WICKENBURG, Ariz. – A few teams came close, but none could unseat Scottsdale’s Jon Holzgang and Andrew Paisley (-18 through two rounds), who managed a wire-to-wire victory at the AZ GOLF Four-Ball Championship, hosted by Wickenburg Ranch Golf & Social Club.
Holzgang and Paisley set the pace with a stellar first-round score of 60, which was the lowest single-round score of the championship. Matthew McDougall and Joseph Affrunti, who ultimately finished at -15, were tied with Holzgang and Paisley late on Sunday, but a bogey on the 17th hole derailed their hopes. Meanwhile, playing two groups back, Holzgang and Paisley secured their first AZ GOLF championship wins with timely birdies on the 15th and 16th holes.
Jon Holzgang & Andrew Paisley await their tee shot late in the second round at the AGA Four-Ball Championship. (Photo by Brandon Genson)
“It was great. The course is in great condition and we ham-and-egged it pretty well and had each other’s back when we were down. It was great.”
“We had a great start in the first round. In the second round, we had a hot start on the front nine and slowed down a little bit for five holes. We had to refocus a little bit to finish it off,” Paisley, who carded eagles on the seventh hole in both rounds, said.
Additionally, Brad Wayment & Joe Sposi (-16) also went wire-to-wire, opening up with a first-round score of 61 to ultimately win the Senior Division title by a six-stroke margin.
Joe Sposi (left) & Brad Wayment (right) pose with the AGA Four-Ball hardware. (Photo by Brandon Genson).
Playoff drama ensued in the Legends Division. Jeffrey Zieky and Murph Mitchell maintained the lead for nearly the entire championship, but the teams of Tim Bateman & Michael Martin and Jeff New & Lee Decof both made second-round pushes to finish at -7. Despite Zieky and Mitchell holding the lead for 35 holes, a bogey on the 18th hole dropped them to -6; that set the stage for a playoff between Bateman & Martin and New & Decof, which was won when Martin sank a birdie putt on the second playoff hole.
Michael Martin (left) & Tim Bateman (right) pose with the AGA Four-Ball hardware.