When Drew Kittleson eagled the first hole in the final round of the George C. Thomas Invitational at Los Angeles Country Club on Saturday, he sent a message to the field: Game over.
Kittleson posted three sub-70 rounds over the fast and fierce North Course, signed for 7-under-par 203 and finished 10 shots clear of runner-up Stephen Hale to win the mid-amateur division. Kittleson shot or equaled the low score in all three rounds of the 54-hole championship.
A former Florida State player, Kittleson was the runner-up to Danny Lee in the 2008 U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst. After playing professionally for a few years, he was reinstated as an amateur and has been an occasional competitor on the mid-amateur circuit. He and partner Drew Stolz were runners-up at the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship in 2022 and ’23. Winning the Thomas is his biggest victory since he returned to the amateur game a decade ago.
There was much closer competition in the senior division, with Jim Lehman prevailing over Gene Elliott and Robert Gerwin. Lehman took a one-stroke lead into the final round, but it was back and forth all day among the three contestants. Lehman posted a final-round 70 to finish at 5-over par, two strokes ahead of Elliott and Gerwin.
RESULTS
Jim Nugent