SPRINGDALE — Steven Dixon knows all about the great tradition involved with the Dwight Collins Chick-A-Tee Invitational.
Sunday, he added his own name to the tournament’s history.
Dixon, a regular golfer at Springdale Country Club and the defending stroke play champion at the club, won the 75th Chick-A-Tee with a three-day, 54-hole total of 8-under par 208. That included a final round 2-under 70, which was enough to hold off runner-up Kyle Fouts by two strokes.
“I’m very happy,” Dixon said. “This is the tournament I’ve always wanted to win. I grew up out here watching David Dyer and other guys like Ike Brewer last year. “And it was just good enough today. I didn’t think it would be after a slow start, but I got it done.”
Dixon found himself in familiar position entering Sunday’s final round. Playing in the final foursome, he began the day two strokes off the lead and quickly dug the hole deeper with a double bogey on his first hole.
It didn’t take Dixon long to turn his final round the right way, battling back to finish the first nine holes at 1-over par. By the time he headed to his last nine of the round, Dixon had evened up with second-day leaders Josh Farrell and Byron Shumate.
Birdies then followed at holes 10 and 11 and Dixon’s playing partners, Farrell, Shumate and Jacob Bartel could not catch up.
“By nine I had gotten it even and then I made the birdies on our 10th and 11th holes,” Dixon said. “From there I just kind of played it out.”
Dixon’s top competition actually came from the group playing just in front of him on Sunday. Kyle Fouts also raced off a pair of birdies on his last nine holes, moving at one point to 3-under on the day and 7-under in the tournament.
But a bogey by Fouts at the difficult, uphill par 4 8th hole — playing as No. 17 on Sunday — was too much to overcome.
“I put that ball there where you can’t put it — over the green,” said Fouts, who recently completed his collegiate golf career at Northeastern State University. “I was really anxious and pumped up when that happened.
“But I still came back and shoot a 33 on my last nine, so I was pretty happy.”
Farrell, a former University of Arkansas golfer, shot 75 on Sunday to finish tied for third, along with Michael Chaney, at 5-under 211.
At A Glance
Dwight Collins Chick-A-Tee Invitational
RESULTS:
CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT
Steven Dixon ^ 68-70-70 — 208
Kyle Fouts ^ 69-71-70 — 210
Josh Farrell ^ 68-68-75 — 211
Michael Chaney ^ 70-71-70 — 211
Byron Shumate ^ 67-69-76 — 212
Jacob Bartel ^ 71-68-76 — 215
Brett Granata ^ 66-74-76 — 216
PRESIDENT FLIGHT
Icem Brewer ^ 70-74-68 — 212
Drew Stewart ^ 70-75-70 — 215
Evan Wood ^ 72-73-73 — 218
Rob Costner ^ 75-72-74 — 221
Rob Cummings ^ 72-75-74 — 221
Corey Nichols ^ 72-79-70 — 221
Chris Collins ^ 68-77-79 — 224
Chase Foster ^ 77-74-74 — 225
Roger Voss ^ 74-77-77 — 228
Phil Ford ^ 71-77-82 — 230
Greg Granata ^74-75-82 — 231
K.C. Jeffries ^ 76-74-83 — 233
FIRST FLIGHT
Brian Taylor ^ 78-76-66 — 220
Kirk Miller ^ 79-73-73 — 225
Les Taylor ^ 80-76-71 — 227
Corbin Cauldwell ^ 76-76-76 — 228
Mike Brown ^ 77-76-77 — 230
Roger Clark ^ 78-75-78 — 231
Stan Stockton ^ 78-74-79 — 231
Mike Lawson ^ 76-78-78 — 232
Matt Gilliam ^ 83-75-74 — 232
John Robinson III ^ 74-82-76 — 232
Terry Key ^ 75-82-76 — 233
Jerry Triska ^ 81-76-76 — 233
Donnie Ganoung ^ 81-76-76 — 233
Adam Ruff ^ 80-79-76 — 235
James Bolinger ^ 78-81-76 — 235
Clark Greenhaw ^ 77-79-80 — 236
Kenny Harriman ^ 80-78-79 — 237
Rick McClintock ^ 82-77-78 — 237
Bill Bailey ^ 78-81-79 — 238
Kraig Williams ^ 80-77-82 — 239
Timmy Graham ^ 75-77-88 — 240
Nick Emerson ^ 76-80-84 — 240
Ronnie Ruff ^ 82-77-81 — 240
Jamie Prendergast ^ 76-83-83 — 242
Kent Williamson ^ 81-75-87 — 243
Walter White ^ 78-79-86 — 243
Chuck Coleman ^ 82-75-87 — 244
SECOND FLIGHT
Don Neal ^ 82-78-79 — 239
Lyle Rhodes ^ 79-82-79 — 240
Doug Moore ^ 78-82-80 — 240
Mike Lyman ^ 81-79-82 — 242
Rodger Dunigan ^ 77-83-83 — 243
Eric Crowley ^ 82-82-80 — 244
Jamie Hussey ^ 81-79-85 — 245
Jeff Whorton ^ 80-82-83 — 245
Dustin Anderson ^ 83-78-85 — 246
Ron Syler ^ 83-85-80 — 248
Perry Webb ^ 80-85-83 — 248
Sean Barrows ^ 82-84-83 — 249
John Baker ^ 78-82-89 — 249
Clark Irwin ^ 78-84-85 — 249
Jody Keene ^ 83-85-81 — 249
Knight Weis ^ 84-81-85 — 250
Warren Center ^ 87-80-84 — 251
Bob Pinkleton ^ 86-80-86 — 252
Mike Morse ^ 83-85-85 — 253
Joe Smiley ^ 83-82-88 — 253
Gene Anderson ^ 82-85-87 — 254
John Griffin ^ 85-82-87 — 254
Bill Locke ^ 84-84-86 — 254
Joe Herriman ^ 84-82-89 — 255
Bert Cupit ^ 84-84-97 — 265
THIRD FLIGHT
Jim Casey ^ 80-89-75 — 244
Tim Alderson ^ 82-88-78 — 248
James Jech ^ 91-83-75 — 249
Mike Pinkerton ^ 87-84-79 — 250
Robert Farrell ^ 87-84-83 — 254
Booter Duffield ^ 83-88-84 — 255
Gerald Easterling ^ 90-84-81 — 255
Andy Schuck ^ 87-88-81 — 256
Roger Ecke ^ 85-88-83 — 256
Robert Boatman ^ 89-85-84 — 258
Ben Dye ^ 88-84-86 — 258
Steve Rinnert ^ 85-90-83 — 258
Tommy Rogers ^ 86-88-85 — 259
Whit Weeks ^ 89-85-86 — 260
Greg Lee ^ 85-89-87 — 261
John Spencer ^ 84-85-94 — 263
Beau Hollingsworth ^ 79-94-90 — 263
Larry Weeks ^ 91-84-88 — 263
Aaron Bewley ^ 84-85-100 — 269
Arthur Baldwin ^ 87-84 — WD
FOURTH FLIGHT
Taylor DeWeese ^ 89-87-79 — 255
Ron Corners ^ 85-92-83 — 260
Jon Dellinger ^ 90-87-85 — 262
Sean Huggins ^ 95-82-88 — 265
JD Maestri ^ 85-94-88 — 267
Robert Swanson ^ 83-93-91 — 267
James Young ^ 90-91-86 — 267
Bill Corbin ^ 86-90-92 — 268
Mike Storms ^ 88-93-87 — 268
Doug Steele ^ 80-99-90 — 269
John Gladden ^ 92-85-92 — 269
James Marshall ^ 93-90-86 — 269
Bruce Simon ^ 86-90-94 — 270
John Crittenden ^ 90-93-88 — 271
Farzod Sianmakoun ^ 93-88-90 — 271
Jay Billingsley ^ 93-86-93 — 272
Bob Young ^ 94-86-92 — 272
Scott Bailey ^ 85-94-95 — 274
Rodney Pless ^ 89-96-91 — 276
David Ruff ^ 90-93-94 — 277
Jason Bedford ^ 94-89-95 — 278
FIFTH FLIGHT
Robert Hoke ^ 99-99-88 — 286
Bill Zemke ^ 93-105-91 — 289
Lee Traweek ^ 97-109-91 — 297
Thomas Crosier ^ 98-109-91 — 298
Trey Biddy ^ 101-103-96 — 300
Daniel Maestri ^ 96-97-110 — 303
Odell Taylor ^ 103-108-93 — 304
Charles Greathouse ^ 110-97-98 — 305
Tommy Granata ^ 113-109-100 — 322
Bobby Granata ^ 116-109-114 — 339
Tom Crosier ^ 117-118-105 — 340
John Good ^ 100-99 — WD
SENIOR FLIGHT
Hickory Morton ^ 73-77-70 — 220
Gary Compton ^ 73-77-71 — 221
Don Isham ^ 76-75-79 — 230
Harold Downum ^ 77-83-78 — 238
Joe Moore ^ 81-76-76 — 233
Don Mobley ^ 80-84-81 — 245
Gene Holt ^ 84-81-82 — 247
Grant Hall ^ 93-78-77 — 248
John Robinson, Jr. ^ 87-85-85 — 257
Jim Boatman ^ 84-79-96 — 259
Joe Barber ^ 85-83-84 — 252
Ron Young ^ 86-94-80 — 260
Bill Jimison ^ 87-82-91 — 260
David Jeffrey ^ 90-91-85 — 266
Wally Switzer ^ 90-86-91 — 267
Mike McNeese ^ 86-93-90 — 269
Bill Elliot ^ 88-95-96 — 275
Mike Baker ^ 87-101-88 — 276
Harry Green ^ 102-88-97 — 287