Nick Rousey made it to Fayetteville just in time for his brother-in-law's wedding Saturday night after playing the first round of the Arkansas Open at Burns Park in North Little Rock.
Rousey, of Pensacola, Fla., got back to central Arkansas around 1 a.m. Sunday, then won the 43rd annual tournament after shooting a 4-under 67 to defeat defending champion Patrick Sullivan of Maumelle by three strokes.
Rousey, 36, overcame a five-shot deficit to Sullivan early in the round, caught him at the 17th with an up-and-down from a bunker, then birdied the 18th as Sullivan labored through a double bogey.
"The goal coming into today was to get within smelling distance of him," said Rousey, after receiving a congratulatory call from Little Rock's Glen Day, a PGA Tour veteran and four-time winner of the Arkansas Open. "I've been playing pretty well the last couple of weeks and I wanted to use this as the last tournament before going to Q[ualifying] school."
Sullivan, 33, started the day with a four-stroke lead after opening with a 9-under 62 on Saturday. He upped the lead to five when Rousey bogeyed the par-3 second. Things went downhill for the former UALR player when he double-bogeyed the par-5 fourth, leading to a one-shot lead at the turn.
Sullivan and Rousey, who received first prize of $4,000, were tied when they reached the par-5 18th, but Sullivan's tee shot found a creek bed right. He then tried to play out of it, hooking his second shot left into a pond leading to the double bogey.
"I didn't think my tee shot would get to the creek and it was so soft down in there," Sullivan said. "I hit my second shot solid but all I was thinking was I had to make birdie because I knew he would make birdie."
Earlier, Rousey pulled within one shot at the par-5 ninth when he birdied and Sullivan three-putted for a double bogey. Rousey finally caught Sullivan on the 10th with a birdie, but lost a stroke on the 12th. The key hole before the 18th came at the par-3 16th when Sullivan left his tee shot short, then saw his par putt from 7 feet horseshoe the hole for a bogey. Rousey, in the sand behind the hole off the tee, had an awkward stance but managed to angle himself where he blasted to within 5 feet before making the par putt.
"If I had the perfect lie that shot would have been impossible because I was in a rake mark," said Rousey, who had two third-place finishes on the Web.com Tour in 2013 and 37th on the money list. "At one point I thought about putting, but I had a little time to think about it because Patrick was out. I decided against it right before I did something dumb. The stance was bad, but I decided just to hit the shot and see what happens.
"It was one of those right time, right shot kind-of-moments."
Sullivan said Sunday's 2-over 73 was in direct contrast from Saturday's opening 62.
"The whole front side I kept it on the wrong side of the hole," he said. "It was frustrating at times. I just couldn't get my speed right, but he did what he needed to on 16. That was an unbelievable up-and-down."
Cameron Meyers, 27, of Oklahoma City, finished in a three-way tie for third with Griffin Locke and Sean Romero at 5-under 137. Meyers got to within two shots of the top two after a birdie at the par-4 10th, but fell out of contention when he had to take a penalty shot on the 14th when his ball moved just before he played his second shot.
Sports on 10/03/2016