July 27, 2018 at 4:15 p.m.
Ott-lasting the field
Harrison Ott defeats Thomas Longbella in eight-hole playoff to win Wisconsin State Amateur
Ott-lasting the field
Ott made a birdie on the par-5 first hole, the eighth hole of a marathon playoff on Thursday, to defeat Thomas Longbella and win the event at Minocqua Country Club.
The Wisconsin State Golf Association's premiere tournament's first visit to the Northwoods delivered a finish for the ages as Ott and Longbella battled on for nearly two more hours after the final scorecards were signed, putting each of them at 9-under, 279 for the championship.
"It's kind of funny, I'll definitely learn from the few times I had the opportunity and didn't take advantage before finally bursting through in the playoff," Ott said afterward. "It's pretty cool. I don't know if it's set in through all of that."
All of that was a 26-hole heavyweight prize fight between two golfers who grew up playing against one another in the junior ranks and finished 1-2 three years ago in the WSGA Junior Boys' championship - with Longbella winning the battle on that day. Both have gone on to play collegiately - Ott at Vanderbilt and Longbella at Minnesota.
"I think it was more fun and enjoyable," Longbella said. "You don't get to do that very often, honestly. To be in a playoff for eight holes and to go back-and-forth with a guy I've been playing golf with pretty much my whole life was pretty awesome."
Both players were near the first green in two strokes on the eighth playoff hole. Ott was in the fairway just short of the putting surface while Longbella missed just left and landed in the fescue just short of the greenside bunker.
Longbella tried to flop the ball on the green, but the ball caught in the left rough and finished short of the putting surface. He then chipped on for a short look at par.
"I didn't hit a terrible shot to get to where I was, but I was in a terrible spot to make birdie," he said. "I gave it a good effort and it didn't go in. That was the way she goes."
Longbella never got the chance to send it to a ninth playoff hole as Ott used the putter from off the green and got the ball to about 6 feet from the pin before calmly draining the winning putt.
Ott knew how to get the ball close to the front hole location on the first in part because of a heroic recovery on the sixth playoff hole that extended the match.
Playing the first for the third time in the extra session - the ninth and first holes were used for the playoff - Ott pulled his second shot left underneath a small pine tree near the green. Not only was Ott able to get a club on the ball, he chunked it out to about five feet and made the birdie putt to extend the match after Longbella had two-putted for birdie from the back portion of the green.
"The tree shot wasn't too bad. It kind of runs down there," he said. "I knew if I just kind of crept it onto the green I was going to have, just like the last hole of the playoff, I knew if I just crept it on the green the worst I was going to have was 10 feet."
Though the two played eight playoff holes, by the 15th hole of regulation Thursday it became apparent it was going to be a two-man battle to the finish. Both stuck wedges in close on the par-5 15th and made birdies to move to 9-under, three shots clear of the field. Both hit the center of the green on the difficult par-3 16th and two-putted for pars.
Longbella and Ott used different strategies on the short par-4 17th. Longbella laid up off the tee, nearly holed a pitch from about 60 yards and tapped in for birdie to move to minus-10. Ott tried to drive the green but missed right in the fescue. He played on to the green and two-putted for par from about 12 feet.
The two differed in strategy again on the 18th. Longbella again laid back with iron but barely rolled into the rough on the left hand side while Ott blasted driver deep down the center of the fairway. Longbella barely missed the putting surface, but then hit a poor chip some 20 feet past the pin, while Ott stuck his approach to 5 feet. After Longbella came up short on his par attempt, Ott lipped out a putt that would have won the tournament in regulation.
Ott had another birdie look to win on the first playoff hole, but was unable to get it to go.
"I don't think I did a great job of putting it behind me right away," he said. "On the first playoff hole I kind of did the same thing and tried to force it a little bit instead of just putting it. After that I kind of just settled in and knew I was going to try to play every hole smart and not make an eagle, but just give myself the best look at birdie every hole."
Both men birdied the second playoff hole, parred the third and birdied the fourth. Longbella, back on the ninth green, had a five-footer that slid by for a birdie and the championship on the fifth playoff hole.
Ott stalked the lead the first two days but made a move Wednesday during a stretch when he birdied 7 out of 8 holes to vault into the lead at 10-under. He made two bogeys coming in to shoot 68 and enter the final round two shots off the lead.
Longbella was tied for the lead after an opening round 66 and was in position to be the 36-hole leader until a triple at the 16th knocked him back. He eventually shot 71. He shot 68 Wednesday to enter the second shot one stroke off the lead.
Both players said the tournament - especially how it ended - will serve them well later in their golf careers.
"I told Thomas, 'Win or lose, that was probably the best learning experience in my golfing career, ever,'" Ott said. "I was just happy to be a part of it and I'll just soak it all in. I'll probably take some notes and remember how I felt and what I was thinking to see what was successful for me."
Added Longbella, "It just gives me a good perspective of where my game's at. It's in a pretty good spot. It's kind of a confidence booster going forward into the season."
Eichhorn fades late
For much of the tournament, it looked like it would be Hunter Eichhorn's State Am to lose. The reigning Big East player of the year from Marquette University shot rounds in the 60s each of the first three days to hold the 54-hole lead by stroke over Longbella at 10-under.
But a final-round 78 dropped the Carney, Mich. golfer into a three-way tie for fourth with Piercen Hunt and Andrew Knoll at 4-under, two strokes behind third-place finisher Brock Hlinak, a senior-to-be at Kaukauna High School.
Eichhorn had it to 11-under after a birdie at the first on Thursday, but gave the shot back on the second and never really made a push. He doubled the seventh to fall back to 8-under and was tied for the lead entering the back nine.
Fortunes turned for Eichhorn on the 10th when he came up just short on his approach into the green and plugged his ball in the lip of the green side bunker. He made a double bogey there while Ott flopped in a pitch from off the green to take the lead at minus-9.
Another double bogey on the 15th firmly knocked Eichhorn out of contention.
"I had some tee shots get away from me, which has been my problem as of late," he said. "This week I was keeping it in play, but I let a couple get away from me that led to some bad holes. It all just kind of kept piling on.
"It will sting a little. This is probably some of the worst golf I've played on the final day in awhile. But I'm not going to let it faze me. I still had a great week and there's a lot of positive I can take from it. I'm not going to worry about it."
Romo finishes 13th
After a slow start, it appeared former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was in position for a top-10 finish until he stumbled coming in.
Romo, who shot 70 Wednesday to get back to even par for the tournament, was at 2-under late before bogies on the final two holes dropped him back to even on the day and the championship.
Sounding like the gunslinger he was during his football days, Romo said he felt like he needed to roll the dice on the drivable par-4 17th.
"It was a risk-reward where I was at in the tournament. If you're going for a score, I think you layup there, but you're trying to get up close to the leaderboard and see what happens," he said. "You've got to go for it and take chances at the end. There's no time left."
After a 75 on Monday, rounds of 71, 70 and 72 put Romo in a tie for 13th in the tournament.
"I did good. I got better, improved," he said. "The golf game's starting to get tighter. I feel excited about the future."
Glister goes low
The round of the day Thursday belonged to the only area player to make the 36-hole cut, Eagle River's Garth Glister.
He made the cut on the number at plus-9 and didn't have much going Wednesday with a 77, but turned it around Thursday with a six-under 66 that included seven birdies and an eagle.
"I have the best caddie in the business, my wife, and she was giving me all the right yardages," Glister said of his final round. "The big thing for me is keeping slowed down mentally and not getting ahead of everything. She helped with that."
Glister, who was tied for 62nd following three rounds, vaulted all the way into a tie for 31st.
Nick Sabato contributed to this report.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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