Posted Online:
Posted online: July 22, 2007 11:31 PM
Print publication date: 07/13/2007
Peters wins
By Ryan Sergeant, sports@qconline.com
If you told Greg Rios on Sunday morning that he was
going to birdie 10 of his final 14 holes, he, and most others, likely would
have thought it'd be enough to win the Palmer Hills Amateur golf tournament.
Ben Peters had other thoughts.
Peters played in the final group, three squads behind
Rios, and had no idea of Rios' charge. Rios fired a sizzling, bogey-free,
8-under par 64, making him the leader in the clubhouse at a two-day total of
137 (-7). Peters joined him at 137 shooting a day-two 68.
The pair headed back to the first tee to battle in a
sudden-death playoff. Both players put their second shots to the par-4 about 10
feet away from the hole. Peters sank his putt and Rios' putt caught the left
edge of the cup and dropped in.
Both managed up and down birdies from about the same
spot on the second hole, and play continued. From the fairway at the third,
Rios put his ball safely on the green about 15 feet short of the flag. Peters
then stuck a sand wedge to about five feet, applying pressure on Rios.
Rios' putt caught the left edge of the cup again, but
this time, it didn't drop. The door was open for Peters. He knocked in his
five-footer and captured his second consecutive National City Bank Amateur Tour
event win.
"I was quite surprised Greg missed that
putt," Peters said. "I was set on the fact that we were going to play
all night."
"I can't play any better than that," Rios
said shortly after the playoff. "I didn't lose, I got beat."
Rios' 64 was one shot short of tying the course
record. What was going through his mind?
"Nothing," he said.
Rios said his opening-round 73 didn't feel much
different than his Sunday round.
"I hit it a little bit better today, but the
difference was that I just made putts today," he said.
Peters felt his wedge game led to his victory and Rios
agreed.
"You put a sand wedge in his hand and he's
deadly," Rios said.
"My wedge game is and always has been the most
consistent and solid part of my game," Peters said. "Without it I
would not have put myself in position to win."
Peters didn't have much time to gather himself before
heading back out to the links.
"At that point it's match play," he said.
"I really wanted to put the pressure on Greg and force him to make a
birdie. To lose would've been disappointing, but he was playing great golf
today."
"There's nothing you can do about that,"
Rios said. "If I was making a living off this 2nd place, it might be dissapointing, but I'll walk away pretty happy with a
64."
First-round leader Ryan Greenlief
struggled on Sunday and fell to a tie for fourth at 141 with St. Ambrose junior
Adam White. Chris Wilkins finished alone in third place with a 139.