Choudrant, LA (August 5, 2012) — It was an exciting finish at the 2012 Louisiana Golf Association Mid-Amateur Championship at Squire Creek Country Club in Choudrant. Three of the final four pairings all had players who contended for the Championship until the final hole, but Patrick Christovich of New Orleans bested them all by firing a final round 68 on Sunday to win his third consecutive LGA Mid-Amateur Championship. Christovich, no stranger to the winner’s circle at LGA Championships, won this Championship in 2010 at Southern Trace Country Club in Shreveport and in 2011 at English Turn Golf & Country Club in New Orleans. He is also the reigning LGA Amateur Champion, a title he captured this year at TPC Louisiana in New Orleans. He started the final round at three-over par, 147, six shots back of leader Dean Mijalis of Shreveport, but he used his experience and shot-making abilities to overcome that deficit. Christovich was the only player to finish under par, 215 (-1), after 54 holes. Grady Brame of Hammond finished tied for 2nd with Mijalis at even par 216.

Christovich played patient and steady golf on the front nine, methodically moving up the leaderboard. He started his round at 10:12 A.M. in the fourth from last pairing of the day. Christovich was able to hit fairways Sunday and use his length off the tee to his advantage, birdieing three of the four par 5s on the golf course. Christovich parred the first hole and birdied the par 5 2nd. Two straight pars on holes 3 and 4 were followed by a bogey on the par 3 5th, the only blemish on his scorecard. Christovich parred the par 4 6th, 7th, and 8th holes, and capped off his front nine with a birdie on the par 5 9th. He made the turn at one-under par for the day, and two-over par for the Championship.

The back nine was where Christovich made an incredible charge. He parred the par 4 10th and birdied the par 5 11th. He would go on to make three consecutive pars on holes 12-14. The par 4 15th was a challenge for the entire field on Sunday, seeing only five birdies all day. Christovich carded one of those birdies after sinking a long putt, bringing him to even par for the Championship. He parred the 16th and 17th holes, setting him up for the 54th hole of the Championship, the par 4 18th, which was playing 425 yards long. Christovich laced his drive down the middle of the fairway, leaving himself 100 yards for his approach, which he hit with precision to within four feet of the cup. Christovich made the short birdie putt to finish off the sterling 68, the lowest round of the Championship.

As the final round scores attest, the golf course provided a fair and challenging test Sunday. A valiant effort by 1993 and 2001 LGA Mid-Amateur Champion Grady Brame came up one stroke short. Brame put the pressure on Christovich and the other competitors by making four birdies and a bogey on the front nine. He shot even par on the back nine, carding a three-under par 69. Mijalis, the 36 hole leader, stumbled early, but showed grit by grinding out an even par 36 on the back nine, 75 for the final round.

Under par scores on Sunday were shot by: Christovich (68), Brame (69), Billy Gabbert of Sulphur (70), Matt Nicholas of Lake Charles (70), Brandon Aydlett of Metairie (70), Mark Bradshaw of Carencro (71), Toby Zeringue of Youngsville (71), and John Talley of St. Martinville (71).

The Tom Fazio designed Squire Creek course always ranks as one of the top courses in the state by Golf Digest, and is ranked just outside the top 100 in the country by GolfWeek. The course was in phenomenal condition for this Championship drew rave reviews from the competitors all weekend. The Squire Creek CC course played to a par of 72 at approximately 7,000 yards. The 2013 LGA Mid-Amateur Championship will be at The Bluffs Country Club in St. Francisville.

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