“I started off the day great with a birdie putt on one, and had a great feel for my putter,” said Bolen. That definitely rang true as he birdied three of his last eight holes to force the playoff.
Bolen again found the left rough on the second playoff hole and was forced to lay up. This time around, Wallace decided to lay up to a comfortable yardage. Both competitors found themselves with a birdie putt. Bolen was up first this go around with a slippery 12 footer down the slope to a tricky back left hole location. He redeemed himself after missing his last two birdie putts going back to the final hole of his round. After Bolen drained his birdie putt, the pressure was on Wallace as he had no more than 5 feet left to force another hole. Wallace left his putt short and made Bolen a back-to-back championship.
“I couldn’t believe my putt stayed out on the first playoff hole, but I still trusted and felt good with my putter to sink the birdie the second time around.”
Ralph Ellis, an Amarillo Country Club member, started the day 2-over and tied with Chuck Palmer in the Senior Division, which has featured a crowded and competitive leaderboard all weekend. Ellis shot 2 under on the front nine and never looked back as he went on to shoot 4 under on the day and finish 3 under overall.
“This is a big win, and I am really glad I could help represent this beautiful course in a good way,” Ellis said.
Ed Brooks of Fort Worth stayed in the lead for all three rounds of the West Texas Amateur. Brooks, last year’s Texas Senior Amateur Champion, shot a 73-70-71 to win the Senior Division by a whopping 17 strokes.
“I wasn’t happy with my putting all week, but again, my ball striking was excellent,” said Brooks. “It was one of those weeks where everything clicked and I stayed consistent hitting the fairways and greens, so I am happy with how I finished.”
The defending champion, Patrick Pritchett of Lubbock, finished in second shooting a 77-74-80 231 overall.
