Kevin Ott wins the Colorado Senior Amateur on his Home Course

GOLDON, CO (September 8, 2016) -- Kevin Ott celebrated his 51st birthday in fine style on Thursday by winning the 45th Colorado Senior Amateur Championship at his home course. Ott went wire-to-wire and fended off fellow Club at Rolling Hills member Bill Fowler and Thomas Roos of Spring Valley Golf Club in claiming his first CGA championship. Ott took a three-stroke lead into the 16th hole at Rolling Hills, but a tee shot that went into the right trees, resulting in a pitch-out, resulted in a double bogey after he three-putted. And Fowler, last year's champion, rolled in a 10-foot birdie to erase all of his three-shot deficit in one hole. Amazingly, however, Ott regained the lead on the 17th hole despite taking another double-bogey. Both he and Fowler missed the green on the par-3, and the defending champion miss hit his short pitch shot from a tight lie and his ball ended up in the bunker that was between him and the hole. Fowler left his next shot -- from a plugged lie -- in the sand and ended up with a very costly triple-bogey. Meanwhile, Ott couldn't hold the green with his pitch, then took three to get down from there for his double-bogey. That left Ott tied with Roos and one up on Fowler going into the final hole. There, after Fowler hit the pin with his third shot on the par-5 and had just a foot left for his birdie, Ott two-putted from about 70 feet for a birdie of his own. He knocked in a three-footer and signaled the victory with a fist pump. Ott, who also led after the first two days, closed with a 5-over-par 76 on Thursday, leaving him with a winning total of 6-over 219. Fowler ended up runner-up the year after winning, shooting a final-round 75. Tying him at 220 was Roos, who closed with a 72, matching the best round of the day on a Rolling Hills course that features very formidable greens. Brian Woody of The Ridge at Castle Pines North finished fourth at 225, while three-time champion Robert Polk of Colorado Golf Club placed fifth at 226 as both carded 78s on Thursday.