Hietala holds off Honkala to win Finnish Amateur

HELSINKI, Finland (Aug. 26, 2018) – With a birdie on the final hole of Helsinki Golf Club, Alex Hietala cemented his position as the Finnish Amateur champion. Hietala finished 54 holes at 9-under 204 for a one-shot victory.

Hietala, who earlier this summer was eighth at the Lytham Trophy in Scotland, opened with back-to-back rounds of 69. His final-round 66 included eight birdies. Hietala birdied the 16th and 18th holes at Helsinki Golf Club each of the three rounds. A year ago, he was T-12 at this event.

Hietala managed to hold off fellow Finnish player Matias Honkala despite Honkala’s final-round, bogey-free 64. It was the best round of the tournament, and included an eagle at the par-5 12th.

Aleksi Myllymaki was third at 6 under and Eetu Isometh was fourth at 3 under. Fourteen of the top 15 players on the leaderboard represented Finland.