SEDONA, Ariz. – After winning the Arizona Match Play last month, momentum was on Adam Walicki’s side going into a 36-hole championship at Oakcreek Country Club. Despite some trouble on the back nine and second-round surges in the field, Walicki (-6) held on to win his second event in a row at the Northern Amateur- the final event of the men’s season.
RESULTS
Tied at -5 after the first round, Walicki and Scottsdale's Nate Jetter found themselves atop a packed leaderboard. Entering Round 2, Walicki built on his strong start with birdies on holes no. 3, 6, and 10. However, his putter briefly went cold, as he missed three putts inside six feet on holes no. 11 and 12, resulting in a bogey and a par, respectively.
Meanwhile, Jetter remained in the hunt all day, ultimately finishing one stroke back of Walicki. Michael Martin and Judson Choate both climbed the leaderboard on Sunday with rounds of 68 and 69, respectively; the former even briefly took the lead.
Walicki, a winner of several AZ GOLF championships, is no stranger to keeping composure with a lead. Typically, he avoids looking at the leaderboard, but even the two-time AGA Player of the Year felt some unease about his place on the leaderboard after missing those two short putts.
“I ignored (the leaderboard), as I always try to do, up until about No. 11,” Walicki said. “That’s when I decided I need to pay attention to where I’m at, but prior to that, my goal was just to get as many (birdies) as I could. It didn’t change my gameplan but (No. 11 and 12) got me a little nervous.”
Luckily, he found a way to keep his cool and putt well enough for the rest of the round to hang on for his second championship in a row.
"(Oakcreek Country Club) is one of my favorite places. I love the greens, I love the course. The putter was definitely working in round one. Had it been as good today as it was yesterday, it might have been a different outcome. But I played solid and the putter was good enough to hold up," Walicki said.
In addition to Walicki capturing the Open Division title, Joseph Cabrera (-6) shot 70-68 for a wire-to-wire victory in the Senior Division. The only player in the Senior Division to go under-par in both rounds, Cabrera’s win at the Northern Amateur marked his second championship this year; he won the West Valley Amateur in May and had second place finishes at both the East Valley Amateur and Southern Amateur.
In the Legends Division, Tim Blau shot even par for his second championship of the year. Blau also won the Southern Amateur and notched a second-place finish at the East Valley Amateur.
