Gutsy Westfall birdies 18 to best Downes by 1 in LeBaron Hills Open

            Lakeville, MA-Todd Westfall sank a dramatic 20-foot birdie putt on the final hole of the inaugural LeBaron Hills Open for a one shot victory over second round leader Billy Downes. Sean O’Hair battled for the lead with Westfall all day long only to double bogey the 17^th hole and finish two shots back. Paul Dickinson closed with a 3-under par 69 to share 4^th place with Matt Donovan, who fired the low round of the day with a 5-under par 67.  

            Coming off of a bogey on 17, Westfall knew that he had fallen back into a tie with Downes. With 20 feet separating him from his first victory on the Cleveland Golf Tour, he admitted to going back to the fundamentals. “That’s what I’ve been taught to do,” said Westfall, who picked up $11,300 with the win.

            Westfall spent much of the final day in a heated duel with playing partner Sean O’Hair, and actually credited the comfortable pairing as a major reason why he won. “He’s a great guy and he has a great golf swing to watch. I could not have asked for a better pairing,” said the calm West Virginian.

            Downes finished with a 1-under par 71 but never felt like he had control of his game. “I just struggled all day,” said Downes, who pointed to his faulty irons as the primary reason why he came up short. Surprisingly, nerves also played a factor for the steely veteran. “I’ll be the first to admit that I was a little bit uptight.”

            Starting the day six shots back, Donovan rallied and was 5-under par through 14 holes to close the gap just two shots. He missed a five footer for eagle on 15, though, and made bogey on 17 to settle for a tie for 4^th with Dickinson,   who has now recorded four top 16 finishes in as many events on the Cleveland Golf Tour.

            Following two consecutive tournaments, the Cleveland Golf Tour now takes two weeks off before heading to Cranston Country Club for its fifth event of the season.