Inaugural Tourney, Presented by Daugherty Business Solutions, Launched APGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Fall Series in St. Louis
APGA Tour St. Louis, Ascension Classic presented by Daugherty Business Solutions
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI (September 9, 2022) – One-time PGA TOUR regular Brad Adamonis dropped a 35-foot putt on the final hole and carded four birdies in a stretch of seven holes enroute to a final round 65 to capture the inaugural Ascension Classic presented by Daugherty Business Solutions at Glen Echo Country Club Friday afternoon.
Adamonis’s 66-65-131 (-11) was just enough to edge APGA Tour star Willie Mack III, whose back nine 31, including birdies on three of the last five holes, left him one stroke short at 66-66-132 (-10). Landon Lyons of |Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Quinn Riley of Raleigh, North Carolina, tied for third at nine-under par as the field of 54 players navigated the 6,382-yard, par 71 golf course under perfect weather conditions.
The APGA Tour event was played in tandem with the PGA TOUR Champions second annual Ascension Charity Classic presented by Emerson at nearby Norwood Hills Country Club. That 54-hole competition concludes Sunday and the field includes longtime APGA Tour standout Tim O’Neal, who turned 50 years old last month and was invited as a sponsor’s exemption to become the first APGA Tour player to start a PGA TOUR Champions event.
Adamonis’s final round 65 was matched as the best score of the day by St. Louis native Christian Heavens, who climbed all the way to 15th place with a four-under 138. Tommy Schaff of Ridgeland, South Carolina, scored a hole-in-one during Thursday’s first round, using a nine-iron on the 164-yard par 3.
The difference for Adamonis ended up being the 35-footer that he rolled in for birdie on the final hole. He needed it because Mack birdied both 17 and 18. “It broke about 12 feet,” said the Hallandale, Florida, resident who owns three PGA TOUR top tens. “I’ve been putting better. I stayed calm after a couple of bad shots. I’ve worked hard and I wanted to trust my game.”
With the victory, Adamonis earned a sponsor’s exemption into the PGA TOUR’s World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba November 3-6 at El Camaleon Golf Course at Mayakoba in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Adamonis also pocketed the top prize of $10,000 from the Ascension Classic $30,000 purse.
The other amazing statistic for Adamonis was five birdies in a seven-hole stretch on the back nine during Thursday’s opening round, which ended with him among five players one stroke behind day-one leader Wyatt Worthington of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. It is Adamonis’s second win on the tour this year following his APGA Tour Valhalla triumph in July at the famed golf course in Louisville, Kentucky.
O’Neal playing in the Ascension Charity Classic with the best over-50 players in the world is also special for Adamonis, who turns 50 himself in January. “I told Tim that he’s good enough to compete with those great players,” Adamonis stated. “We’re hoping he can put three good rounds together.”
As for his PGA TOUR Champions aspirations, Adamonis stated, “I haven’t been thinking about it. Just trying to improve. But now that it’s almost here, I’m kind of thinking it could be a good opportunity. Tim and I are going to PGA TOUR Champions Q School in November.”
The victory puts Adamonis in the driver’s seat for the top prize in the Farmers Insurance Fall Series bonus pool of $20,000 with payouts to be determined via points earned over the course of the four-event series. The tour now moves on to Philadelphia for APGA Tour Valley Forge September 19-21 at Bluestone Country Club in Blue Bell, PA.
The third fall series tournament takes place October 25-26 at Kingwood Forest Golf Club in Houston with the finale set for November 8-10 at Tustin Ranch Golf Club outside Los Angeles. The APGA Tour will make its first international stop October 15-17 in Bermuda for an invitational competition at Port Royal Golf Course in Southhampton.
The APGA Tour was established in 2010 with the mission to bring greater diversity to the game of golf by hosting and operating professional golf tournaments, player development programs, mentoring programs, and introducing the game to inner-city young people. The tour has grown from seven events with $200,000 in prize money in 2020 and 14 events with over $400,000 in prize money in 2021, to 18 events with over $900,000 in prize and bonus money in 2022.
