Chi avoids water late to win by two strokes
You’ve got to be lucky and good to win a golf tournament. Andre Chi of Flushing, New York, was both on Dec. 13.
Chi made an eagle and four birdies, but the key moment was the par he made on the par-3 16th hole on the Ryder Course. Chi’s tee shot landed in a greenside bunker, leaving him with a 30-yard blast. He caught too much of the ball and it sailed over the green, stopping a yard away from a pond.
Instead of getting rattled, Chi stepped up and made the chip for an unlikely par to propel him to a two-shot victory over Kyle Szyhowski of St. Charles, Missouri, to win Event No. 4 of the PGA Tournament Series at PGA Golf Club. Chi shot 5-under 66 to finish at 7-under 135.
“I thought it had a chance to go into the water,” Chi said of his blast from the bunker. “I thought I caught it good, but it just came out hot. Luckily, it stayed on dry land and I had more luck on my side when the chip went in.
“I knew if I didn’t make any silly mistakes on 17 and 18, I’d be in good shape.”
Chi and Szyhowski had quite the battle on the back nine.Trailing by a shot, Chi bogeyed the 10th and 11th holes to fall two back after Szyhowski birdied the 11th. Chi made three consecutive birdies to catch Szyhowski, who lost the lead for good with a double bogey on the par-4 15th hole.
Omar Uresti shot his second consecutive 70 to finish alone in third place. Domenico Geminiani (69) and Jesse Mueller (68) tied for fourth place.
Birdie on No. 15 propels Balcar to victory
After 14 holes of playing conservative golf on Dec. 17, Michael Balcar of Toledo, Ohio, knew it was time to hit the gas pedal.
Problem was, his drive on the 15th hole of the Dye Course landed on an upslope, in an old divot, and he couldn’t even see the pin 180 yards away because a bunker was between him and the green.
No problem: He hit his approach to 15 feet and made the birdie putt to propel him to a two-shot victory over Dylan Newman in Event No. 5 of the PGA Tournament Series at PGA Golf Club.
“I don’t know how I hit that shot so good,” said Balcar, PGA, an Assistant Professional at Brandywine Country Club. “I knew with the upslope, it was going to go higher and shorter, so I hit a 4-iron and gripped it down to the metal. And then I poured in the putt.”
It didn’t matter that Newman made his birdie putt on top of Balcar’s. Balcar added a birdie at the 17th for a 71 to finish at 9-under 135 and earn the $5,000 first prize.
Newman was trying to win his fourth PGA Tournament Series event in his last eight starts, but was happy after he sank a 40-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to finish alone in second place.
“Almost,” Newman said. “I just didn’t have it all (working) today. I missed a couple of short putts and had another three-putt. That was the difference.”
Domenico Geminiani of Italy shot the day’s best round, a 5-under 67, to finish alone in third place at 6-under 138. Jim Troy (69) of Strongsville, Ohio, tied for fourth place with Alex Beach (72) of Stamford, Connecticut, and Jordan Gibbs (73) of Golden, Colorado.
Gabriele grabs second 2024 triumph
Chris Gabriele had to wait 28 years for his first professional win. He only had to wait another two weeks to win his second tournament.
Gabriele of West Harrison, New York, birdied the 15th and 16th holes Dec . 20 for a one-shot victory over Jeff Sorenson of Blaine, Minnesota, in Event No. 6 of the PGA Tournament Series. Gabriele shot 2-under 70 on the Wanamaker Course to finish at 6-under 138.
“Winning two weeks ago helped tremendously today,” said Gabriele, a PGA Assistant Professional at Quaker Ridge Golf Club, on winning Event No. 2 on the Dye Course earlier in the month.
“Kudos to Jeff. We had a great battle out there.”
Gabriele and Sorenson started the day tied for the lead after opening 68s, but had to wait out a 75-minute fog delay. The delay didn’t bother Gabriele too much because he holed a 30-yard chip for eagle on the first hole.
Sorenson fought back, however, and had a one-shot lead over Gabriele when they headed to the 15th hole. Gabriele spun his wedge on the short par-4 back to three feet to tie, then made a clutch 10-foot birdie putt at No. 16 to take the lead for good.
The $5,000 first prize comes in handy for Gabriele, who got married in 2023 and is headed to Hawaii for a delayed honeymoon. After the win, he embraced wife Caitlin, who followed him all 18 holes.
Dylan Newman (71) of New Rochelle, New York, won the money title for the third time since 2019 (he was second last year), finishing seventh on Dec. 20 to earn $17,332 for the six-event Series. Sorenson ($14,902) was second.
Newman also won the scoring average total at 69.9, the only player under 70.
—Craig Dolch
