Don Padgett III played three days of steady, solid golf at each of the three courses of the famed Firestone Country Club to win the Championship Division of the Akron District Golf Association’s 2012 Golfer of the Year Tournament.
Tom Skidmore went about capturing his Senior Division crown a bit differently, putting together a birdie-barrage first round score of 65 that allowed him some breathing room on Saturday and Sunday.
But regardless, three days of great weather at a world-class golf course in a fantastic event hosted by the ADGA made every player in the field a winner.
After Saturday’s play, Aaron Crewse of Cuyahoga Falls led by two shots with a 1-under par total, coming back on the North Course with a 69 after a 72 start on the West.
Crewse sat in front of two players headed into Sunday: Padgett, who followed up his first-round-leading 70 with a 74 on the North; and Mike Simpson, who shot 68 on Saturday to climb back in the chase.
In Sunday’s final round, the Championship Division played the back nine of the South Course at Firestone Country Club first, while the Senior Division started off the first tee.
Through the first eight holes, Crewse and Padgett both sat at even par, while Simpson had fallen behind.
But the big turning point in the round came on Firestone’s 18th hole, when Padgett and Crewse each hit their approach shots left of the green into the thick rough of a low-lying swale; they were incredibly short-sided in six-inch grass with no room around the pin and a bunker looming behind.
Padgett hit first and pulled off a phenomenal shot, as seen in this video:
Crewse followed but wasn’t as fortunate, sending his shot over the green into the bunker behind the pin, across the green:
From there, Crewse failed to get up-and-down, giving Padgett the two-shot swing he needed to mount a tournament comeback.
That two-shot swing seemed to change momentum significantly, as Padgett played a steady second nine while Crewse played out-of-sorts coming home. Padgett played smartly on his way to a seven shot victory over runner-up Mike Simpson, while Crewse finished third after some uncharacteristic big numbers on the final nine.
Senior champ Tom Skidmore hits from the 10th tee at Firestone South
In the Senior Division, Tom Skidmore’s phenomenal 8-birdie round of 65 on the West Course on Friday set the tone for the remaining two days of the tournament.
Skidmore followed that first-round explosion with two solid rounds of 1-over par 73 on the North Course and 2-over par 72 on the South to earn a two shot victory over a relentless Mark Thomas, who just wouldn’t go away. Thomas did his best to close the gap, but could never catch the winner.
Complete results and skins winners below.
Also be sure to check out the Photo Gallery and Video Gallery from the event, too.
A big thank you to Directors Tim Davis and Dave Chapple for another great season of the Akron District Golf Association. These two guys put their heart and soul into running great events, and the players of Northeast Ohio are lucky to have them.
FINAL RESULTS: Akron District Golf Association
2012 Golfer of the Year Tournament
Firestone Country Club, Akron, Ohio
Friday-Sunday, September 28-30th
West Course 70 / North Course 72 / South Course 70
CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION
Padgett III, Don, 70-74-71=215 $500.00
Simpson, Mike, 76-68-78=222 $450.00
Crewse, Aaron, 72-69-84=225 $400.00
Petry, Nate, 74-79-79=232 $350.00
Trier, David, 75-81-78=234 $300.00
Yacovazzi, Anthony, 75-81-79=235 $237.50
Li, Tommy, 75-81-79=235 $237.50
Bishop, Shane, 80-74-82=236 $100.00
Lenton, Jon, 78-72-86=236 $100.00
Vincelette, Brian, 76-80-81=237
Chadima, Jason, 75-84-79=238
Peterson, Kurt, 81-71-86=238
Marr, Dan, 81-75-83=239
Kabasky, John, 74-78-87=239
DeRemer, Chuck, 72-87-81=240
Koletzer, Shaun, 82-74-84=240
Cutlip, Dean, 83-78-80=241
Plute, Chris, 78-86-78=242
Smith, Brian, 81-87-84=252
Grosso, Jim, 82-84-88=254
Armour, Mike, 82-87-87=256
Karamas, John, 88-82-86=256
Czetli, Aaron, 97-95-93=285
Evans, Rick, NC
Lenartowicz, Micheal, 80-85-NC=NC
Wilkey, Logan, 90-101-NC=NC
Schustrich, Rob, 80-77-NC=NC
SENIOR DIVISION
Skidmore, Tom, 65-73-72=210 $500.00
Thomas, Mark, 69-70-73=212 $450.00
Miller, Fred, 69-77-70=216 $400.00
Martin, Fred, 73-78-75=226 $350.00
Davis, Tim, 73-80-76=229 $275.00
Lahnan, Larry, 76-75-78=229 $275.00
Rockich, Doug, 71-74-85=230 $225.00
Spino Jr., Sam, 75-81-75=231 $200.00
Bell, Ron, 82-76-74=232
Seever, Tom, 72-74-86=232
Thompson, Tom, 74-73-87=234
Litz, Jeff, 77-81-78=236
Niskanen, Jim, 74-81-82=237
Recht, Joel, 80-78-80=238
Stack, Tom, 74-82-82=238
Ciccarello, Mark, 78-78-83=239
Cea, Jim, 86-79-77=242
Baugh, Tom, 79-87-77=243
Weaver, Howard, 77-82-85=244
Wilson, Steve, 80-86-79=245
Sattler, Dave, 77-84-85=246
Markham, Tom, 92-79-79=250
Tarter, Jim, 85-90-90=265
Zimmerman, Larry, WD
Kern, John, 87-86-WD=WD
Dowing, Bill, 80-77-NC=NC
Hedrick, Joe, 82-77-NC=NC
SKINS:
Friday – Firestone West
Championship Skins
#3 Lenton $43.00
#6 Kabasky $43.00
#10 Plute $43.00
#12 Li $43.00
#13 DeReamer $43.00
#16 Grosso $43.00
Senior Skins
#5 Seever $62.00
#8 Skidmore $62.00
#12 Wilson $62.00
#14 Lahnan $62.00
Saturday – Firestone North
Championship Skins
#1 Simpson $37.00
#3 Simpson $37.00
#6 Karamas $37.00
#11 Yacovazzi $37.00
#12 Simpson $37.00
#13 Crewse $37.00
#14 Yacovazzi $37.00
Senior Skins
#2 Thomas $52.00
#7 Rockich $52.00
#8 Recht $52.00
#11 Sattler $52.00
#12 Skidmore $52.00
Sunday – Firestone South
Championship Skins
#1 Li $52.00
#2 Vincelette $52.00
#6 Padget $52.00
#7 Cutlip $52.00
#14 Plute $52.00
Senior Skins
#18 Markham $260.00
