Arizona Am: Aduddell wins in bizarre finish
MARANA, Ariz (August 4, 2012) -- One of the great matches in the 88-year history of the Arizona Amateur Championship ended in slight disbelief on Saturday, with a one-shot penalty against his opponent on the very last hole ultimately factoring into a 1-up victory by U.S. Air Force Captain Andy Aduddell.
The ruling (Rule 18-3b), which came when Washington State sophomore Michael Anderson of Phoenix mistakenly picked up Aduddell’s ball and marked it on the 18th green at the Gallery Golf Club in Marana, is only applicable to match play. Had Anderson done the same in stroke play, there would have been no penalty (Rule 18-4).
Aduddell, an F-16 fighter pilot and instructor at Luke Air Force Base in Litchfield Park, probably said it best.
“It was disappointing in that it wasn’t the way I wanted to win it,’’ said the 37-year-old Aduddell (pronounced “A-duddle”), who held a 5-up advantage after 11 holes only to see Anderson storm back down the stretch with four birdies and a winning par to make it all square going into the last hole on the Gallery’s North Course.
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ABOUT THE Arizona Amateur
The event will play host to a maximum field size of 156
players for qualifying rounds, with the field cut to the
top 64 players for the match play championship, all
competing in one division. The event will consist of a
36-hole qualifier, followed by a 64-player match play
championship.
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