City Golf Seniors:19th hole nets first championship flight win for Wilson

When Ken Wilson qualified for the championship flight of the Senior division in the 95th annual City Golf Tournament for the first time, he was confident he could hang with the tourney veterans.

His job at Crane keeps him traveling and little time for more than once-a-week visits to Cascades Golf Course.

So there was just one caveat, he said. "I came in knowing if I was hitting my driver well, I could play with these guys. That's the key to my game. My driver sets everything up."

That was the case in his opener Saturday against Henry Nethery and it led to the only upset in the field. After a tremendous late rally by the seventh-seeded Nethery tied the match on 18, the 10th seeded Wilson took the momentum right back with his driver.

While his tee shot found the left side of the fairway on the Pine's No. 1, clear of trouble, Nethery's drive curved into the trees on the right. Nethery had to punch out and he was playing catch-up the rest of the 19th hole. Wilson was on in three, Nethery in four and a good lag putt by Wilson secured the victory.

"I didn't putt very well but well enough to get it done," Wilson said.

Nethery, 57, was playing in the Seniors for the first time, after a bit of an absence following a long run in the Men's flights. He was two down with two left, scrambling to stay in it. He got up and down on 15 to halve the hole, while WIlson returned the favor on 16. A great chip on 17 helped reduce the deficit to one then an even better approach on 18 tied it up.

Nethery's drive settled under a pine but still left a clear shot to the green from a little over 100 yards out. His shot rolled to within a few feet, leaving Wilson some more work to do to get his first championship flight win.

"I play with these guys quite a bit," Wilson said. "It's pretty gratifying that I can get out here and play and succeed and compete. A lot of these guys have won multiple City championships, so you have to keep your knife sharp around them all the time."

Wilson's win sets up a showdown with No. 2 Jim Alexander, who rolled by No. 15 Jan Bond, 8 and 6.

Down to the last drop

The rest of the bottom bracket saw No. 3 Rick Scheid take out No. 14 Rick Scherer, 5 and 3 while No. 6 Mark Chestnutwood needed a win on No. 18 to subdue No. 11 Matt Grubb, 1 up.

Chestnutwood put his drive on 18 in the middle of the fairway and knocked a wedge to within three feet.

"I play better when I get focused," Chestnutwood said. "I was really focused on that shot. I was pretty sure I'd get on the green. I didn't know I'd get that close."

Grubb's second shot went long. His comebacker took an unfortunate hop off a small hole, leaving a putt that was a bit too long to convert.

It came after Grubb made a big run, winning five holes in a row (7-8-9-10-11) to turn a two-hole deficit into a three-hole lead, but Chestnutwood knew there was still time to recover and inched his way back into it.

"(The last) five holes, I played 1-under to come back," Chestnutwood said.

Long day for Kaser

A heavy storm hit about an hour into play, forcing a delay just over three hours. Play resumed at 12:15 and it was slow going for a majority of the field. Players were allowed to lift, clean and replace after the storm as plenty of standing water was left behind.

No. 8 John Kaser had to keep his edge throughout the slog in a close match with No. 9 Chuck Vernon. Kaiser prevailed 2 and 1 to earn a spot opposite No. 1 Gary EuDaly in the quarterfinals. They were on the second green when the horn sounded, leaving 15 more to play.

"Even through I stayed up most of the time, I never got more than two up," Kaser said. "We only halved maybe two holes in the first 14, so it was sort of back and forth.

"I'm not good on endurance contests, so my legs were really tired down the end. I was fortunate. Matches like this turn on a shot or two."

It was worth the wait.

"This is just the second match I've ever won in any championship flight," he said. "Back in the day when I was in the men's flights, I didn't make (the championship flight) many years. I'm not that serious about my game, but I got better. I was just a wild swinger back then.

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"Now I get a rematch. I was lucky to prevail against Gary EuDaly a few years ago (2016) and beat a No. 1 so I'm sure he's ready to get even with me."

The other matchup in the top part of the bracket has No. 4 Matt Seifers taking on No. 5 Tim Gillespie. Seifers moved on when No. 13 John Hunt's back gave out after just nine holes. By then Seifers was up six. Gillespie cruised by No. 12 Dan Smith, 8 and 7.

Super Seniors to form

All eight top seeds advanced in this bracket with the closest match of the day a 2 and 1 win by No. 4 Robin Harper over No. 13 Joe Beane.

That sets up an interesting showdown on Sunday with No. 5 Bob Hasty, who carded a 6 and 5 win over No. 12 Mike Vernon. Harper and Hasty got the friendly smack talk started early as they parted ways into the evening. Also in that lead group at 8:10 is defending champ Rory Brown, an 8 and 6 winner over No. 16 Dick Meacham and No. 8 Roger Rainbolt, who topped No. 9 Tom Smith, 3 and 2.

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Perennial tourney favorite and No. 2 seed Ike Martin got this year's run started with a 7 and 6 win over No. 15 Fred Cooksey. He'll play No. 7 Don Chastain, who ousted No. 10 Kirby Gann, 4 and 3. The other duo in the 8:20 group is No. 3 Jeff Smith vs. No. 6 Dan Neubecker. Smith got by No. 14 Gary Blackwell, 4 and 3 while Neubecker took down No. 1 David Devitt, 3 and 2.

BLOOMINGTON CITY GOLF TOURNAMENT

PHIL TALBOT MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP

[1] Jason Bannister d. [16] Robert Wise, 4 and 3; [8] Jacob Paine d. [9] Brian Muehlhaus, 4 and 3; [4] Logan Vernon d. [13] Chad Stoute, 7 and 5; [12] Darren Fuller d. [5] Harrison Carmichael, JWD; [2] Jace Day d. [15] Marc Guyer, 6 and 5; [7] Jake Miller d. [10] Chad Osborne, 2 and 1; [3] Mitch Oard d. [14] Brayden Bunger, 3 and 2; [6] Drew Todd d. [11] Jeff Algood, 6 and 5.

PAUL GRAY SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

[1] Gary DuDaly, bye; [8] John Kaiser d. [9] Chuck Vernon, 2 and 1; [4] Matt Seifers d. [13] John Hunt, 6-up, conceded due to injury; [5] Tim Gillespie d. [12] Dan Smith, 8 and 7; [2] Jim Alexander d. [15] Jan Bond, 8 and 6; [10] Ken Wilson d. [7] Henry Nethery, 19 holes; [3] Rick Scheid d. [14] Rick Scherer, 5 and 3; [6] Mark Chestnutwood d. [11] Matt Grubb, 1 up.

ROSS RUSH SUPER SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

[1] Rory Brown d. [16] Dick Meacham, 8 and 6; [8] Roger Rainbolt d. [9] Tom Smith, 3 and 2; [4] Robin Harper d. [13] Joe Beane, 2 and 1; [5] Bob Hasty d. [12] Mike Vernon, 6 and 5; [2] Ike Martin d. [15] Fred Cooksey, 7 and 6; [7] Don Chastain d. [10] Kirby Gann, 4 and 3; [3] Jeff Smith d. [14] Gary Blackwell, 4 and 3; [6] Dan Neubecker d. [11] David Devitt, 3 and 2.

SUNDAY'S TEE TIMES

PHIL TALBOT MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP

7:30 a.m.: [1] Jason Bannister vs. [8] Jacob Paine; [4] Logan Vernon vs. [12] Darren Fuller. 7:40: [2] Jace Day vs. [7] Jake Miller; [3] Mitch Oard vs. [6] Drew Todd.

PAUL GRAY SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

7:50: [1] Gary EuDaly vs. [8] John Kaiser; [4] Matt Seifers vs. [5] Tim Gillespie. 8:00: [2] Jim Alexander vs. [10] Ken Wilson; [3] Rick Scheid vs. [6] Mark Chestnutwood.

ROSS RUSH SUPER SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

8:10: [1] Rory Brown vs. [8] Roger Rainbolt; [4] Robin Harper vs. [5] Bob Hasty. 8:20: [2] Ike Martin vs. [7] Don Chastain; [3] Jeff Smith vs. [6] Dan Neubecker.

MEN'S REGULAR FLIGHTS

(First) 8:30: [1] Daniel Melwid vs. [8] Aaron Hancock; [4] Brad Scroggins vs. [5] Jay Chung. 8:40: [2] Nate Herr vs. [7] Justin Stacks; [3] Gerald Sloan vs. [6] Devin Price-Presslaff.

(Second) 8:50: {1] Charles Osborne vs. [8] Kevin Greve; [4] Dillon Donovan vs. [5] Matt Newman. 9:00: [2] Ryan Belcher vs. [7] Andrew Conder; [3] Brad McLaughlin vs. [6] Randy Lientz.

(Third) 9:20: [1] Chris Stedman vs. [8] Domenic Santarossa; [4] Kevin Gallagher vs, [5] Matt Jacobs; 9:30: [2] Justin Fox vs. [7] Jason Storm; [3] Nick Zwissler vs. [6} Jeremy Wise.

(Fourth) 9:40: [1] Russ Wilkie vs. [8] Jozey Hill; [4] Alex Bruce vs. [5] James Richardson. 9:50: [2] Devin Potts vs. [7] Michael Springer; [3] Eli Prather vs. [6] Jake Allman.

(Fifth) 10:00: [1] Brian Wise, bye. [4] Kyle McWhorter vs. [5] Alex Fox; 10:10 — [2] Wyatt Birch vs. [7] Anthony Alleva; [4] Inchang Park vs. [6] Jim Bothwell.

SENIOR REGULAR FLIGHT

(First) 10:20: [1] Joe McWhorter, bye; [4] Ramesh Venkataraman vs. [5] Mike Vernon. [2] Robert Milam, bye; [3] Burke Geene, bye.

SUPER SENIOR REGULAR FLIGHTS

(First) 10:30: [1] Paul Wilson vs. [8] Doak Henry; [4] Steve McDonald vs. [5] Marty Hutsell. 10:40: [2] Brett Daniels vs. [7] George Finley; [3] Robbie Vernon vs. [6] John Cantwell.

(Second) 10:50: [1] Brian Werth vs. [8] Gary Walters; [4] Mike Thomas vs. [5] Paul Toddy. 11:00: [2] Jim Sims vs. [7] Jim Shea; [3] Sam Jantaraweragul vs. [6] Craig Spanburg.

(Third) 11:10: [4] Mark Deal vs. [5] Tom Dukes; [3] Rand McKamey vs. [6] Charlie Gill. [1] Steve Englert, bye; [2] Steve Layman, bye.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: City Golf Seniors:19th hole nets first championship flight win for Wilson