Ott prevails in 8 extra holes at Wisconsin Am; Romo T-13
Harrison Ott (WGA photo)
MINOCQUA, Wis. (July 26, 2018) – Four rounds weren’t nearly enough to decide a champion at the Wisconsin Amateur, so
Harrison Ott and
Thomas Longbella did eight more. The two were locked in a sudden-death playoff at Minocqua Country Club until Ott dropped an 8-footer for par and the victory.
Scores were higher across the board Thursday for the finale of the state amateur. Ott, of Brookfield, Wis., was one of only six players with a round under par. He had two birdies and a bogey on the back to get to 71. It left the Vanderbilt sophomore at 9 under for the tournament, along with Longbella.
If not for a bogey on the 18th, the title would have been Longbella’s outright. He had gotten to 1 under before the slip-up on the last hole brought him back to even for the day and also at 9 under for the tournament. Longbella, of Chippewa Falls, is a junior at the University of Minnesota who has two top-10 finishes in 12 career starts with the Gophers.
Hunter Eichhorn, the second- and third-round leader, tumbled down the leaderboard with a 6-over 78 that left him five shots out of the playoff. He tied for fourth with Canadian Piercen Hunt.
The top 12 players on the leaderboard finished 72 holes under par. A group of three players tied for 13th at even par. Most notably, that group included
Tony Romo. The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback is less than a month removed from
winning the Racine (Wis.) Tri-Course Amateur by nine shots.
At the state amateur, Romo finished with rounds of 75-71-70-72.
ABOUT THE Wisconsin State Amateur
This event has been conducted annually since 1901.
The format, originally match play, was changed to a
72-hole stroke-play event in 1971. The State
Amateur, contested over four consecutive days, is
annually conducted on one of Wisconsin’s finest
courses and continues to be recognized as the
premier amateur tournament held in Wisconsin. A
three-man team competition, the Yule Cup, where
players representing the same club compete for the
Cup, is also held. To be eligible, players must have a
WSGA Handicap Index of 9.4 or less.
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