by Alan Hoskins
Youth prevailed once again in Kansas City’s oldest amateur golf tournament.
Patrick Neal, a 17-year-old senior at Olathe North, won his second consecutive Wyandotte County Open championship Sunday by holding off 51-year-old Sunflower Hills veteran Kevin Rome in one of the best back-and-forth duels in the 45th annual championship Sunday at Sunflower Hills.
Entering the final round, Neal led by two shots, trailed with four holes to go and finally won by one. He finished at one over 145 on rounds of 73 and 72 to finish a shot ahead of Rome (72-74-146) and fast-closing Bryan Milberger (75-71-146), whose final round one-under 71 was the tournament’s best.
A former WyCo champion, Rome offset two bogeys with a pair of birdies for an opening round par 72 to take a one shot lead over Neal and three over Milberger but Neal moved two shots in front with a bogey-free one-under par 35 on the front nine Sunday. A 4-foot birdie putt on the 427-yard par 4 third hole got him the lead as Rome bogeyed Nos. 2 and 7.
However, it was Rome who charged to the lead on the closing nine starting with an eagle on the 505-yard par 5 11th hole.
“Driver, 5-iron and about a 25-foot putt,” Rome said. Neal regained the lead at No. 12 with a birdie but then fell a shot back with back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 13 and 14.
“That’s when the wheels fell off,” Rome said. “I hit my drive behind a tree on No. 15, had to punch out and then 3-putted from 20 feet left and above the hole.”
That pulled Neal even and a par on the monstrous 229-yard par 3 16th put him ahead to stay when Rome missed the green and couldn’t save par. Rome made a desperation try to get even on No. 18 but came up two inches short on a 15-foot tying putt.
“Patrick played well,” said Rome, a BPU employee. “He kept the ball out of trouble, played it smart and just did everything well. I just made a couple of bad swings on 15 and 16 but otherwise played well. It was a good match.”
Neal agreed. “I hit the ball pretty well but did not take advantage of my opportunities. But to be unhappy with five bogeys in two days would not be acceptable. I really wanted to score well on the front nine because holes 13 through 16 on the back side are really tough. That’s where I made bogeys.”
The win was a little more gratifying for Neal than his first title a year ago when rain washed out the final round.
“You can have a really good round and it’s easy on one day but to do it two days is a lot harder,” he said.
This year’s state high school tournament may have helped. The first time the state tourney was played over two days, Neal led after 18 holes but then was five over par on the first seven holes the second day and finished third.
“Experience is everything,” he said. “You look to keep calm and execute.”
Neal said he’s looking at colleges in the south and particularly Florida but plans to try to win a third straight WyCo title in 2022. “If I’m around, that’s the plan,” he said.
Hannu Multala won the annual “Kansas City’s Longest Putt” contest while flight winners were Brian Shatto, Todd Milberger, Rick Egnatic, Chuck Johnson and Christian Toman.
45th Wyandotte County Open
Men
CHAMPIONSHIP – 1. Patrick Neal, 145; 2. Bryan Milberger* and Kevin Rome, 146; 4. Reece Nigh, 151.
A FLIGHT – 1. Brian Shatto, 146; 2. Reid Karscig, and Chris Faddis, 153; 4. Jerry Reid, 156.
B – 1. Todd Milberger, 153; 2. Brad Burton, 155; 3. Tim Nick, 157; 4. Stuart hunt, 160; 5. Greg Loethen, 161.
C – 1. Rick Egnatic, 160; 2. Ian Bayless, 162; 3. Jeff Bradshaw, 167; 4. Phil Hoffman, 169; 5. Gary Burgess, 170.
D – 1. Chuck Johnson, 172; 2. Phil Stines, 172; 3. Jeff Baker, Alex Blancarte and Mike Gillelspie, 175.
E – 1. Christian Toma, 177; 2. Jay Sutera, 183; 3. Josh Schultz, 184; 4. Garrett Ochs, 192.
• – Won scorecard playoff.
Proximity Prizes
SATURDAY – Closest to the pin; Michael Moore, No. 4; Tom Romero, No. 8; Rich Richardson, No. 13; Todd Milberger, No. 16. Longest putt No. 9, Brian Shatto; Longest drive No. 10 – Tim Hunt; Kansas City’s longest putt, Hannu Multala.
SUNDAY – Closest to the pin: Mike Super, No. 4; Scott Richey, No. 8; David Gonzales, No. 13; Russ Nigh, No. 16. Longest putt No. 9, Christian Toman; Longest drive No. 10, James Hovey.