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With three holes left in play in Sunday’s final round at the Yuengling Open, Michael Balcar looked to have the tournament championship well within his grasp.
And then suddenly, he didn’t.
But the 30-year-old Toledo, Ohio native steadied his game and narrowly avoided a three-way playoff, calmly sinking a three-footer on the final hole to claim the 63rd edition of the Yuengling at the Fort Myers Country Club.
“I knew I had to make it obviously,” said Balcar, an assistant golf professional at Toledo’s Brandywine Country Club. “Thankfully my coaches have ingrained in me the importance of putting. After every round, I putt two-and-a-half footers around the hole. I just kind of went back to that state and tried to make the three-footer, just like the drill.”
Practice indeed made perfect with the successful putt earning Balcar the $13,000 winner’s purse in his fourth career appearance at the Yuengling.
“I love the atmosphere of this place,” he said. “It brings the dream alive for us pros that aren’t on tour. I mean, this is what we imagine Korn Ferry, PGA Tour events are like, people watching, people excited. We want to entertain them. It’s just a great event.”
Balcar shot a 5-under 65 to enter Sunday alone in second place, one shot behind Evan Long, who finished tied for second place a Tuesday qualifier to secure his Yuengling entry.
An eagle on No. 1 propelled Balcar into the lead, a margin that grew to four strokes over Long and Cristian DiMarco after 15 holes.
But on No. 16, Balcar pushed his drive left and into the bushes, providing his playing partners with an opening.
“I figured worse case, I’d chip out,” Balcar said. “But then I saw everybody scrambling, looking under the bushes and I’m like, Oh God, here we go.”
The ball was unplayable so Balcar took a drop and promptly saw his next shot hit a palm tree but still ended up going straight, stopping short of the green. He ended up with a double bogey and that four-shot lead now was one after Long rolled in a birdie.
That was the same margin heading to No. 18. Balcar blasted his drive off the tee but ti didn’t clear the bunker, ending up perilously close to the edge.
“I thought, Oh boy, we’re not out of the woods yet,” he said. “I wasn’t going to try and go over the creek so I just tried to chunk out a 9-iron but it ended up a little farther back than I wanted.”
At about 190 yards from the green, Balcar pulled out the 4-wood and hit it flush, with the ball bouncing just over the green. He used his putter and rolled the ball about three feet shy of the hole.
Meanwhile, DiMarco chipped his third shot within six feet and sank the out to go 9-under. Then Long left an 18-footer for birdie a couple of agonizing inches short to remain one shot behind Balcar, setting up his tournament-winning putt.
“Evan had a good look, I thought it was going in,” Balcar said. “Unfortunately for him, it was about an inch short.”
Balcar, who made it to the second stage of Korn Ferry qualifying last year, said he’ll be back to defend his title, unless he qualifies for a tour event the same weekend.
“I plan on playing here every year I can,” he said. “It’s a great event.”
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Fort Myers golf: Michael Balcar wins Yuengling Open
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