Sam O’Dell Captures 13th WV Mid-Amateur Championship

(Sissonville, WV) The final day of the 13^th WV Mid-Amateur Championship at Edgewood Country Club welcomed the four semifinalist to a third straight day of terrific weather. The first of two semifinalist matches paired the 1 seed, Sam O’Dell, against the fourth seeded, Pat Carter. The match was a back and forth battle as Carter took a 1up lead after the fourth. It was back to all square after the par-3 sixth hole when O’Dell made a birdie, 2. Heading into the back nine it was Carter who held a 1up lead after winning the ninth. O’Dell then won the twelfth and fourteenth holes to take a 1up lead. Carter then got the match back to all square when he won the fifteenth. Heading into the 18^th tee the match was once again all square. Carter missed his birdie putt leaving an open door for O’Dell to make his birdie to take the victory 1up. In the second semifinal match it was third seeded, Tad Tomblin, against the nineteenth seeded, Adam Sholes. Tomblin jumped out to an early 3up lead after winning holes three, four, and five before Sholes claimed the sixth and eighth holes to get it back to a Tomblin 1up lead. Tomblin then rolled in a birdie putt on the ninth to go back to 2up heading to the back nine. A Sholes win on the fourteenth got the match back to within one but Tomblin closed it out by winning the sixteenth and claiming a 2&1 victory.

The championship match paired the top two seeds together, Sam O’Dell and Tad Tomblin as they both looked to claim the 13^th Mid-Amateur Championship title. O’Dell struck early by draining a long birdie putt on the first hole to take a 1up lead. He then proceeded to make birdies on the third, fifth, sixth, and eighth holes to card an opening nine of five under-par, 29. This incredible front nine was good enough to give O’Dell a 5up lead making the turn. Not slowing down, O’Dell the won the 10^th hole to go 6up on Tomblin. Tomblin then began clawing back as he birdied the eleventh and twelfth holes to get back to within 4 of O’Dell. Sam then won the difficult par-3 13^th with a par and got the match to dormie. When Tomblin’s putt slid past the hole on the 14^th the match was conceded and O’Dell claimed his fourth WV Mid-Amateur Title with a 6&4 victory.