The final day of any tournament has the potential to bring its fair share of excitement, but when you’re at the Beaver State Fling and the top two players are only two strokes apart, you know you’re bound to see some amazing golf! Sunday’s round began with Paul McBeth leading the pack while Ricky Wysocki was hot on his trail. Both Eagle McMahon and Anthony Barela were tied for third place, proving there was more than one battle occurring on the lead card.

Building Up The Momentum

The round started off a little more lackluster than normal, with McBeth carding a bogey on hole one and Wysocki taking a par on the first three holes of the final day. Once the players cleared the tightly wooded holes on Milo East, the pressure began to build.

In years past, the “Genius” hole has often been a score separator for the pros, as some can convert an amazing drive into an eagle, while others can easily rack up strokes. Though he gave it a solid run, McBeth failed to repeat his back to back eagles on holes 9 and 10 like he has in past tournaments here, and this started to open the door for Ricky to take charge.

Both Wysocki and Barela carded 2’s on hole 9, and McBeth slowly started to give away strokes to his card mates. Hole 12’s island created another opportunity for Rick, as McBeth went OB and took a bogey, allowing the three other pros to take a stroke from him.

Here’s Where It Got Interesting

For most of the round, both Rick and Paul seemed to play smart golf and didn’t really try to push each other too hard. It was almost like they kept waiting to see which one of them would step on the gas first. After the long par 5 on Milo East, Wysocki saw his chance to take home the victory.

As they approached hole 15, the gallery stood on the sidelines to watch the players throw short yet calculated shots toward the basket. Knowing he had to capitalize everywhere he could, Wysocki ran a massive putt and connected with chains to get a thunderous roar from the crowd. His raptor legs came out in full effect as he retrieved his putter from the basket and a fist pump showed spectators he was in it to win.

Coming Down To The Wire

With the scores tied up as they approached hole 16, it was clear that Eagle had secured the third place position as Barela lost momentum on the back 9. McBeth and Wysocki traded scores back and forth for the remaining few holes, each of them trying to run putts and secure the win.

After a bogey from Paul on hole 18, it was determined the top two players would enter into a playoff. Tee shots on hole 1 were a little wide, and both men carded a 3. Ricky’s shot on hole 2 landed within the circle and the crowd knew he had the chance to take the win home as Paul’s drive settled farther away. In the end, Wysocki made his winning putt after Paul’s missed birdie attempt.

The players are now off to Georgia for Pro Worlds next week. Is it Paul’s turn to take back his title, or will Wysocki go for a repeat? How will this year’s BSF play into the mindset of both men? We’re excited to find out!

Written by Courtney Elder