By
John Warner
Post
contributor
Jeff
Egger shot a 1-under 35 Tuesday on the final nine holes to win the
Northern Kentucky Golf Association Men's Mid-Amateur at Kenton
County Fox Run.
It was Egger's first NKGA championship and his first competition
in an NKGA event since the Men's Amateur at Fox Run two years ago.
"In all my years playing the Amateur, I've never made it to the
final round of 36 holes," Egger said.
Egger finished with a two-day score of 1-over-par 145, three
strokes ahead of runner-up Tim Hartig, who is also serving in his
first year as tournament director.
Egger, a life-long Northern Kentucky resident, claimed the $250
first-place award and received a crystal trophy from the NKGA.
"Only getting to play pretty much once a week because of work, to
be able to play well two consecutive days feels great," Egger said.
"And it's pretty unexpected."
The 38-year-old NKU graduate held a one-stroke lead at even par
going into Tuesday's final round.
"I got off to a little shaky start," he said. "I bogeyed three of
the first five holes, but I just kept in the game."
Egger, who began the day on the No. 10 tee, was 3-over through
his first eight holes.
"I had a real fortunate bounce on 18 and made birdie there," he
said. "Coming off of 18 and making birdie kept me in the game and
kept me focused."
With confidence and some momentum at the turn, Egger took dead
aim at the pin with pinpoint approach shots that set up key birdies
on No. 5 and No. 8.
Egger bogeyed the par-3 fourth, but recovered quickly with a
20-foot birdie putt on the 440-yard, par-4 fifth.
His approach on the par-4 eighth dropped five feet from the pin
and he drilled the birdie put to secure a two-stroke lead going into
the final hole.
"I hit it really straight off the tee both days, and I hit a lot
of good iron shots as well," Egger said. "No. 8 in particular
because that was my 17th hole."
Hartig, playing in the foursome ahead of Egger, found the creek
along the ninth fairway, allowing Egger to lay up with his final tee
shot.
"It was a little nerve racking, but I played (the ninth) well,"
Egger said.
Egger, a graduate of Simon Kenton, said the course played to his
advantage because of the hard and fast fairways.
"I don't hit the ball as far as some of these guys, and I got a
little extra distance off the tee," he said.
Egger added that the course challenges golfers to remain
painstakingly accurate.
"You need to avoid all the trouble," he said. "You need to lay up
when you need to lay up, and you have to manage the game. When it's
time to go, you can go for it."
In the handicap flight, first place went to Dan Maher, whose 10
handicap adjusted his score to 147. Michael Lehkamp, a 22 handicap,
finished second with 148, and Phil Harper, a four handicap, shot a
third-place 149.
