Photo courtesy of MGA
An exciting wire-to-wire win gives GlenArbor’s Rob Labritz his second Westchester Golf Association title on his home course.
Rob Labritz won his second Westchester Open Championship this week with a solid four-shot victory, proving it doesn’t hurt to compete on your home course. Labritz, the Director of Golf at the host club, GlenArbor GC, won his first Westchester Open there in 2016.
Labritz opened his wire-to-wire campaign with a stellar eight-under 63 in the first round Monday, giving him a three-shot lead going into the final two rounds, played back-to-back on Tuesday. He shot a two-under 69 in the second round, leaving him a five-shot lead over amateur Max Buckley of Westchester CC as they began the final round. The only major blot on his scorecard came in the third round with a double bogey on the par-five 12th hole, but Labritz still finished his round one-under, giving him a four-shot win over Brad Tilley of Sleepy Hollow.
‘I’m just out there hitting one golf shot at a time,” says Labritz, who also won the Rhode Island Open and Massachusetts Open on top of competing in the PGA Championship this year. “I don’t really feel pressure and I love playing the game of golf, so to be able to hit quality shots in front of my home crowd made it worthwhile.” A number of GlenArbor members came out to show their support.
Having his son Matthias on his bag was a special treat for Labritz. “We’re four-for-four,” he says, including a pre-qualifier for the Travelers Championship as a victory with his son as his caddie. “To have my boy on the bag means everything to me.”
Tilley locked up low amateur honors with impressive scores of 67-68 on Tuesday, finishing at 7-under to also notch solo second place. Mike Ballo, Jr., of Westchester CC, fired the low score over the final two rounds behind a pair of 67s, giving him solo third at 6-under. Jackson Fretty of Greenwich shot 5-under 66 in the final round to tie for fourth with Timothy Hegarty of Sleepy Hollow at 5-under for the championship.
This was the 99th playing of the Westchester Open Championship. The centennial edition will take place at Sleepy Hollow Country Club.
