“It’s still sweet,” said Hodges, who beat Sullivan by one stroke for the second year in a row to add to the championships he collected in 2006 and 2008.
In an effort to draw more entrants, the city shortened the tournament to 36 holes so golfers wouldn’t have to take a day off work Friday. Another new wrinkle was holding the first round at Potter Park and the final round at Twin Run.
Hodges and Sullivan began the day tied after shooting 3-under 66 Saturday at Potter’s, but Hodges used four birdies and one bogey to build a three-stroke lead with three holes to go Sunday.
Sullivan birdied the final two holes to make things interesting, but Hodges needed only to two-putt uphill from 30 feet away to hold on for the win, finishing his final round at 3-under for a 66-69—135.
“It just wasn’t enough,” Sullivan said. “I played pretty well all day, but I hadn’t played here since high school so I didn’t remember a lot about the course and couldn’t get comfortable. But it was fun, and the best player won.”
Hodges, a 2005 Hamilton High School grad, said battling Sullivan, a 2005 Fairfield grad, in the final round the last two years was a lot of fun and brought make memories from their prep days.
“We both understand that we’re not making a living at this game, so it’s not too intense out there,” Hodges said. “I enjoy playing with Jeff. He’s a great guy, and we were joking around the whole day and complimenting each other on good shots. We had a good time.”
Steve Ronnigen finished three strokes back in third with a 67-71—138, while former champ Ron Nichting (70-74—144) and Pete Betzold (71-73—144) rounded out the top five.
Adam Latulippe won the Flight A championship with a 76-76—152, edging Alex Sutter (78-75—153) by one stroke, while Corey Combs (82-74—156) ran away with the Flight B title by eight strokes.
Danny Boyd captured the Senior Division with a 72-76—148.
Hodges, who also has three runner-up finishes to his credit (2003, 2005, 2007), becomes just the sixth man to win at least four city titles, joining Sam Spadafora (1935, 1937, 1938, 1941, 1943), Joe Miller Jr. (1957, 1959, 1960, 1971, 1989), Dr. Harold Biedenbender (1947, 1948, 1949, 1955), Joe Urso (1961, 1968, 1975, 1976) and Terry Johnson (1984, 1986, 1991, 1995).
“The ultimate goal is to keep winning them and hopefully be mentioned with that group of names,” Hodges said.
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