O’Hair bounces back, captures Vermont Open

Cleveland Golf Tour star closes in 64-66 for 2 shot win

 By Dominic Dastoli

Fairlee, Vt-June 18^th-What a difference a week makes. Last Saturday at the Atkinson Open, Sean O’Hair spent much of the final day in a battle with Eli Zackheim and Geoff Sisk, only to bogey the final hole and end up one shot back of eventual winner Sisk. Yesterday, though, O’Hair seemed impervious to any final day jitters and closed with a scintillating round of 4-under par 66 en route to a two shot victory over Paul Dickinson in the Vermont Open.

O’Hair began the final round six shots behind 36 hole leader Michael Brown, who struggled to a 5-over par 75 and finished 3^rd. Brown was not the only player to suffer a meltdown on this day, though, as no one in the final three pairings was able to break par at the short, but tricky Lake Morey Country Club, which has played host to the Vermont Open for over 45 years.

Sean Harbour shot a 1-over 71 to finish solo fourth and Mark Balen closed with a fine 67 to tie veteran Billy Downes and Shannon Sykora for 5^th at 3-under par.

O’Hair, who finished 3^rd on last year’s Cleveland Golf Tour money list, has quickly established himself as one of the premiere players on the New England professional circuit. In his last two events, he has earned over $10,000 and is a combined 14-under par.

Over 180 players teed it up in the Vermont Open, with the two-day cut coming at 6-over par 146. Next up on the schedule is the second Cleveland Golf Tour event of the season, The Vermont National Open in South Burlington, VT.  The first round begins Friday with players competing for a $76,500 purse and a $12,500 winner’s check.