Josh Swanson and Creighton Honeck (Trans-Miss/Twitter photo)
Home-course advantage was all the motivation needed for a come-from-behind victory in dominating fashion at the 39th Trans-Mississippi Four-Ball Championship Wednesday afternoon at Spanish Oaks Golf Club.
Teammates Josh Swanson of Austin, Texas and Creighton Honeck of Bee Cave, Texas entered the final round trailing by six shots. But the tides turned after they flipped the lead after the par-5 eighth.
“It changed the mentality of our game at that point,” both men said. “It was extremely important for us to win at our home course, and that was motivating.”
With 13 birdies and a single bogey, Swanson and Honeck claimed the championship by carding a spectacular 12-under 59 in the final round, with a 21-under 192 on the tournament. Adding to the home course motivation was seven years of competing in tournaments together.
“We know each other so well and how our play balances, which helped us a ton today,” said Swanson.
Coming second in the Mid-Amateur division were Arizona teammates Bryan Hoops of Chandler and Adam Walicki of Phoenix, finishing the tournament with an impressive 17-under par 196.
Winning the senior division in comfortable fashion were Lawrence Field of Tulsa, Okla., and Steven Hudson of Vestavia Hills, Ala., who shot an 11-under 202 total. This was their second four-ball win after only having known each other for around five years. North Texas locals Mike Lohner of Southlake, Texas and Larry Corson of Dallas, Texas finished second with an overall 6-under 207.
Steven Hakes of Las Vegas, Nevada and Douglas Pool of San Diego shot their tournament single-round low 65 to finish atop the super senior division at 11-under 202, overcoming a seven-stroke deficit. The team had only one bogey on the round, paired with Douglas’ eagle on the par-5 eighth – a strong way to capture victory.
The California duo Dave Sheff of Dana Point and Rich Tolly of Laguna Niguel finished as runners-up after a tough 3-over 74, putting them a single stroke behind at 204 on the tournament.
Hakes/Pool finished second in the 38th Four-Ball under Sheff/Tolly in the senior division.
View results for Trans-Miss Four-Ball
ABOUT THE
Trans-Miss Four-Ball
One of four annual championships hosted each
year
by
the historic Trans-Mississippi Golf Association. Each
player must be a member of a Trans-Mississippi
member
club, but not necessarily the same club. Players who
do
not belong to a Trans-Miss member club can speak
to
their club's manager or board of directors to
encourage
them to join (dues are very reasonable and support
the
Trans-Miss Turf Scholarship Fund). Alternatively,
entrants may make a contribution in lieu of club
membership to the Turf Scholarship Fund.
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