Amateur Ben Hoagland finishes runner-up at Indiana Open
Nick Bienz (Indiana Golf Photo)
The final round of the 2023 Indiana PGA Open was an eventful day to say the least.
The day started with Hoagland’s Nick Bienz leading the field by three strokes over Evansville’s Ben Hoagland, and ended with a torrential downpour preventing them from finishing the final hole and forcing them into a short weather delay.
Prior to the last round, Bienz had a stellar first two days shooting rounds of 66 and 68 and Hoagland followed suit with a 67 and 70 putting the two into a tight competition.
Even with heavy downpours, Bienz held his ground early on birdieing holes No. 1, 5, 8, and 10 and finished 9 under par for the three day competition. Hoagland was also able to birdie No. 10 but Bienz still sat four strokes ahead at 11 under par.
The competition continued to get even tighter after Hoagland started sinking some much needed putts on the back nine. He came through with a clutch birdie putt on hole No. 15 and a nail biting eagle shot on No. 17 to put him one stroke back from Bienz going into the final hole.
Both players made par to give Bienz the one shot win.
Hoagland finished with the lowest round of the day 3 under par, alongside Asbell Golf Performance’s Mike Asbell, Poseyville’s Caleb Wassmer, Fort Wayne’s Justin Hicks, and Sellersburg’s Carter Smith.
“I was hitting the ball really well all day today and yesterday. I felt like I was just a touch off and hit a lot of really good putts that didn’t go in. So it was really fun to have a couple of those go in to make things interesting at the end” said Hoagland.
Hoagland was the 2023 IGA Match Play Champion and he also had a T11 finish at the State Amateur this June.
“Golf is a lot of ups and downs so I am just trying to ride the up for as long as I can right now” said Hoagland.
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ABOUT THE Indiana Open
54 Hole, Stroke Play Event.
Field is cut to low 70 and ties after 36 holes. This
tournament is open to:
• Indiana resident professionals (This
includes
both PGA and non-PGA affiliated
professionals)
• Indiana resident amateurs who posses
a
current IGA-PGA BlueGolf handicap index
not
exceeding 10.4
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