Chris Benestante Wins Firecracker

Chris Benestante shot 66 in the final round of the Firecracker Open to post 15 under par and win by three shots.  Benestante started the final round at 10 under par, one shot behind Robert Evans.  After posting two under 34 on the front nine, he birdied 10, made par on 11, and bogeyed 12. He was at  12 under par standing on the 13th tee box.

Jake Hendrix tee shot on hole #17

Jake Hendrix, who started the day at eight under par, shot three under on the front and added two birdies on the back to get to 13 under par after fourteen holes.   He made par on 15 and 16 and was at 13 under standing on the 17th tee box.  He bogeyed 17 and parred 18 to post 12 under par for the tournament.  He shot 65-69-67.  Good golf by any standard and normally this score would be good enough to win.

Meanwhile, Benestante proceeded to birdie 13, 14 and 15.  He was 15 under with three holes to play.  That included the difficult 16th, the par three 17th that was playing 196 yards, and the short par four 18th.  He made regulation pars on 16 and 17 with good two putts from 30 and 40 feet.

Benestante proceeded to the 18th with a three shot cushion, although he was not fully aware of the situation at that point in time and was grinding to play the hole well.

Chris Benestante’s 2nd shot on hole 18

He hooked his tee shot into the left rough and was faced with a run shot under the trees to the green.

Benestante’s final putt to claim the 2016 Firecracker Open championship

The shot finished just over the back edge of the green about 40 feet from the hole.  His third finished some five feet to the left and below the hole.  And, while not knowing that he had a three shot lead and thinking he needed to make the putt, he proceeded to hole it in fine fashion.

Robert Evans

Robert Evans, who has emerged as a premier mid-amateur in the Austin area with multiple victories in the last two years, shot 71 in the final round and finished in third place with an 11 under par total.

Defending champion Nick Christea shot 71 in the final round and finished solo fourth.

Seven players tied for 5th at seven under par.  See the full field scores below for details.

The City of Austin staff, including Kevin Gomillion, Steve Hammond, Jimmy Olivares worked hard through two qualifying events for the Firecracker.  They are responsible for helping to identify the players eligible for the event, organizing the tee times, reporting all the scores in a timely fashion and the overall administration of the tournament.

Eric Lopez

Eric Lopez PGA Professional at Lions Municipal, did a fine job of marking the course and keeping play moving at a nice pace and helping with any rulings.

Mike Branski-Greens Superintendent at Lions fought a wet Spring that produced some difficult conditions on the greens but provided some of the best fairways that Lions has ever seen.  The greens were typical Muny greens and rewarded players that got the ball on top of the green surface and rolling.  Those players that drove their putts into the grain suffered.  The number of players that shot under par are a evidence that the course was in excellent condition.

Mike Branski-Greens Superintent at Lions Municipal

Thanks to everyone who helped make this tournament such a success.  The players and the golfing public are appreciative of your efforts.

Full Field Results