Heading into the last nine holes of Sunday’s final round of the 23rd annual Reines Jewelers Charlottesville City Championship at Meadowcreek Golf Course, Philip Mahone found himself five shots behind leader Scott Garrison.
Mahone had to be thinking to himself, “Here we go again,” as he had finished runner-up in the event four times. On this Sunday, though, it would be different.
Mahone fired a 1-under 69 to finish with a score of 207, one shot ahead of Garrison.
“It’s an awesome feeling,” Mahone said. “I felt like if I kept putting myself in position, I would break through here one day. I’m just relieved now.”
After starting on the back nine, the leaders made the turn and Mahone’s luck started to change for the better. He found his second shot on the par-5 third hole heading dangerously toward the trees, only to find his ball strike a tree and bounce just feet from the green. He would go on to birdie the hole and seize the momentum after Garrison bogeyed.
“Going into the third hole I was still three shots up, so I wasn’t too worried,” Garrison said. “After I hit the ball in the woods and Phil birdied No. 3, I felt it slipping a little.”
Garrison would again find trouble on the driveable par-4 fifth hole, as his ball found the woods after he tried to drive the green. Two chips and two putts later, he made yet another bogey, and was now one shot back.
“I just wanted to get a little back at [a] time,” Mahone said. “I knew there were a lot of birdie holes on the front nine, and I got the break I needed on hole 3. I’ve been the one with the five-shot lead before, and I’ve been the one to blow the lead, so I know how Scott was feeling.”
Walking up to the ninth green, both Mahone and Garrison found themselves below the hole with makeable birdie putts, with Mahone holding a one-shot advantage. Garrison failed to convert on his birdie, and Mahone, who leads the Battle Trophy points race, needed just two putts to claim victory.
“When Scott missed the putt on 9, I knew I could just two-putt for the victory, so that took a lot of the pressure off of me,” he said.
Jeff Toms, who began the day three shots off the lead, never really got anything going in his final round and finished four shots back after shooting a 1-over-par 71. Recent Western Albemarle High School graduate Patrick Leisure, the 2008 city junior champion, shot a 2-over 72 in his final round and finished at a total of 212, five shots behind Mahone.
Ty Grove, the 2008 city champion, finished at 214 - good enough for a fifth-place finish.
“It’s always been a goal of mine to with the Battle Cup,” Mahone said. “I just need to keep playing the best I can and I will be in a good spot to win it this year for the first time. This win, for me, goes a long way for other things I want to accomplish in golf.”
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