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Four rounds and 72 holes couldn’t crown a champion at the 2014 Fakier Open at Ellendale Country Club, sending the tournament into the always-popular sudden death playoff.
Once there, it took eight playoff holes and several tense, drama-filled moments to crown a champion. But when the dust settled, a Sugar Land, Texas native took home bragging rights, the trophy and a check for $15,000 as this year’s winner.
Blake Redmond won this year’s Fakier Open after 80 holes of competition – defeating runner-up Garrett Driver with a birdie to break a streak of seven-consecutive pars between the golfers in the opening seven holes of the playoff.
The duo went back-and-forth in the sudden-death format, giving fans an entertaining afternoon of golf action.
The win is Redmond’s first on the professional circuit. He fired a 2-under par round of 70 to get into the playoff at 11-under for the tournament.
Driver earned his way alongside Redmond by firing the round of the day on Saturday afternoon – a 6-under par 66.
Bobby Massa finished third at 10-under, shooting a level-par 72 in the final round to squander his 54-hole lead.
“It was awesome,” Redmond said after the playoff was completed. “I played well this week and brought a lot of facets of my game together. To get the title, it’s just awesome for me. It’s a great feeling, for sure.”
The 2014 Fakier Open was blessed with amazing weather throughout the entirety of the week. With that weather stabilizing play, the Adams Golf Pro Tour Series golfers were able to attack the flags at Ellendale and post solid scores.
In all four rounds of the tournament, several golfers were able to post numbers in the mid-60s. But when it was all said and done, it was Redmond who earned the title. He did so with week-long consistency and fast starts to his rounds
Redmond was one of a handful of golfers who was able to avoid shooting an over-par round in the tournament. The 24-year-old placed himself on the top-half of the leaderboard from the opening day with a glistening 5-under par 67 on Wednesday. He followed it up with a level-par 72 in the second round and a 4-under 68 in Friday’s third round.
In the final round, Redmond took advantage of Massa’s struggles and posted a three birdie, one bogey round of 70 to post his 11-under mark. Redmond had an opportunity to win the tournament outright, but he failed to birdie the accessible Par 5, 489-yard 16th hole, scoring a par on the hole that yielded several birdies throughout the week.
But Redmond was also third in the tournament in front-9 scoring, shooting 7-under in Ellendale’s opening side – nine birdies, compared to two bogeys. The 2014 Champion was also among the tournament leaders in scoring on Par 4’s, showcasing sound iron play throughout the week.
“I was able to put some balls close enough to the pins to where I could make some putts,” Redmond said. “I also avoided a big number. I made a few bogeys, but I didn’t make a double the whole week. That was key.”
Redmond’s victory capped a successful weekend for the Adams Golf Pro Tour Series as it made its annual trek to Houma.
This year’s event again benefitted the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center at TGMC.
The total purse for the tournament was $100,000. The event started with more than 100 players. By the weekend, close to 40 players had made the cut – guaranteeing themselves some prize money for participation.
The Adams Golf Pro Tour Series will stay in Louisiana this week, continuing its partnership with Mary Bird Perkins.
The tour’s pros will head to Baton Rouge this weekend for the Merrill Lynch Open at Santa Maria Golf Course. The purse for that event will be $125,000.
They return from Oct. 1-4 for the season-ending Kohl’s Open Championship at Gray Plantation in Lake Charles.
2014 Fakier Open Champion Blake Redmond (third from left) smiles with his trophy after taking home the title after an eight-hole playoff. Redmond won the $15,000 prize after firing a 2-under par round of 70 in the final round of the event at Ellendale.
