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Course-Record 61, Personal Best Leads Holmes to Falcon Amateur Victory

Course-Record 61, Personal Best Leads Holmes to Falcon Amateur Victory

A course-record and personal best 61 launched Mitchell Holmes to a Falcon Amateur win, his first ever AGA title. Holmes, 27, of Scottsdale, finished the 36-hole stroke play tournament at 12-under after posting 61-69 at Falcon Dunes Golf Cours in Waddell.

“I wanted to make as many birdies as I possibly could out here and I did that yesterday,”said Holmes, crediting extra practice on the greens for his remarkable first round. “A couple of weeks ago, I found out you can’t score low without making putts. I’ve spent a lot of time on the putting green and that paid off.”

Mike Wagner, Sean St. Clair and Brett Howard finished the tournament at 7-under 135 to tie for second.

Shattering the course record during the opening round on Friday, Holmes entered the final round four shots clear of Brett Howard and a packed leaderboard. He held off his chasers after a 20-footer from off the green for birdie on No. 8, building his lead to six, making the turn with a 2-under 33.

“I almost thought the ball had a magnet because it went straight in the hole,” Holmes said about his birdie on No. 8.

Holmes battled the back nine, answering bogeys on 12 and 15 with birdies on 13 and 16.

“I made a nice birdie putt on 16 that let me know I could get the job done,” the champion said. “It was pretty easy.

“Today’s goal was to keep the ball in play and stay with it and not let anything take control for the rest of the day. I have been trying for a long time. Mainly the last two years, I’ve been playing in a lot of events with a lot of second and third place finishes. Today, I got it done.”

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