Bloomington City Golf: 'Freak' ending sets up 1 vs. 2 matchup in Men's final

Logan Vernon's tee shot on 18 drifted right and planted itself under a tree at the top of the hill and leaned against a small stick on the ground.

He didn't have much choice but to take out a 4-iron and try to bounce and roll the ball to the green as foe Chris Williams waited, his ball comfortably in the middle of the fairway about 20 yards from the green.

He swung, the ball popped up higher than he expected and deflected right, leaving the course and taking any chances he had with it. An unfortunate ending for what was shaping up to be a great finish in their semifinal battle of the Bloomington City Golf Men's Championship flight on a Saturday getting hotter and muggier by the minute at Cascades.

Williams' 1-up win courtesy of that win on 18 sent him into Sunday's 36-hole final against two-time defending champ Jason Bannister. His last finals appearance was a 3 and 2 win over Mitch Oard in 2017.

"Going into 18, I felt I was in good position," Williams said. "I don't like that that's the way things ended. It's just one of those freak things and he's a great competitor and he's a great kid. We had a great match."

Vernon was down 2 at the turn, but hit a birdie putt on 13 and sank another good one on 14 to knot it up. Then on 15, after Williams' chip from the back side just rimmed out, Vernon knocked down a 20-footer.

"On that backside, I started settling in more," Vernon said. "Chris got off to a really hot start and I knew, I had to keep it manageable at the turn. I was 4-down after seven and got to 2 at nine. My putter started heating up a little bit.

"Once I made that putt on 13, I thought I could make about any putt."

On 16, Vernon, after having to punch out from under a small tree, curled in his par putt from just over 20 feet, only to see Williams win the hole by knocking in his birdie effort from 20 after his approach spun back and stopped on the edge of the green. That turned out to be a match saver after both two-putted 17.

"That putt of his going in (on 15), I was thinking here we go," Williams said. "Then he made that awesome par (on 16). That putt on 16, I was telling myself, 'This is the match right here. Whoever wins this hole is going to win the match.'

"So I had a great pace on it. I've had that putt a thousand times and it went in."

Williams (2008, '15 '17) will be after his fourth title, a total only five others have accomplished. Meanwhile, Bannister will attempt to be the first to win three in a row since Troy Gillespie in 1998-2000. Oard (2011-14) was the last to make it to the finals three years running.

Up two holes after the turn, he went on a birdie run to begin the back nine to bury Brad McLaughlin, 5 and 4. Wins on 10, 12 and 13 opened it up in quick fashion as McLaughlin's putter was not quite as hot as it had been the weekend before.

"I think a lot of it just came down to discipline again," Bannister said. "Being in the fairway, putting the ball in play, giving myself a really good look is as important as getting it as close as you can. I did that on 13 today. Last week, hit it in the road, today laid it up and made a 3.'

"He hit a lot of really good putts today, they just didn't fall. He's a heck of a player. It was a great match and I got hot. When you see those 10-12 footers start to drop, that's a pretty big momentum boost and it takes a lot of pressure off the rest of your game."

BLOOMINGTON CITY GOLF TOURNAMENT

Saturday's results

PHIL TALBOT MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP — [1] Jason Bannister d. [5] Brad McLaughlin, 5 and 4; [2] Chris Williams d. [6] Logan Vernon, 1 up.

PAUL GRAY SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP — {4] Charles Combs d. [1] Jim Alexander, 1 up; [2] Tim Gillespie d. [6] Troy Gillespie, 4 and 3.

ROSH RUSH SUPER SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP — [1] Rory Brown d. [13] Roger Rainbolt, 2 and 1; [2] Dan Neubecker d. [3] Mike Vernon, 4 and 3.

MEN'S REGULAR — First flight: [5] Matt Newman d. [8] Alex Freund, 5 and 4; [3] Robert Wise d. [2] Tony Arnett, 3 and 2. Second flight: [8] Chris Stedman d [4] Brian Wise, 2 and 1; [2] Andrew Conder d. [6] Jeremy Wise, 1 up. Third flight — [4] Devin Potts d. [1] Russ Wilke, 2 and 1; [2] Alex Bruce d. [3] Tyler Baker, 4 and 3. Fourth flight: [8] Graham Freund d. [5] Kyle McWhorter, 2 and 1; [7] Bobby Duvall d. [3] Jim Bothwell, 3 and 2. Fifth flight: [4] Shaun Arvin d. [1] Brandon Chambers, 7 and 6; [2] Ander Sorensen d. [3] Matt Fischer, forfeit.

SENIOR REGULAR — First flight: [1] Ross Grimes d. [5] Jeff Huntoon, 5 and 3; [3] Burke Geene d. [2] Rock Scheid, 19 holes. Second flight: [5] Drew Antilla d. [1] Rick Scherer, 19 holes; [3] Jay Freund d. [2] Ramesh Venkataraman, 6 and 5. Third flight: [1] Jon Hunt d. [4] Randy Wells, 4 and 3; [2] Victor Niezrecki d. [3] Rex Boonyobhas, 3 and 2.

SUPER SENIOR REGULAR — First flight: [1] Mick Renneisen d. [4] Steve McDonald, 19 holes; [6] John Cantwell d. [2] Mike Thomas, 5 and 4. Second flight: [1] Mark Deal d. [5] Jan Bond, 6 and 5; [3] Rand McKamey d. [2] Steve Layman, 3 and 2.

SUNDAY TEE TIMES

PHIL TALBOT MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP (36 holes), 7:30 a.m. — [1] Jason Bannister vs. [2] Chris Williams.

PAUL GRAY SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP (36 holes), 7:38 — [2] Tim Gillespie vs. [4] Charles Combs.

ROSS RUSH SUPER SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP (18 holes), 7:46 — [1] Rory Brown vs. [2] Dan Neubecker.

MEN'S REGULAR (18 holes) — First flight, 7:54: [3] Robert Wise vs. [5] Matt Newman. Second flight, 8:02: [2] Andrew Conder vs. [8] Chris Stedman; Third flight, 8:10: [2] Alex Bruce vs. [4] Devin Potts. Fourth flight, 8:18: [7] Bobby Duvall vs. [8] Graham Freund. Fifth flight, 8:26: [2] Ander Sorensen vs. [4] Shaun Arvin.

SENIOR REGULAR (18 holes) — First flight: [1] Ross Grimes vs. [3] Burke Geene; Second flight, 8:42: [3] Jay Freund vs. [5] Drew Antilla; Third fight, 8:50: [1] Jon Hunt vs. [2] Victor Nierzrecki.

SUPER SENIOR REGULAR (18 holes) — First flight, 8:58: [1] Mick Renneisen vs. [6] John Cantrell; Second flight, 9:06: [1] Mark Deal vs. [3] Rand McKamey.