Alex Weiss wins 62nd annual Yuengling Open at Fort Myers Country Club by one shot
One day after nothing seemed to go wrong for Alex Weiss at the 62nd annual Yuengling Open, Sunday’s final round at the Fort Myers Country Club presented a few more challenges.
The 28-year-old Columbus, Ohio native deftly met every one, shooting a 3-under 67 to earn a one-shot victory over Beau Titsworth and claim the $13,000 first prize.
Twice in the final three holes, Weiss came up with clutch shots under duress that proved to be the difference. Trailing by one shot, his drive on No. 16 went left of the fairway and ended up in the shrubbery. Weiss was able to line the ball short of the green and then chipped it within 15 feet of the hole. He sank the birdie to save par and moved into a tie for the lead when Titsworth couldn’t drop a 20-footer and settled for bogey.
Weiss followed with a birdie on the par-4 No. 17 to take a one-shot advantage into the final hole. Once again, he got himself into trouble off the tee, hitting the ball to the far right edge of the fairway with a couple of trees obstructing his path to the green.
“I looked at it and thought, you know, I came here to win a golf tournament so I’m just going to have to hit a shot,” said Weiss, who was making his Yuengling Open debut.
He grabbed a 3-wood and found the gap between the trees, barely clipping a smaller limb on one of them. That proved to be fortunate because it slowed the ball enough to leave it just short of a bunker. Weiss then used a pitching wedge to knock the ball about eight feet from the pin.
Titsworth meanwhile, who eagled No. 18 on Saturday, again went for the green in two but overshot it by about 10 yards. He was able to chip it within 10 feet. But Weiss calmly sank his putt for birdie and the Yuengling Open title.
“I rolled it so good all week,” Weiss said. “That last one felt really good.”
Weiss, who plays out of Winter Haven Country Club, entered Sunday with a 3-shot lead following a bogey-free round of 60 Saturday, which set a course record from the blue tees.
“I hit a lot of really good shots and just kind of made all the putts I was supposed to make and maybe made a few extra,” said Weiss, whose previous low round was a 61. “I didn’t even realize where I was because on the last hole, I had an 18-footer for a 59 and I didn’t know it until I signed the card and did the math. That was a lot of fun.”
Both Titsworth and Jimmy Jones shot 7-under 63 on Saturday to tie for second place entering the final round. Both golfers earned their way into the tournament in Tuesday’s qualifier, with Jones finishing as runner-up and Titsworth in a three-way tie for third place to grab one of the final available slots.
“I got through by the skin of my teeth,” said Titsworth, who moved into the lead with a birdie on No. 15 before Weiss took it right back. “Got the lead at one point but I left too many shots out there. Three or four I can think of that maybe would have made it a different story. But (Weiss) played great when he needed to.”
As a defending champion, Weiss will earn an exemption for future Yuengling Opens and said he plans on returning if his schedule allows. This season, he’s playing on the PGA Tour Americas and will be heading to Mexico in a couple of weeks for his next event.
“This place is awesome; the golf course is phenomenal,” Weiss said. “I haven’t played a better public golf course. They do everything so good for this event. It was a real treat.”
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Fort Myers golf: Alex Weiss wins Yuengling Open
