Published Wednesday, August 06, 2008 in Sports
Busy Detmer picks up win at Senior Championship
By Tony Jones
The Times-Herald
Wyatt Detmer should grab the nearest chair and have a seat. The Orchard Hills head pro deserves a bit of relaxation following a lengthy week of travel and golf.
Detmer wrapped up 108 holes of consecutive competitive golf on Tuesday afternoon at Jekyll Island as he prevailed in the Georgia PGA Senior Division Championship.
The tournament, one of four Georgia PGA Senior events, was contested at Pine Lakes. Detmer carded rounds of 67-71 to win by two shots over Lonnie Reece (71-69) of Elijay.
Newnan Country Club professional Ted Meier also competed in the event. Meier posted rounds of 72-74.
Following his play in the Georgia Open in Adairsville, Detmer was about to embark on a six hour trip to the Georgia coast.
"My biggest concern about competing at Jekyll involves the switch from bent greens to bermuda greens," he said.
Different greens. No problem.
Before he played the first hole on Monday, Detmer made a pivotal change. He switched his putter and went with one he felt would be more conducive to bermuda greens.
It worked. A four-birdie barrage on the back-side led to the opening round 67. He held a one-shot lead going into Tuesday's final round over Atlanta Country Club golfer Bill Johnstone.
Detmer played consistent golf on Tuesday. He birdied only two holes, but didn't feel the urge to attempt to stack up a high number of them.
"I played smart golf and I never lost the lead," he said. "When you're ahead and the field isn't closing sharply, you can afford to make pars."
Detmer started out his round with birdie. A solid drive and a well hit three-wood landed him in two on the right edge of the opening hole. Detmer two-putted for birdie.
He remained one-under for his round until he three-putted the ninth hole. Detmer got that lost shot back two holes later when the combination of driver/five-wood set up another two-putt birdie at No.11.
Detmer, who also made time on Monday and Tuesday for a couple of jogs and a swim, talked about his last week.
"I played very well. After 108 holes, I finished three-under. I tried to stay active and sharp," he said. "I had noticed in Adairsville this weekend that the younger guys were hitting the range following their rounds. I decided to follow that trend at Jekyll. It takes that sort of committment to be at the top."