Tim Markel has major win at Eagle Crest, winning wide open Open
Tim Markel followed a Saturday 69 with a Sunday 74 to finish at 1-under par 143 and a 3-stroke win in the 2012 Commercial Underwriters Harbour Pointe Open. Markel’s 2nd career win was a major victory for the Ann Arbor resident. Before this, he had 8 top-4’s in 61 starts with his first win coming just 13 months ago at the Western Swing.
Markel started the championship round a shot behind Sam Akunuri but 4-strokes ahead of Charlie Roy and the ’07 Open champ Jeff Klipa. Akunuri, the 18-hole leader last year as well, struggled on Sunday recording 4 of the dreaded “other” scores (double-bogey or worse). He finished in 4th with a 2 round total of 4-over 148.
Klipa (73-80 – 153) and Roy (73-84 – 157) could never mount a charge. Instead, it was Jon Heikkinen that nearly gave the 14th HPO a come-from-behind winner. Tied for 10th to start the final round, Heikkinen posted 8 birdies and an eagle to tie for the lead with 2 holes to play. But his 2nd triple-bogey of the day came at the par-4 18th and relegated the 3rd year pro to 2nd place.
Young Tom Litzler (76-71 – 147) was the only other player to break par on Sunday. He finished in 3rd place. Litzler, Klipa, Akunuri and Mike Prieskorn were the only players to make the cut (+5) that had major titles on their resumes. Many of the Tour’s low handicappers missed the cut on Saturday – including Greg Kline (78), Lou Acosta (80), Kelly Arnold (80) and Joe Robar (82). Past champs Rick Persichetti (82) and Erik Meland (82) also missed the cut as the HP Open was, indeed, wide open.
Markel moves up to 7th place on the Money Standings ($59.00) and secures a spot in the TOUR Championship in September.
Full results and history: Harbour Pointe Open
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