Ian Berrigan's up and down week ended with a win at The Quarry
(San Antonio Express News photo)
SAN ANTONIO, TX (July 9, 2017) -
Ian Berrigan of Helotes, TX and McNeese State University entered the final round with five-shot lead at the Greater San Antonio Amateur Championship, the result of a course record 9-under 62 at The Quarry Golf Club in the second round.
Proving how difficult it can be to follow up a great round with another, Berrigan struggled on Sunday, playing the front nine in two over and seeing his lead shrink from five to one over Seger Howell of Live Oak.
Berrigan tried to right the ship, making birdies at the 11th and 15th, but when Howell made an eagle at the par-five 15th the two were tied with three holes to play.
Both players made bogeys at the par-three 16th and parred the 17th, and they came to the final hole still tied.
It was there that Berrigan made one last birdie, his 19th of the tournament to go along with an eagle, and hold off Howell for the win.
Berrigan (66-62-72) finished at 13-under 200, while Howell (65-68-69) finished with a bogey at the last to finish two shots back at 202.
Colby Harwell (67-68-68) was solo third at 203, while Cole Donielson (66-68-70) was alone in fourth at 204.
After shooting his course record 62 on Saturday, Berrigan shared with the San Antonio Express-News that his perspective on golf and life had changed earlier in the week:
On Tuesday, the father of one of Ian’s best friends, Randy Schriedel, lost his decade-long battle with cancer. Schriedel used to help Ian during his freshman, sophomore and junior years at Sandra Day O’Connor High School with his golf game on his own time, even when his own son, Chris, wasn’t there. Schriedel believed in Ian before Ian did, and that faith helped him through some difficult periods in golf.
Ian attended the open-casket ceremony Thursday and missed the funeral Friday for the first day of the tournament, which he said Schriedel would have wanted. The entire experience humbled Ian, putting each stroke into perspective.
“I took it like life or death every shot, every putt I missed, every ball in the water,” he said. “It just doesn’t mean as much to me anymore.”
“Winning is just getting something for yourself,” Ian said. “I believe that it’s not for me, what I did the past two days, especially today. Tomorrow, same deal. This whole tournament was for (Schriedel).”
--Justin Meyer of the San Antonio Express News contributed to this report
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ABOUT THE San Antonio Amateur
54-hole stroke play championship. Open to any male
with amateur status,
18 years or older as of the start of the
tournament, residing in Bexar, Comal,
Kendall, Wilson, Atascosa, Medina,
Guadalupe, or Bandera counties for a
minimum of three months prior to the
Championship date. Active duty military
residents are exempt from three month residency
requirement.
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