SOUTH BEND, IN (June 26, 2009)--The Indiana Amateur came down to the wire Friday, when Erik Barnes of Marion and Erich Johnston of Fort Wayne remained tied heading into 18. Barnes’ drive flew the water but landed in the fairway bunker, while Johnston found the middle of the fairway. Both players missed the green, but Barnes got his up-and-down for the title. “He played tough and It was hard to catch him at the end,” Barnes said of his competitor.
It was a battle between the two collegiate players all day. Barnes, a member of Austin Peay State University, took a five shot lead after the third hole, but Johnston, a Purdue player, fought back and closed the gap to one stroke by the turn. Barnes’ approach landed just shy of the woods on 10 where he carded a par, but Johnston was able to walk away with a birdie to tie it up. “You don’t want it to be like match play out there, you want to play your own game. But it was near impossible since nobody was really making a move,” Barnes explained.
At the par 3, hole 11 Johnston made a par and took the lead for the first time in the championship, but quickly lost it on the 12th after hitting into a bunker. The tough par-5, 15th hole gave Barnes some trouble and he doubled, while Johnston birdied to take a two shot lead with only two to play. Barnes quickly answered on 17 with a birdie, and Johnston’s short-sided chip cost him a bogey. With both at six under, it all came down to putting on the last green.
Barnes prevailed and won the tournament he led after each round by sinking his three-footer. “This is awesome, I can’t stop shaking,” he said.
Final results of the Indiana Amateur Championship, played June 23-26, 2009 at Rock Hollow Golf Club:
| 1 | Erik Barnes, Marion, IN | 67 | 71 | 68 | 76 | 282 |
| 2 | Erich Johnston, Fort Wayne, IN | 70 | 70 | 67 | 76 | 283 |
| 3 | Andrew Varner, Marion, IN | 74 | 74 | 66 | 70 | 284 |
| 4 | Brad Smith, Peru, IN | 72 | 72 | 73 | 69 | 286 |
| T5 | Kyle Perry, Bloomington, IN | 71 | 72 | 70 | 74 | 287 |
| T5 | Skip Runnels, Richmond, IN | 70 | 72 | 73 | 72 | 287 |
| 7 | Eric Steger, Noblesville, IN | 69 | 73 | 70 | 76 | 288 |
| T8 | Brian Harris, Kokomo, IN | 71 | 73 | 73 | 72 | 289 |
| T8 | Richard Lamb, South Bend, IN | 72 | 66 | 74 | 77 | 289 |
| T10 | Terry Werner, Dyer, IN | 70 | 77 | 72 | 71 | 290 |
| T10 | Aaron Monson, Nineveh, IN | 73 | 74 | 72 | 71 | 290 |
| T10 | Jonathan Balyeat, Fort Wayne, IN | 69 | 73 | 69 | 79 | 290 |
| T13 | Tyler Duncan, Columbus, IN | 72 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 291 |
| T13 | Adam Sumrall, South Bend, IN | 72 | 73 | 71 | 75 | 291 |
| 15 | Keith Blythe, DeCatur, IN | 72 | 68 | 72 | 80 | 292 |
| T16 | Cole Turner, Marion, IN | 74 | 73 | 76 | 70 | 293 |
| T16 | Jacob Bailey, Wanatah, IN | 76 | 73 | 73 | 71 | 293 |
| T16 | Peter O'Neill, Carmel, IN | 74 | 74 | 72 | 73 | 293 |
| T16 | Sam Till, Jr, Fort Wayne, IN | 72 | 76 | 72 | 73 | 293 |
| T16 | Joe Mahurin, Noblesville, IN | 76 | 75 | 67 | 75 | 293 |
| T21 | Jerry McMullen, Carmel, IN | 71 | 72 | 75 | 76 | 294 |
| T21 | Randy Nichols, Brookville, IN | 70 | 71 | 76 | 77 | 294 |
| T21 | Ben Mattingly, Fishers, IN | 74 | 69 | 73 | 78 | 294 |
| T24 | Justin Tereshko, Madison, IN | 72 | 75 | 78 | 70 | 295 |
| T24 | Jeff Smith, Indianapolis, IN | 70 | 78 | 77 | 70 | 295 |
| T24 | Seth Fair, Brownsburg, IN | 70 | 76 | 76 | 73 | 295 |
| T24 | Josh Brown, Fishers, IN | 69 | 76 | 75 | 75 | 295 |
| T24 | Tony Lazzara, Carmel, IN | 75 | 74 | 72 | 74 | 295 |
| T24 | Griffin Wood, Boonville, IN | 72 | 74 | 73 | 76 | 295 |
| T24 | Tyler Zink, Lanesville, IN | 70 | 73 | 75 | 77 | 295 |
| T31 | Chris Seibel, Indianapolis, IN | 77 | 70 | 75 | 74 | 296 |
| T31 | Andrew Wegeng, Avon, IN | 73 | 74 | 75 | 74 | 296 |
| T31 | Brad Gehl, Carmel, IN | 76 | 72 | 74 | 74 | 296 |
| T31 | Christian Poling, Madison, IN | 73 | 73 | 75 | 75 | 296 |
| T31 | Corey Ziedonis, Indianapolis, IN | 68 | 77 | 72 | 79 | 296 |
| T36 | Ross Cosat, Carthage, IN | 71 | 76 | 78 | 72 | 297 |
| T36 | Andrew Frandsen, Lebanon, IN | 74 | 69 | 81 | 73 | 297 |
| 38 | Timothy Fish, Franklin, IN | 77 | 72 | 78 | 71 | 298 |
| T39 | Justin Imel, Markle, IN | 77 | 74 | 73 | 75 | 299 |
| T39 | Adam A Vandercar, Crown Point, IN | 76 | 73 | 74 | 76 | 299 |
| T39 | Tj Carpenter, Bourbon, IN | 72 | 71 | 77 | 79 | 299 |
| T39 | Eric Skillman, Muncie, IN | 75 | 73 | 68 | 83 | 299 |
| T43 | Jacob Yocum, Lafayette, IN | 73 | 77 | 75 | 75 | 300 |
| T43 | Clarence Hardison, Indianapolis, IN | 78 | 71 | 75 | 76 | 300 |
| T43 | Brooks Snyder, Williamsport, IN | 76 | 71 | 75 | 78 | 300 |
| T46 | Nathan Wine, North Webster, IN | 74 | 75 | 76 | 76 | 301 |
| T46 | Ross Reed, Anderson, IN | 74 | 72 | 78 | 77 | 301 |
| T48 | Blair Webb, Avon, IN | 76 | 74 | 77 | 75 | 302 |
| T48 | Joe Gasser, Muncie, IN | 75 | 75 | 74 | 78 | 302 |
| T50 | Scott Hockemeyer, Indianapolis, IN | 77 | 73 | 76 | 77 | 303 |
| T50 | Michael Salmon, La Porte, IN | 76 | 74 | 75 | 78 | 303 |
| T50 | Mike Kemper, Greenwood, IN | 75 | 71 | 74 | 83 | 303 |
| T53 | Adam Winans, LaGrange, IN | 77 | 72 | 81 | 74 | 304 |
| T53 | Phillip Myers, Terre Haute, IN | 76 | 73 | 71 | 84 | 304 |
| T55 | Luke Weber, North Vernon, IN | 73 | 78 | 76 | 79 | 306 |
| T55 | David Erdy, Boonville, IN | 78 | 73 | 72 | 83 | 306 |
| 57 | Louis Gleixner, Greenwood, IN | 72 | 79 | 78 | 78 | 307 |
| 58 | Sean Toddy, Bloomington, IN | 73 | 77 | 80 | 79 | 309 |
| 59 | Chase Wagner, Bedford, IN | 72 | 77 | 83 | 78 | 310 |
| 60 | Cody Risser, Indianapolis, IN | 73 | 73 | 82 | 83 | 311 |
| 61 | Sean Jones, Indianapolis, IN | 77 | 73 | 75 | 88 | 313 |
| 62 | Rich Krzykowski, Santa Claus, IN | 75 | 75 | 80 | 84 | 314 |
| 63 | Nick Bennett, Bloomington, IN | 76 | 73 | 85 | 81 | 315 |
| 64 | John Parker, Velpen, IN | 73 | 77 | 82 | 84 | 316 |