“It’s pretty good because I’ve only been trying for 30 years,” Jones said of his first TGA victory. “I’ve placed third in almost every tournament we’ve had, but never first.”
Jones and Kirwan were tied heading to the par-5 18th hole, but Jones was able to record a par while Kirwan suffered a double-bogey. Jones said he didn’t play very well today, but he played well enough to earn the win.
He was able to recover after a rocky start that included four 3-putts in his first 11 holes. He said a strong iron game helped him get back on track enough to finish out the victory.
Bill Holstead recorded a round-low 72 on Sunday to finish third, three strokes behind.
In the Legends Division, defending champion Don Grider shot a 77 to complete his wire-to-wire victory. He started the final round with a three-stroke lead, but extended that to seven strokes on his way to a second consecutive victory. Mike Rice came in as the runner-up after posting a final round score of 81.
“I tried to play it safe and that backfired,” Grider said.
