HAMILTON — Kyle Hodges enjoys the different challenges the Hamilton City Golf Championship presents each year. He filters through the memory bank of positivity to power him through.
“When I’m playing my best golf, I’ve got one little thought,” he said. “I’ll ride that thought until it doesn’t work, and I’ll find something else.”
Hodges carded an even-par 69 at Potter’s Park Golf Course to register a two-day total of 137 to win his fourth consecutive and ninth overall Hamilton City Golf Championship on Sunday.
“I really don’t think about it that way,” Hodges said of his dominant run. “Every year is different. It’s always a different challenge. It’s pretty cool though.”
The 2005 Hamilton High School graduate won the city championship in 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2016 to go along with the most recent four straight.
“It’s really just putting yourself in position for Sunday,” Hodges said. “Even if you don’t have it going for you, you still just have to give yourself a chance. Luckily, I played really well to pull it off today. Just give yourself a chance.”
The first round was played at Twin Run Golf Course. Hodges and Pete Betzold were tied at 4-under 68 heading into Sunday’s final round.
Lakota West graduate Jacob Brownley came from five back after Day 1 to tie Hodges through 16 holes on Sunday. Hodges birdied the par-4 17th to move a stroke ahead and hang on.
“Coming into the weekend, you’re playing at two really fun golf courses that can be made very tough,” said Brownley, who shot 73-65-138. “I hadn’t been practicing much, but I knew I had to play well when you’ve got Kyle and Pete — all those guys. You know it’s going to be a competition. You can’t come out here and think you’re going to breeze through it.
“I knew it was coming down to 17 and 18. I put myself in a good position on the 17 green. I just wasn’t able to make the putt 12 feet up the hill. I had to make something happen on 18 because Kyle’s never going to go away.”
Betzold finished third with a 73-65—138, while TJ Wilson carded a 71-70—141 to grab fourth.
“I’ve been playing in this since the 90s, and every year, it’s the only time I get to play with these guys,” Betzold said. “It’s just so much fun. It’s a perfect weekend. If I wasn’t playing in this one, I’d be playing in one somewhere.”
Jeff Mobley and Dave Mosley shared the First Flight title with an identical 82-74-156. Third place was Ed McCoy with a two-day total of 82-76-158.
Second Flight also saw a tie atop the leaderboard with Brady Huff and Scott Baker earning 93-79-172.
Senior Flight winner was Bob Hessler with a 1-under 68 on Sunday to go with a 70 on Day 1 for a 143. Bruce Gilmore was second with a 75-70-145.
“It’s a fun tournament. I look forward to this every year,” Brownley said. “I don’t get to play much tournament golf anymore, so it’s fun to get out and compete again.
“Everybody wants to win, but when it comes down to it, there are more important things in life than winning. I was able to be out here for a third year in a row with my dad on the bag on Father’s Day. It’s always fun to have him right there. We had a good time. We were laughing all day. It’s good to play well.”
Results for the 2024 Hamilton City Golf Championship are listed below:
Championship Flight: Kyle Hodges 69-68—137, Jacob Brownley 65-73—138, Pete Betzold 71-68—139, TJ Wilson 70-71—141, Cole Gronas 71-73—144, Nick Spurlock 70-79—149, Derek Piazza 74-76—150, Gordon Willins 73-78—151, Gunnar Koger 73-80—153, Andrew Schwartz 73-80—153, Danny Moorehead 77-76—153, Austin Sandor 75-79—154, Trace Thomas 78-76—154, Mike Robbins 80-74—154, Joe Brannon 75-80—155, Eric Cook 76-80—156, Mike Smith 79-77—156, Tyler Webb 77-80—157, Eddie Baker 82-78—160, Tyler Richards 86-78—164.
First Flight: Jeff Mobley 74-82—156, Dave Mosley 74-82—156, Nathan Wolpert 76-82—158, Ed McCoy 76-82—158, Tyler Kuhlman 77-82—159, Brady Koger 74-85—159, David Curran 78-82—160, Chris Luehrman 73-89—162, Parrish Ozias 74-88—162, John Turner 76-87—163, Daniel DeJesus 81-83—164, Bryon Simpson 76-89—165, Corey Combs 80-86—166, Scott Timmer 81-85—166, Darrell Grissom 84-83—167, David Sullivan 80-88—168, Bill Hodge 85-83—168, Chris Combs 86-86—172, Jarrett Hodge 84-89—173, Donnie Young 88-86—174.
Second Flight: Scott Baker 79-93—172, Brady Huff 79-93—172, Sam Madden 81-93—174, Ryan Napier 79-95—174, Marty Hubbard 85-91—176, Josh Cornett 83-93—176, Andy Cooney 83-93—176, John Geyer 81-98—179, Tim Bray 85-94—179, Gary Hoffman 85-95—180, Rick Graf 88-94—182, Chris Lindsay 90-94—184, Dean Westermann 91-93—184, Tyler Brunck 86-99—185, Joe Spradling 83-102—185, Pete Kreke 93-93—186, Jason Pate 94-102—196, Steve Creach 100-100—200.
Senior Flight: Bob Hessler 75-68—143, Bruce Gilmore 75-70—145, Ron Reece 76-72—148, Mike Meiner 79-77—156, Gary Young 79-78—157, Joel Price 77-81—158, Jerry Leshner 81-79—160.
