Aber wins Falling Rock Classic
FARMINGTON — We’ve all heard the line about slow and steady winning the race.
Tuesday at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort a spinoff of that adage played out in the final round of the Falling Rock Classic on the Mystic Rock Course.
Short and straight wins the Falling Rock Classic.
Allegheny Country Club head golf professional John Aber is neither tall in stature nor long off the tee, but the Greensburg native had exactly what it took to outlast a group of long-hitting pursuers … even though it took him a couple extra holes to do so.
On a long, wet golf course that got wetter as the day went on, Aber put together a round of 2-under-par 70 to finish at 5-under. That tied him with playing partner Joe Boros, the professional at Treesdale Golf & Country Club.
The two parred the first sudden-death playoff hole (No. 17). Aber just missed the green left and Boros came up short of the green at the 18th. Aber putted from off the green to tap-in par range, while Boros’ chip rolled past the cup about five feet.
“It was exactly the same putt I had there on the final hole in regulation,” Boros said. “It was the same read and the same speed, I thought. As it turns out, it seemed a lot faster the first time around.”
Boros’ putt to force another hole was in the heart, but stopped about two rolls short of going in.
As a result, Aber picked up his second Tri-State Section PGA win of the season, having won The Watson Institute Invitational Pro-Am at his own course last month. He earned $6,000 for the win.
“Joe’s a good friend and we’ve played a lot of golf together,” Aber said. “I hate to see him lose, but somebody had to.”
The two friends, who were assistants at the Pittsburgh Field Club together, went back and forth at the top of the leaderboard most of the day. Boros registered six birdies, but also put up three bogeys that kept him from winning outright.
Aber, on the other hand, had three birdies and only one bogey.
When he’s playing well, Aber’s game is a lot of fairways hit, a lot of greens hit or barely missed and some superb putting. There was a lot of that Tuesday, but on this day his putter didn’t cooperate.
“I had some chances, no doubt about it, but I just didn’t take advantage of them,” he said.
Aber played in a group consisting of Adam Corson, of Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Jonathan Clark, of Sleepy Hollow Golf Club in West Virginia. Corson can move the ball very well off the tee, but Clark is one of the longest in the Tri-State section.
“He (Corson) hit it 322 on No. 8,” Aber, who also won this event in 2011, said, referring to 545-yard, par-5 at Mystic Rock. “The difference in length doesn’t bother me. It’s hard to ignore, but what I try to do is swing easier when I play with these guys.”
Kevin Shields put up one of only three rounds in the 60s, a 69 that moved into a three-way tie for third with Tony Traci, of South Hills Country Club, and Corson. The only other round in the 60s was posted by Brett Carman, of Dogwood Hills Golf Course.
Chris McGinnis, of Pikewood National Golf Club, couldn’t back up his opening-round 73, struggling to a 79 Tuesday. Uniontown Country Club pro Tom Bummer had a tough day, finishing with an 82. Steve Kusenko, of Monongahela Country Club, shot 80, Geibel Catholic graduate and Willowbrook Country Club professional Brian Dunaway matched his first round with an 82, and Nemacolin Woodlands golf professional Brian Rogish struggled to an 88.
Play was halted late in the round with a strong rainstorm hit for the second straight day, but the round finished in bright sunshine.