Brian Marini got up and down from difficult positions four times on the back nine to post 69 in the final round of the Austin Open and claim the title with a four under par total for the two days of play. Marini won both the professional division and the overall division for the second time.
Starting the day with three pars, Marini added birdies on 5, 8, 14 and 17. But it was the scrambling that won the title. On number 10, he made par from the right trees with a difficult back left pin that punished the field otherwise. On 11, he shortsided himself in the right hand bunker and got it up and down. On 18, he played a sand shot from a downhill lie in the back bunker to one foot and finish the round without dropping another shot. Say what you will, but a good short game will save the day and earn victories for the player who can maintain his nerve under pressure and get it in the hole.
In the Amateur division, Alex Ellis claimed the title with 67-77= 144, even par. Ellis fell prey to the vicked back hole location on #10 when he four putted for a double bogey. He added another double on the difficult par four 11 and his chances for the overall title decreased significantly. However, he handily won the amateur division and headed for Houston to play a few holes where he is entered in the U.S. Open sectional qualifier.
See the full field scores in the Overall Division, the Professional Division and the Amateur Division at this link or download the free GolfAustin.Org app to your IPhone or Android device and see the results there.