Pryce Victorious in Playoff at 19th WGA Public Links Championship
STAMFORD, Conn. (June 21, 2017) – After several close calls in the past, Herrol Pryce of Baychester broke through to claim the 19th WGA Public Links Championship on Wednesday at Sterling Farms Golf Course, doing so with a birdie on the first hole of a three-man sudden-death playoff.
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“I’ve been close a few times,” remarked Pryce after his victory, “and now I get a chance to hold this trophy, so I’m pretty happy right now.”
Pryce, Chris Kelly of Centennial and Eric Bleile of Sterling Farms all carded matching rounds of 2-over 74s, requiring extra holes to determine a champion.
“I knew I could drive the green, so I decided I wanted to get it over quick,” said Pryce of his thoughts on the tee of the short par-four first hole. Though Pryce didn’t hit a great tee shot, he had an opening to the green. His pitch shot landed within four feet of the hole, securing a birdie and the win.
Though Pryce had an admittedly shaky start to his round, he capitalized on some good breaks early and only made one bogey in the first several holes. He settled in, tallying three birdies and four bogeys the rest of the way.
“From there I really started hitting the ball pretty well and hit some really good shots, even though my putter was a little bit shaky,” Pryce remarked. “But, I actually struck the ball pretty well today.”
Pryce appeared to be falling off late after bogeys on Nos. 16 and 17, but he bounced back with a birdie-four on the finishing hole to secure himself a spot in the playoff and eventually hoist the trophy.
Terence Opiola of Patriot Hills and MGA eClub – Wch/Ct member Brian McClure rounded out the top-five finishers with rounds of 77 and 79, respectively.
The 19th WGA Public Links Championship was played in conjunction with a qualifying round for the 70th MGA Public Links Championship—which will take place July 6 at Ballyowen Golf Club in Hamburg, N.J.—allowing competitors competing for the WGA title to elect to count their score toward qualifying for the MGA Public Links.