The Mulligan Tour’s Central Division Championship arrived at Golden Fox Golf Course in Plymouth on Sunday, August 16th, and Kevin Gregoire delivered a performance that reminded everyone in the field exactly why his name appears on this trophy more than anyone else in the modern era. The 2026 Players Championship came down to a putt-off lasting five holes between Gregoire and Tom W. Litzler — an opponent who knows this course and this event as well as anyone — and when Litzler’s second putt on the first Sudden Death hole slid past the cup, Gregoire had his third Players Championship title. 2020 at the Majestic. 2024 at Pheasant Run. 2026 at Golden Fox. Three titles, three different courses, three different roads to the same trophy — and a legacy in the Central Division’s flagship event that nobody in the field is close to matching.
For most of the afternoon, it looked like the tournament belonged to someone else entirely. Eric Birkle and Greg Fobare had separated themselves from the field and were locked in their own private battle heading to the par-3 14th. When the dust settled on that hole, Fobare made par and Birkle carded a bogey — and with Litzler and Gregoire both making double bogeys on the same hole, the scoreboard painted a clear picture: Fobare was in the driver’s seat, Birkle a stroke back, and the two veterans had seemingly played themselves out of the championship. Golden Fox’s 14th was a mirage. It showed you one tournament — and then the back four holes revealed an entirely different one.
What happened over holes 15 through 18 erased everything the 14th had promised. Fobare, seemingly in control, carded two bogeys over the final four holes. Birkle matched him — two bogeys of his own — and the pair that looked like the class of the field through 14 holes limped home in a tie for third at net 75 (+3), splitting $16 apiece. Meanwhile, the two players who had looked done at the 14th tee started doing what Mulligan Tour veterans do. Litzler birdied 16, 17, and 18 — three consecutive birdies to seize the clubhouse lead and plant his flag. Gregoire, still on the course with a number to chase, answered with three birdies of his own on 15, 16, and 17 to grab the lead on the 18th tee box. Then KG made a bogey on 18, finished tied at net 74 (+2), and the Central Division Championship went to the putting green.
The four-hole aggregate putt-off was a masterclass in nerve. Through four holes, both players matched each other putt for putt — two-putts all the way down the card, 8 points apiece, deadlocked going into Sudden Death. Then Gregoire rolled in another two-putt. Litzler, needing to match him to extend the competition, just missed his second putt — earning 2nd Place at the Players for the second time in his career. The Players Championship was Gregoire’s. Ned Loving rounded out the paid positions in fifth at net 77 (+5) for $8, with Jeff Klipa and Chris Stalo sharing sixth at net 78 (+6) for $5.50 apiece, and Corey McCue eighth at net 79 (+7) for $2.
The Players Championship has been contested since 1999 and is one of the oldest events on the Mulligan Tour schedule. Kevin Gregoire’s name now appears on the trophy three times, placing him among the most decorated players in the tournament’s history. He won this event by wire-to-wire dominance in 2020, survived a three-way playoff in 2024, and now closed out a putting green showdown in 2026. Three different paths to the same trophy. What the 14th hole gave to Litzler in form, the putting green took away — and what it gave to Gregoire was a third championship title and a legacy that only deepens with each passing season.