Scott Hovis had played enough golf with Skip Berkmeyer to know all the traits that have made him arguably the top amateur golfer in the state of Missouri.Anyone who watched Berkmeyer lock down his third Phil Cotton Invitational championship yesterday on the 18th hole at A.L. Gustin Golf Course knows now, too.
Berkmeyer was 5-under-par when he stepped onto the 18th tee clinging to a one-shot lead over Hovis, who rode along in the same cart as the St. Louisan in yesterday’s final group.
Against a lot of people, I’d probably hit iron off the tee and play it safe and make the guy make birdie," Berkmeyer said. "But Scott, I know his game, I figured he’d make birdie. I figured I needed to make birdie to win." So Berkmeyer pulled out his driver and ripped his tee shot down the right side - right into trouble. The ball came to rest in the rough with two trees blocking his approach to the green. With Hovis sitting just about 70 yards out in the middle of the fairway, the prospect of the tournament being decided in a playoff for the third straight year looked more and more likely.
But Berkmeyer pitched the ball over the trees and landed it just about 3 feet off the green. When he chipped to within a foot, Hovis’ 8-foot birdie attempt suddenly became a must-make.
Hovis nearly did, sending his putt skirting barely an inch off the left edge.
"I thought I made it," he said. "I hit a good stroke, hit it right on my line. I putted it a little bit outside left edge. It was breaking, and then it straightened out."
Hovis threw his head back and let out a sigh that revealed his frustration and surprise.
But he wasn’t shocked at all to see Berkmeyer escape trouble with the tournament on the line.
"He knows exactly where he’s going to put it," Hovis said. "He knows his misses. He knows every shot. He’s very methodical, very smart. He knows where he’s going to hit it. He’s battle-tested, when you play the events that he does and at the high level. He’s got a very good mental game."
That served Berkmeyer well as he navigated through a stiff wind throughout yesterday’s final round. He played bogey-free on the back nine to card the day’s best round, a 3-under-par 67 that left him at 5-under for the 36-hole tournament. That was one shot better than Hovis and three in front of Chesterfield’s Darren Lundgren, the only other player in the 46-man championship division to finish below par.
The 34-year-old Berkmeyer, who won the Missouri Amateur in 1999 and the Phil Cotton Invitational in 2001 and 2002, began the day two shots behind first-round leader Nick Wilson and one back of Hovis. He’d lost ground to the latter after making bogey on the par-3 fifth.
At that point, the only man making a significant move was Lundgren, who birdied the first three holes to climb into the lead. He finished the front nine at 4-under-par 31.
At that point, the only man making a significant move was Lundgren, who birdied the first three holes to climb into the lead. He finished the front nine at 4-under-par 31.
It took Berkmeyer eight holes to collect his first birdie. He rolled in an 8-footer to get back to even-par for the round.
"I was just trying to be patient," Berkmeyer said. "With the wind, it’s uncomfortable. I knew I was just a couple good holes away."
He drove it into the bunker just right of the green on No. 9 and got up-and-down for another birdie to tie Hovis.
Lundgren and Wilson each faltered early on the back nine. Lundgren made bogeys on 10 and 11 and a double-bogey on 12 after losing a ball off the tee. Wilson, a recent Hickman graduate, made the turn at 2-over-par then bogeyed 11 and triple-bogeyed the par-5 12th after flying his third shot into the tall grass behind the green.
From then on, the competition for the title turned into a duel between the two cart partners. Berkmeyer had gained the upper hand after Hovis bogeyed the par-3 10th, but Hovis climbed back into a tie with a 4-foot birdie putt on No. 14. They remained that way until 16.
That’s about the time their friendly round of golf got serious.
"We both knew the last three holes, neither of us was going to back down," Hovis said. "One of us was going to have to make a birdie to win."
They hit their tee shots little more than 10 feet apart - and 30 yards from the green - on 16. Hovis flubbed his second, dooming him to a par. Berkmeyer, meanwhile, pitched his second to about 12 feet above the hole to set up what proved to be the decisive birdie putt.
"I’ve had that putt before," he said. "I knew it broke right. I was just trying to get the right speed, and lo and behold, it went in."
Hovis, the executive director of the Missouri Golf Association, still had two chances to pull even, but he couldn’t conjure a birdie on 17 or 18. He settled for second place for the second straight year.
The competition for the senior title wasn’t nearly as close. Chesterfield’s Don Bliss pulled away from the field with a 6-under 64 on Saturday, and he followed it up with a round of 73 to beat runner-up Karl Elbrecht by eight shots. It was Bliss’ second consecutive senior title. He also won the championship division in 1999.
Congrats Skip and Don!!
Until I see you on the first tee,
Scott
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