Comeback kid: Hartford catches fire, secures another ZDGA Am crown

ZANESVILLE — For nine holes, it was a spirited scrap to decide the 46th Zanesville District Golf Association Amateur champion.

Defending champion Blake Hartford and Buckeye Trail product Jessi Roe were separated by just one shot at the turn during Sunday's final round at Zanesville Country Club.

Then Hartford went on old-fashioned Wheeling Island heater.

Hartford and Roe, who held a two-shot lead entering the final round, were even after nine holes. But the former made four birdies on the back nine — including three straight — and rolled to a four-shot win following a 5-under-par 67.

Houston-area native Hartford, who played at Texas A&M-Commerce, finished at 210 and won by four shots over seven-time champion Brad Baker (70), of Warsaw, and by five over Tri-Valley grad Austin Beyers (73). Beyers, who now lives near Dayton, entered Sunday two shots back.

They were the only players under par for the 54-hole event, held in one weekend for the first time in its history.

Meanwhile, Roe faded down the stretch and wound up with 78 and eight shots back with a total of 218. He was tied for fifth with John Glenn junior Noah Dever, whose 71 trailed only Hartford and Baker for the day's low round.

Hartford's performance came on the heels of two rounds in which he felt his ball striking was less than his usual standard, but the other areas of his game kept him around the lead. He had no such issues on Sunday, when the entire arsenal was on display.

That, he said, was a credit to his caddie and future mother-in-law, Lori Bubenchik, who noticed an oddity in his swing during the second round on Saturday.

"My legs were getting kind of crazy on the swing, and she has this little knee thing that I do that she told me to try out (before Sunday's round)," Hartford said. "I went and tried it out and it was just amazing on the range. I got to the first tee and was able to bring it to the course. I got really hot and hit it with so much confidence the whole day. It was pretty special."

That started with a birdie on the par-5 first hole, which brought him within one of the lead. Another on the par-4 third moved him into a tie for the lead.

A birdie on the treacherous par-4 10th, when he hit his uphill approach to 15 feet, triggered a 33 on the back nine that features birdies on the 13th, 14th and 15th.

Roe pulled into a tie after Hartford made bogey on the 12th, but Hartford's birdie on 13 officially turned the tide. His approach on the par-5 15th, a hole that has decided many rounds in the event, left him with a 15-footer from below the hole to a back pin.

It essentially decided it, as Roe made a double bogey and played the final four holes 5-over. Beyers found the water trying to hit the green in two and also fell out of contention.

Hartford, meanwhile, never made another bogey.

"The whole day was about as good as I can play golf," Hartford said. "When I got to the tee to start the day I knew I could go a little lower than the first two days. I know I can play this golf course really well. If I just hung around there I was hoping (the leaders) would come back to me a little bit to give me a chance."

It was no surprise to Baker.

"Blake's too good — that's my quote," Baker said. "I knew that Blake was not going to play a bad round of golf here. He already played two bad rounds (by his standards) and scored about as high as he could score the first two rounds. He's just too good. He plays a different game. Seventy is as good as I can play out here. I hit it great."

Derek Graham, the John Glenn grad who played at West Liberty (West Virginia), followed up strong showings the first two days with a 72 that left him alone in fourth at 217.

Cambridge grad and Mount Union product Ian Smith was seventh (220) following a final-round 72; Crooksville's Brock White, who played at Malone, was eighth (222) after a 75, River View grad Jake Moore was ninth (224) after a 76 and Zanesville's Justin Adair was 10th at 225.

sblackbu@gannett.com; Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR

LEADERBOARD

Blake Hartford 69-74-67 — 210

Brad Baker 69-75-70 — 214

Austin Beyers 70-72-73 — 215

Derek Graham 72-73-73 — 218

Jessie Roe 71-69-78 — 218

Noah Dever 72-75-71 — 218

Ian Smith 72-76-72 — 220

Brock White 74-73-75 — 222

Jake Moore 75-73-76 — 224

Zack Forker 75-75-75 — 225

Justin Adair 69-77-79 — 225

Gavin Gress 70-81-75 — 226

Damon Moore 76-77-77 — 230

Preston Yeater 84-74-77 — 235

Jed Burga 77-82-78 — 237

Mike Luniewski 75-81-82 — 238

Jack Porter 77-82-81 — 240

Wes Jenkins 74-84-82 — 240

Mike Shook 74-81-85 — 240

Brad Byers 82-77-82 — 241

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Comeback kid: Hartford catches fire, secures another ZDGA Am crown