The 2026 Sparty Classic at Fieldstone Golf Course in Auburn Hills had a story hiding in the draw before the first ball was struck Sunday morning. John Ferlito hadn’t played a Mulligan Tour tournament in over a year. Shoulder surgery sidelined him, kept him off the course through recovery, and sent him to the back of the line while the tour kept moving without him. Sunday at Fieldstone, he showed up with his shoulder healed and his game fully loaded — two eagles, five birdies, 57% fairways, and just 28 putts — and walked off with the 2026 Sparty Classic trophy at net 70 (-2). First tournament back. First win. Welcome back, John Ferlito.

That 28-putt number tells a story all by itself. On a course playing at rating 70.4 and slope 132, the players who win at Fieldstone earn it from all parts of the bag, and Ferlito’s putter was as dialed in as anything else he brought to the course Sunday. Two eagles. Five birdies. Twenty-eight putts. The whole game was on — fairways, greens, the short stuff. The kind of performance that, on a different day in different company, might win by five. Sunday it won by four, because the players trying to chase him down were working hard.

Corey McCue made the most serious bid. Armed with four birdies and a 67% greens-in-regulation percentage — one of the cleanest approach-shot performances of the day — McCue posted a net 74 (+2) and shared second place, which is exactly where you’d expect to find one of the Sparty Classic’s most decorated champions on a given Sunday at Fieldstone. The two-time title holder had the iron game to win. Ferlito’s eagle production was just too much to overcome. Tied with McCue in second was Jeff Feikens, who made the most compelling back-nine run in the field. Two birdies on the front side got him started. Then on the back nine, Feikens turned it up — an eagle plus three more birdies, with 79% fairways hit all day providing the platform for that kind of scoring. Feikens’ back-nine charge made it interesting. Ferlito didn’t flinch.

Fourth place went to Jonathan Barnes and Scott Wilsey, tied at net 75. Barnes arrived at Fieldstone doing what Barnes does — 71% fairways, 56% greens in regulation, playing a quiet, controlled round that keeps him in every conversation until the final card is signed. He didn’t have the scoring burst to catch Ferlito, but the consistency was there from the first tee to the last green. Wilsey, meanwhile, quietly put together one of the best weekends on the Mulligan Tour in 2026 — a runner-up at the Chelsea Classic on Saturday, followed by a share of fourth at Fieldstone on Sunday. Two events in two days on two different courses and he cashed both times. That’s the kind of back-to-back performance that quietly moves the needle on a money title race.

Eric Kiekbusch finished sixth at net 76 in a solid, unspectacular round at a course where he’s shown up before. Anthony Dean, the Sweet Sixteen champion, finished seventh at net 77 — still building on a season that produced his first career win just a week ago. Rod Theunissen checked in at tied eighth at net 78, consistent as always at Fieldstone where he finished tied for fourth in 2025.

A note on the field: Jeff Graunke, the defending Sparty Classic champion, was a late withdrawal before tee time. The reigning title holder never got a chance to defend on the course where he won last spring. The door opened, and Ferlito walked through it.

Closest to the Pin on #2 for a $20 Account credit went to rookie Mike Wassman. On #14 for $10 cash the award went to Helen Puffenberger as usual at the Sparty.

The 2026 Sparty Classic is in the books, and the Mulligan Tour season is now four weekends deep with five different winners. Birkle. Dean. Fox. Markel. Ferlito. Nobody has gone back-to-back. Nobody has run away with the money title. The leaderboard is wide open, and the calendar still has the Memorial, the HPO, the Match Play, and the Tour Championship all waiting on the other side of the spring. Fieldstone handed out a trophy on Sunday. The tour doesn’t stop to admire it for long.