O’Dell Repeats as WV Mid-Amateur Champion

As dense fog welcomed the players on the final day of the 14^th WV Mid-Amateur Championship which began Monday at Pete Dye Golf Club. Four players were all that was left entering this morning’s semifinal matches as Ryan Mason of Bridgeport faced off against South Charleston’s Philip Reale II and Hurricane’s Sam O’Dell battled Bridgeport’s Todd Westfall. Following a thirty minute fog delay the matches were set as Mason and Reale went off first.

The golf started hot early as Mason and Reale both made birdies on the first hole. It was Mason who struck first claiming the win on the par-4 second hole and taking a 1up lead. The match was brought back to all square following a win on the difficult par-3 fourth by Reale when Mason found the water hazard off of his tee shot. Not letting the previous hole falter his game Mason made birdie on the fifth hole to once again take the lead. On the very next hole Mason failed to get up and down after short-siding himself on the approach and the match was once again all square. It was more back and forth between the two on holes 8, 9, and 10 as Reale won eight, Mason won nine, and Reale captured ten. Reale then took control of the match with victories on the twelfth and thirteenth to take a three up lead heading into fourteen. Mason wasn’t done though. After a win on the fourteenth and fifteenth Reale’s lead was back down to one. The two traded pars on the sixteenth and seventeenth and Mason was unable to make birdie on the last to extend the match. Reale advanced into the afternoon finals with a 1up victory. In the second semifinal match it was Sam O’Dell facing off against Todd Westfall. O’Dell started off on fire winning each of the first four holes. Westfall got one back on the par-5 fifth and then claimed the eighth and the ninth after O’Dell found trouble off his drive. Heading to the back nine O’Dell found himself with just a 1up lead. O’Dell quickly found momentum once again winning the tenth, twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth holes to close out Westfall with a 5&4 victory.

In the championship match it was O’Dell who struck first carding an impressive birdie on the par-4 second hole to take a 1up lead. He then made back to back birdies on the sixth and seventh holes to take a commanding 3up lead. The pair traded pars up until the par-3 thirteenth when O’Dell failed to get up and down from short left of the green and Reale gained one back. O’Dell then quickly got it back with a birdie on the fourteenth after a stellar approach shot. Reale won fifteen to get back to within two of O’Dell but on the 247 yard par-3 sixteenth it was O’Dell who drained a 70ft birdie putt to close out the match with a 3&2 victory and claimed his second consecutive WV Mid-Amateur Title.

For more information on the WVGA and the 14^th WV Mid-Amateur please visit us online at www.wvga.org and see results below.