Turner, who placed second with a 290. Hall and Luke Wells tied for third with a 291 with Kevin Kite placing fifth shooting a 292.
Tecumseh grad Cam Wardley finished ninth overall with a final weekend of 75-77 for a total of 297. Another Arrow alumni Patrick Snarr placed tied for 14th overall with a 310.
On Saturday, the third round saw a group of Wardley, Schuler and Luke Schlicher tee off and Wardley opened the round with a bogey on the first hole before settling in. Wardley shot par the next three holes before setting up on the fifth hole by landing his second shot on the green. Unable to connect on the birdie, Wardley shot another par to remain +1 on the day.
Meanwhile, Schuler struggled with his putting. After connecting on 16/18 greens in round two only to shoot 78 due to putting, he again was reaching the green with consistency only to battle with the putts.
He two-putted three straight holes, including #5 where he reached the green on two, and missed a short putt to sit at +3 after five.
On six, Wardley landed his third shot on the green 15-feet from the hole, but two-putted to finish with another par. Schuler saw another opportunity slip away as he double-bogeyed due to putting and sat +5 after six holes.
Wardley birdied seven to get back to even on the day, but a bogey at nine sent him to the turn at +1 for the day.
He quickly recovered on ten with a birdie, and played par golf the rest of the way until he reached 16, when he shot three consecutive bogeys to finish the round with a 38. Schuler also started his back nine with a birdie, but three consecutive bogeys in the middle was saved by a birdie on 16, and he finished the day with a 78.
On Sunday, Schuler was one-under at the turn and birdied 12 to go to -2. He then bogeyed 16 and 17 to end the round with a 72.
Wardley shot four bogeys on Sunday to sit at 39 before shooting +2 on the back nine to end the day with a 77.
Snarr was +2 after nine of the third round on Saturday, then bogeyed three holes on the back nine to end the day with a 77. On Sunday, he started the day strong with a birdie on the first hole, but the momentum didn’t last, as he shot four consecutive bogeys, and then struggled with a 10 on the par-5 sixth hole. He went into the turn with a 44, and bogeyed the first three holes of the back nine. He bounced back on 13 with a par, then shot five of six pars to close the round.
The Clark County Matchplay Championship is coming to Reid Park on August 6-7 and 13-14. Golfers can register for that at Reid Park.
