ROCHELLE — Josh Johnson was nearly perfect on hitting greens in regulation during the 10th Annual Fairways Club Championship on Saturday. Johnson’s success on the approach led to him firing a 2-over-par 104 to win the Men’s Championship Flight for the first time in 10 years.
“It felt really good,” Johnson said. “It was quite a surprise. There are four or five of us who play with each other all of the time and I knew any one of us could get hot and win the whole thing. It was a different day for me because I’m more of a scramble golfer, but I hit 24 greens over 27 holes. I didn’t make many putts throughout the tournament, but I was always in the middle of the green and I tapped in a lot of pars. I was very steady and it wasn’t a very stressful round.”
It’s the fourth career club championship win for Johnson, who finished three strokes ahead of runner-up George Weber (5-over-par 107) and defending champion Thomas Brennan (6-over-par 108). While the tournament is normally played over 54 holes across Saturday and Sunday, action was canceled Sunday due to inclement weather. Colton Guy and Steven Gadient each fired an 8-over-par 110 to finish tied for fourth place in the championship flight.
“It’s a nice feeling because of Thomas and Jon [Woeppel] have been winning the tournament over the last seven or eight years and it’s nice to let those young guys know that this old guy can still play,” Johnson said laughing. “We all have a friendly rivalry with each other and we know we have to bring our best in order to beat each other. It’s a fun tournament to play and it’s been 10 years since my last tournament win. It’s been a long time coming and it’s a good feeling.”
Tim Duncan scored a 13-over-par 115 to win the Men’s A Flight and two players (Larry McGee and Greg Folmer) tied for second with a 19-over-par 121. Bill Kubale shot a 7-over-par 73 over 18 holes to win the Senior Flight and Amber Fellows scored a 28-over-par 94 over 18 holes to claim the Women’s Championship Flight, outlasting runner-up Cecilia Peterson by one stroke