Bales finishes off the field, wins the HPO by 13 strokes
Thom Bales followed an opening 65 with a final round 70 to finish at 9-under par 135 and claim the first 36-hole Commercial Underwriters Harbour Pointe Open title. Bales was the only player to finish in red numbers and finished 13 strokes ahead of Lou Acosta.
Bales essentially ended the tournament at the par-5 turn, making birdie 4’s at the 8th, 9th and 10th to reach 10-under for the championship. He is the 2nd player to win the Memorial and the HPO in the same year and will continue his pursuit of the Grand Slam at the Match Play Championship in late July.
Acosta started the championship round 8 shots back of Bales tied for 6th place. He followed a first round 73 with a second round 75 to finish at 4-over 148, 1-stroke ahead Dennis LeMaitre.
LeMaitre was the only player within 5 shots of Bales after a Saturday 68 but never could mount any pressure on the leader. His final round 81 left him in 3rd place at 5-over 149. A 4-way tie for 4th included the 2004 HPO champ Rick Persichetti along with Young Tom Litzler, John Powell and Joe Robar. Persichetti made the biggest move on Sunday climbing from T-11 to get a piece of 4th.
Saturday’s opening round included 37 Touring pros among the 46 players. The cut line for the top-16 players was 7-over 79. All 17 players that made the cut participated in Sunday’s championship round as the HPO conducted the first 36-hole tournament in Tour history. The players also raised $465 for the Lennon Pregnancy Center of Dearborn Heights. Dan Schwartz of Commercial Underwriters Risk Management Inc presented the Center with the contribution.
Todd Stuart, a Tour member from 1999 – 2001 and an annual guest at the HPO, made a hole-in-one at the tough 215-yard, par-3 3rd hole. He also finished as low amateur for the 5th time since retiring from the Tour.
2010 Harbour Pointe Open champ Dan Schwartz awards a $465 contribution to Thom Bales and Dan Schwartz Katherine Lennon of the Lennon Center
Full results and history: Harbour Pointe Open
← All newsAll Harbour Pointe Open storiesHarbour Pointe Open history & results
