Brian Muehlhaus was in the wrong place at the right time.
How he got there was almost as stunning as the errant drive off the Quarry No. 9 tee that bounced and smacked Muehlhaus on the left side of his head right next to his eye, blurring his vision for the rest of the round, while he was waiting to start a playoff hole against Gary EuDaly.
While the Senior Championship semifinal between Matt Till and Charles Combs looked all day like it might need more than 18 holes to determine a winner, the battle Muehlhaus and EuDaly looked all but over on 15.
About an hour later, both pairs were teeing it up on the 20th hole after Muehlhaus stormed back by winning the last four holes of regulation. He needed a par-saving putt on the 19th to stay alive before his extra length off the tee made a difference on the second extra hole.
Till would need a 21st hole to finally separate himself from Combs in a thrilling finish on Saturday, July 18 at Cascades Golf Course in the 98th annual Bloomington City Golf Tournament.
“I did not play well and Gary brought his ‘A’ game early on,” Muehlhaus said. “He was beating me like a drum. I hit five greens in regulation. I didn’t make a birdie until the last hole.
“So I’m still kind of in shock that I won the match because he outplayed me in every part of the game.”
Muehlhaus and Till will meet in the finals on Sunday, July 19, teeing off at 7:38 a.m., following the Men’s Championship twosome. Muehlhaus was last in a final in 2018 when he beat Aaron Walters for the Men’s title. Till won the Seniors in 2022 and lost in last year’s final to Chad Osborne.
But the past experience Muehlhaus drew upon was not that one.
“Jeff Hutton, I was three up on him one year going into 15 and he beat me,” Muehlhaus said. “I just kind of said, ‘You know, whatever happens, I’m not giving up. And I hit an atrocious shot on 15.”
But that’s where the comeback started. His tee shot on the uphill par 3 settled in the little valley below the hole. EuDaly, searching for a fifth and final Seniors title at age 67, hit a much prettier shot to the green. But Muehlhaus won the hole.
” He was in there 6-7 feet, then I made my putt and put pressure on him,” Muehlhaus said. “He makes it, he wins 4 and 3.”
Instead, Muehlhaus took advantage of EuDaly’s wayward putter to win two more. Then he drove just right of the green. He had a tough chip, but it left an eight-foot birdie putt he sank to tie it up. Then came the stunner on the first tee.
“My left eye is really blurry,” Muehlhaus said after the win. “It hurts right now, but I’m more worried that my left eye is still blurry. But the fact I was standing on 1 tee. I was done. I was dormie.”
On the 19th (Quarry No. 1), Muehlhaus cut the corner perfectly on the dogleg, but left his approach short. EuDaly putted from the left fringe to a gimme, forcing Muehlhaus to sink a four-footer.
Meanwhile, Combs and Till both got on in three and two-putted to halve the hole. On the 20th, Till’s chip left a 10-footer while Combs’ third left a four-footer. Both missed and went to No. 3.
Combs’ drive landed in a bad spot and needed relief, then sent his second shot into the right rough and hit a wedge to the far side of the green, leaving a long putt. Meanwhile, Till was just off the fairway and his second shot stopped just right of the green. His chip hit the hole and flag stick, but settled close enough to pick up. Combs’ putt was short.
“Really, nobody took advantage of the opportunities that the other gave him,” Till said. “It was just a battle. All day long it was a grind.”
Till and Combs were tied after the 10th hole and went at it from there. Combs won 16 with a pair to tie it up. Both bogeyed 17 and despite a long drive, Till couldn’t get up and down and halved the hole.
“Nerve-wracking,” Till said. “Honestly, I don’t usually get nervous. But over a couple of putts, I could kind of feel it in my hands. And unfortunately, I didn’t make any and he didn’t make any.”
Bannister, Oard set up 1-2 final in Men’s
Mitch Oard won a duel of putters as his match with Logan Vernon started to wind down, claiming a 3 and 1 win to earn his seventh trip to the finals when he will take on four-time defending champ Jason Bannister on Sunday at 7:30 a.m.
Vernon, who won their 2020 quarterfinal 2 and 1, was down three before Oard gave away 8 with a tee shot out of bounds and 9 after getting stuck in a bunker.
Oard hit an eagle putt on 10 to go back up two, then claimed an eagle on 14 when his second shot from behind a pine tree from 170 yards out stopped three feet from the cup.
“That gave me some momentum,” Oard said. “Then he dropped that birdie putt on 15.”
That would be the 25-footer Vernon rattled home to get back within one. On 16, Oard’s drive drifted left by the cart path but had a clear view to the green and stick it on. Vernon, in the fairway, saw his approach backspin off the front of the green.
Vernon’s chip rolled past the hole and Oard took advantage to drill a 12-footer. Vernon found the sand trap right of the green on 17 and conceded.
“There was a little bit of back-and-forth there,” Oard said. “I was 1-up and made that birdie putt on 16. That was the biggest putt of the day for me.
“He doesn’t make many mistakes and I got up early on him. I played the par 5s really well today.”
Bannister remained undefeated in tournament play as he aims for a fifth straight Men’s Championship title, keeping Tyler Jordan at arm’s length in a 3 and 2 win. It was Jordan’s first time in the final four and he got behind three by the turn and couldn’t find any chinks in the armor outside of a win on 12.
Bannister rolled in a long putt for birdie on 15 to go back up three.
No matter where he was, he found a target and hit it. Bannister won 1, 4, 8 and 9 to get off to a solid start.
“I feel good,” Bannister said. “I hit the ball pretty well today. I just managed myself around the golf course. I made a few mistakes, but I think overall, I did a good job with the course management aspect of it.”
Oard is back into the final for the first time since 2019 and looking for his fourth title but first since 2014. Oard will be the fifth golfer to get a crack at Bannister in the finals. They’ve not met in match play. But this will be the first time for an 18-hole final instead of the usual 36.
“A 36-hole final, to me that’s exciting,” Oard said. “You’ve got a lot of holes. You’ve got some time. 18 you don’t have near as much time, obviously, so you’ve got to come out fast.
“I’ve been looking forward to this, playing Bannister. I’ve played with him quite a bit through the years.”
Super rematch in Super Seniors
Dan Neubecker is hoping the pattern holds.
The top qualifier made it to his fourth straight Super Seniors final with a 4 and 2 win over Rory Brown, the player he lost to in the 2022 final and beat in the 2023 championship match. Neubecker will be looking for a similar bounceback against Ike Martin when they tee off at 7:46.
The defending champ took advantage of an off-day by Bob Hasty to cruise, 7 and 5 to set up a rematch from last year where Martin prevailed 2 and 1.
Neubecker was pleased with his play. He birdied the first hole and never trailed, but Brown, the champ in 2022 and ’23 was never far away. He took a 1 up lead by the turn and made it 2 with a birdie on 10. A bogey on 11 gave it back, but on 14, a little fortune helped Neubecker out.
“I got really lucky,” Neubecker said. “I thinned my chip shot from above (the hole) on the back fringe and it went down and nailed the pin and popped a few inches away for a tap-in birdie.”
Martin is out for his 14th City title overall and third in the Super Seniors. He went up four by the turn and kept rolling to finish early.
BLOOMINGTON CITY GOLF TOURNAMENT
Saturday’s results
PHIL TALBOT MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP — [1] Jason Bannister d. [5] Tyler Jordan 3 and 2; [2] Mitch Oard d. [3] Logan Vernon 2 and 1
PAUL GRAY SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP — [4] Matt Till d. [9] Charles Combs, 21 holes; [3] Brian Muehlhaus d. [2] Gary EuDaly, 20 holes.
ROSS RUSH SUPER SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP — [1] Ike Martin d. [4] Bob Hasty, 6 and 5; [2] Dan Neubecker d. [3] Rory Brown, 4 and 2.
MEN’S REGULAR
First flight — [1] Cameron Cochren d. [4] Aaron Wicker, 1up; [3] Jake Cunningham d. [2] Robert Wise, 4 and 3. Second flight — [4] Russ Wilkie d. [1] Kevin Greve, 4 and 3; [6] Jackson Storm d. [2] Jeremy Wise, 4 and 3. Third flight — [1] Matthew Wilson d. [4] Richard Wise, 7 and 6; [2] Ike Wilkie d. [3] Jim Bothwell, 4 and 3.
SENIOR REGULAR
First flight — [1] Jay Freund d. [4] Dan Smith, 3 and 2; [2] Rick Sheid d. [6] Brian Wise, 2up. Second flight — [4] Brandon Chambers d. [1] Jeff Huntoon, 2 and 1; [2] Ed Huff d. [6] Ramesh Venkataraman, 8 and 6.
SUPER SENIOR REGULAR
First flight — [1] George Finley d. [4] Keith Houck, 6 and 5; [2] Gerald Wright d. [7] Drew Antilla, 2 up. Second flight — [1] Jim Sims d. [4] Jan Bond, 6 and 5; [6] Sam Janaraweragul d. [2] Brian Werth, forfeit. Third flight — [1] Gary Walters d. [4] Tom Dukes, 4 and 3; [2] Rand McKamey d. [3] Steve Englert, 19 holes.
WOMEN’S
First flight — [5] Kourteney Grimes d. [1] Libby McElhinney, 6 and 4; [7] Lisa Wise d. [2] Carly Cauble, 3 and 1. Second flight — [1] Ann Huntoon d. [4] Sadie Woodring; [2] Mira Bruce d. [3] Merrin Joseph, 6 and 5.
SUNDAY TEE TIMES
7:30 a.m.:PHIL TALBOT MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP — [1] Jason Bannister vs. [2] Mitch Oard.
7:38: PAUL GRAY SENIORS CHAMPIONSHIP — [3] Brian Muehlhaus vs. [4] Matt Till.
7:46:ROSS RUSH SUPER SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP — [1] Ike Martin vs. [2] Dan Neubecker.
7:54: JANE FODDRILL WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP — [5] Kourteney Grimes vs. [7] Lisa Wise.
MEN’S REGULAR
8:02 a.m.: First flight — [1] Cameron Cochren vs. [3] Jake Cunningham.
8:10: Second flight — [4] Russ Wilkie vs. [6] Jackson Storm.
8:18, Third flight — [1] Matt Wilson vs. [2] Ike Wilkie.
WOMEN’S REGULAR
8:26: Second flight — [1] Ann Huntoon vs [2] Mira Bruce.
SENIOR REGULAR
8:34 a.m.: First flight — [1] Jay Freund vs. [2] Rick Scheid.
8:42: Second flight — [2] Ed Huff vs. [4] Brandon Chambers.
SUPER SENIOR REGULAR
8:50 a.m., First flight — [1] George Finley vs. [3] Gerald Wright.
8:58, Second flight — [1] Jim Sims vs. [6] Sam Jananraweragul.
9:06: Third flight — [1] Gary Walters vs. [2] Rand McKamey.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: ‘Shocking’ finish for Seniors in City Golf Tournament semifinals
