Fillmore edges past Jolley in playoff to win Art City Amateur
Even as traveled and seasoned as BYU senior Robbie Fillmore is in tournament play, winning the Art City Amateur at Hobble Creek Golf Course has always remained high on his golfing to-do list.
Scratch it off. Fillmore, in only his third time playing in the Art City, needed only a par on the first playoff hole Sunday afternoon to beat Lehi's Jeff Jolley for the coveted crown.
"A great course. A great field. This is a great tournament to win," Fillmore said.
Both players finished the regulation 36 holes at 8-under par 134. Fillmore put together two 4-under par 67s, while Jolley opened with a 68 and closed with a 66.
And even though Darrin Overson, Andrew Barton and BYU sophomore Jordan Rodgers finished three shots back at 5-under 137, most of the final round was a dogfight among five players.
In fact, after 13 holes Fillmore and Rodgers were tied at 7-under, while first-round leader Nick Nelson and Overson were a shot back and Jolley two shots back. But when Fillmore rolled in an 8-foot birdie on the par-3 14th while Rodgers and Nelson bogeyed, the former East High star suddenly found himself comfortably two shots ahead — the largest lead anyone had in Sunday's final round.
"I knew that birdie gave me a two-shot lead, but I also knew that one errant shot on this course and things can change in a hurry," Fillmore said.
Fillmore was right in his thinking and made things interesting again when he bogeyed the par-4 15 by failing to get up and down from the fringe about 15 feet from the cup. And even though Rodgers and Nelson struggled down the stretch and fell out of contention with each making bogey on No. 14, No. 15 and No. 17, Jolley stormed back into the picture when he rolled in a short birdie on No. 15 to get within one of Fillmore.
"I figured I was a few shots back and that I'd need to get aggressive to get back in things, and fortunately I hit a couple shots in a row pretty close," Jolley said.
Jolley, playing a group in front of Fillmore, made it a dead heat when he knocked it close again on the par-3 16th and made birdie. Not to be outdone, Fillmore rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt minutes later to vault back ahead by one.
On the difficult par-4 17th, Jolley hit his second shot left and behind the bunker but made a spectacular par to remain one behind. Fillmore then followed by also missing the green, but he failed to get up and down for bogey — falling back into a tie with Jolley.
Both players had almost the same 25-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 18th for the win, but both missed. Actually, Jolley needed to roll in a testy 6-footer coming back just to force the playoff.
On the first playoff hole, Jolley pulled his second shot just left of the green while Fillmore left himself an 18-foot uphill birdie putt. Jolley's chip slid right of the hole about 6 feet. Putting to win, Fillmore left his birdie attempt short but tapped in for par. Jolley, looking to force another hole, missed his par attempt on the right edge.
"I hit a good putt," Jolley said. "I just thought it would turn a little left and it actually moved a little right."
Brandon Hargett, who shot a 5-under 30 on his front nine Sunday, finished alone in sixth at minus four. Nelson, who opened with a 66, finished tied for seventh with Clark Fredrickson, Kyle Chappell and Jason Hargett at 3-under 139. Mason Casper, Matt Crowell, Zach Blair and Robert McRae tied for 10th at 2-under 140.
In Friday's 18-hole Doug Oldroyd Memorial, Hobble Creek regulars Doug Baxter and Paul Norman both shot 2-under 69. But Baxter grabbed the title with a birdie on the third playoff hole.
E-mail: jimr@desnews.com
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