2015 winner Scott Abbott (TXGA photo)
DALLAS, Texas — Scott Abbott on Sunday
drained a six-foot birdie putt on the third hole of
a sudden
death playoff against Scott Loving to win the
2015 Texas Mid-Amateur Championship at Royal
Oaks
Country Club.
Both Abbott, from Dallas, and Conroe’s Loving
finished the 54-hole championship at 2-under-
par 211.
They entered the final round tied for the lead,
and both shot 1-over 72s in the final round. Zach
Atkinson from Colleyville, the 2004 Texas
Amateur champion, finished a shot out of the
playoff at 1-
under 212. He missed a 60-foot eagle putt on
the final hole by six inches and finished alone in
third
place.
The victory was Abbott’s first TGA major
championship; he finished tied for eighth place
in the 2014
Texas Mid-Amateur. The 33-year-old elementary
school physical education teacher was visibly
gassed
after the emotional playoff.
“This makes me feel extremely blessed and
joyful,” said Abbott, who needed a two-footer for
birdie
on the 54th hole to force the playoff with Loving.
“Going into the tournament, I had very low
expectations for myself. That always seems to
serve me well.”
Smart course management also served Abbott
well. After blowing his drive way right on the
third
playoff hole, his ball came to rest on a cart path
just a few yards from out of bounds stakes. He
elected to play his third shot from off of the path
rather than take a drop and risk an iffy lie in
Royal
Oaks’ notoriously thick rough. He successfully
punched out through the trees and into the
fairway,
leaving himself 123 yards from the flagstick.
From there, he spun a high-arcing wedge shot
back to six feet. After Loving missed his 15-foot
birdie
attempt, the stage was set for Abbott. But as he
stood over the putt, something didn’t feel right.
He
backed off, again showing his discipline. When
he returned to address the putt, he calmly rolled
it in.
“It was a right-to-left breaking putt, and it hung
on the left edge,” said Abbott, who in July
advanced
to the Semifinals of the Texas Mid-Amateur
Match Play Championship. “I didn’t make it by
much.”
For Loving, the ending was his third bout with
heartbreak at the Texas Mid-Amateur. Loving
also was
tied for the 36-hole lead in 2006 and had a
three-shot lead headed into the final round of
the 2010
Texas Mid-Amateur. He came away without
victories in those instances, too.
For much of the final round, it looked to be
Loving’s time.
After birdies on the fifth and sixth holes, he built
a three-shot lead through eight holes. His
momentum crashed, however, into the wide,
stone-walled hazard that dissects the ninth
fairway. First
Loving hit his tee shot into the hazard; he then
took a drop and proceeded to hit his third shot
into the
creek as well.
“I’ve been playing good this whole year,” he
said. “I was calm on the front nine and just
made one bad
swing on the tee ball on No. 9. When I took my
drop, I drew a horrible lie. I fatted that shot, it
hit a
tree and went back in the hazard.”
When he tapped in for a triple-bogey seven,
Abbott, Atkinson and Fort Worth’s Will Osborne
all were
given new life as Loving’s advantage was
trimmed to a single shot. With Atkinson and
Houston’s Justin
Kaplan playing in the group ahead, Abbott,
Loving and Osborne spent the next two hours in
a duel
between the tree-lined fairways of Royal Oaks’
back nine.
Osborne, who finished tied for fourth place at
even-par 213, hit several beautiful iron shots but
was
routinely let down by his putter. On the day,
Osborne missed four birdies inside of six feet.
“I hit good putts,” Osborne said. “Honestly, they
just weren’t falling today. The greens were
great.”
Houston’s Jess Bonneau and Tyler’s Clay Hodge
shared fourth place with Osborne. Kaplan
finished
seventh at 1-over 214; Joshua Irving from Dallas
took eighth at 2-over 215, and Fort Worth’s Beau
Davis and Austin’s Brian Noonan tied for ninth
place.
Early in the week, Abbott, a former SMU golfer,
said the tight fairways and smallish, quick
greens of
Royal Oaks put a premium on driving and
playing smart iron shots. In the end, he put
enough tee balls
in the short grass and judiciously approached the
greens to leave him standing alone with the
silver
Texas Mid-Amateur trophy.
“I’m really proud of myself for hanging in there
today,” he said.
View results for Texas Mid-Amateur
ABOUT THE Texas Mid-Amateur
Eligibility: Entries are open to male golfers
with a
USGA Handicap index of 8.4 or less, and who
are
25 years of age or older by the first day of
championship qualifying.
Format/Field Size: 54 holes of stroke play. At the
completion of 36 holes the field is cut to the low 54
players and ties. The field is limited to 132 players.
Mid-Master Recognition: In addition to the overall
champion, an award will be given to the low Mid-
Master finisher. (Mid-Master – any player 40+ years
of age)
View Complete Tournament Information