Hoyle / Stith pull away for win at 27th IGA Four-Ball Championship
Just when things looked to get interesting, the side of Charlie Hoyle / Tyler Stith (above) left no doubt on who would be holding the trophy at the conclusion of the 27th IGA Four-Ball Championship hosted by Burlington Golf Club.
Birdies on #16 and #17 by Stith and a par on #18 by Hoyle gave them a comfortable three-shot win over a trio of teams. Hoyle / Stith posted rounds off 62-67 for a -15 total.
“This is the first one of these going in the trophy case,” Stith said. “I knew the course a little bit and I knew with his (Charlie) length he could hit a lot of drivers. I had to manage the course a little more. We felt like there weren’t as many birdie holes on the back nine to start out on Friday. We took off after that and that set us up for today (final round).”
Hoyle echoed Stith and commented that staying in the correct positions around the BGC layout was critical.
“I am generally a long hitter, so for me it plays a little different, but you can’t get out of position.” Hoyle said. “You’re playing defensively if you do. We tried to hit as many greens as we could. Tyler made some clutch shots coming down the stretch.”
After a chip-in birdie on the 16th hole, Stith found himself above the hole on the 17th. A spot that doesn’t lend itself to much success, yet Stith had a feeling this was his time – and it was.
“I knew I was going to make it.” Stith said. “I told him I got this. I felt at that moment I was going to make that putt. It crept in on the edge. Something came over me the last few holes and I was able to execute some shots that we needed. For the most part, we did a great job of staying under the hole all week.
In the Senior Division, the side of Jay Gregory / Jeff Collett (right) collected the win, but it wasn’t easy.
Gregory / Collett, who shot rounds of 67-66, had to overcome a hometown team of John O’Neill and Micheal Mathiasmeier in a playoff that lasted three holes.
“They hung in there tough and I made a 20’ putt from above the hole on our third playoff hole.” Gregory said.” I finally got one to go in. You had to be very careful on the greens. If you got above the hole it was tough, but the greens were fantastic. We made a lot of birdies over the two rounds. ”
In the Super Senior Division, there was little left to doubt when then the dust had settled. Bob Brooks and Jim Butler (left) paired up to win by an astonishing 12 shots, following a pair of 66 rounds (-12). The side of Brooks / Butler only had to count a pair of bogeys over the 36-hole event – which came on the 10th hole both days.