2009 Four-Ball Championship

Butler, Dietzel Go Wire-to-Wire to Win Four-Ball Championship
Winners card 65 in final round to win by three shots

ACWORTH, Ga. – Robert Butler of Atlanta and Chris Dietzel of Monroe shot 7-under-par 65 in the final round and finished at 21-under 195 to win the Georgia Four-Ball Championship by three shots over defending champions Louis Brown of Smyrna and Mark Strickland of Woodstock and Cartersville's Chase Jones and Jayce Stepp. The 38th annual Championship took place at Governors Towne Club, April 24-26.

Jeff Belk of Marietta and Erik Martin of Alpharetta finished fourth at 15-under 201, improving upon their sixth place finish in this event a year ago. The 2006 champions, Doug Hanzel of Savannah and Bob Royak of Alpharetta, tied for fifth with Kris Mikkelsen of Atlanta and Sam Hulsey of Gainesville at 202. Three teams tied for seventh at 204, including Doug Green of Cumming and David Noll Jr. of Dalton, Jordan Johnstun of Evans and Ryan Zabroske of Alpharetta, and Ryan Chitwood of Alto and Seth Parmer of Bowdon. Adam Cooper of Columbus and Paul Kite of Cataula rounded out the top 10, placing 10th at 11-under 205.

Going into the final round, Butler and Dietzel held a one-stroke lead over Jones and Stepp and Chitwood and Parmer, and were paired with Jones and Stepp for the final round. Butler and Dietzel added to their lead with an eagle on the 502-yard second hole, while Jones and Stepp settled for birdie. Two birdies at holes 5 and 7 for the leaders moved them to 18-under for the Championship at the turn, giving them a four-stroke cushion over Jones and Stepp.

However, Brown and Strickland, playing one group ahead, were making a charge of their own after entering the day in fourth place, The defending champs carded six birdies and one bogey over their first eight holes to move to 17-under at the turn. In fact, as Butler and Dietzel were turning at 18-under, Brown and Strickland birdied No. 10 to move into a tie for the lead. Brown and Strickland briefly took the lead with birdies at both 12 and 13, but Butler and Dietzel followed suit, and were 20-under through 13 as Brown and Strickland bogeyed both 14 and 15 to fall back to 18-under, which is where they finished.

Butler and Dietzel held steady with pars on holes 14-17, but then saw a late rally from Jones and Stepp, who carded three-straight birdies over the last three holes to move to 18-under and into a tie for second with Brown and Strickland. Dietzel connected on a 10-foot birdie putt at 18 for a 21-under total for the Championship and the three-shot margin of victory.

Chitwood and Parmer, although they entered the day just one stroke off the lead, carded a final-round 73 and fell out of contention.

Butler and Dietzel enjoyed a bogey-free final round and had just two over the 54-hole Championship. Over the three days they also carded two eagles and 19 birdies. This event was just the second time they teamed up together to compete in a four-ball tournament, after placing third in the 2008 Peach Blossom at Idle Hour Club in Macon. Both players are recent returnees to competitive amateur golf. Butler finished runner-up to Carter Mize in the 1993 Georgia Amateur at The Golf Club of Georgia, then turned pro and played on mini-tours for several years. Dietzel was a pro in the Georgia Section PGA for a number of years. Both regained their amateur status about five years ago.

Governors Towne Club played to 7,297 yards for the final round.

The field of 80 teams was cut to the low 40 and ties after 36 holes, with the cut falling at 4-under-par 140 and 41 teams advancing to the final round.
Entries were open to two-man teams of male amateur golfers who are GSGA members.

 

Final Results

1 Robert Butler, Atlanta 63 67 65 195 -21
Chris Dietzel, Monroe
T2 Louis Brown, Smyrna 65 67 66 198 -18
Mark Strickland, Woodstock
T2 Chase Jones, Cartersville 65 66 67 198 -18
Jayce Stepp, Cartersville
4 Jeff Belk, Marietta 68 66 67 201 -15
Erik Martin, Alpharetta
T5 Doug Hanzel, Savannah 70 66 66 202 -14
Bob Royak, Alpharetta
T5 Kris Mikkelsen, Atlanta 67 66 69 202 -14
Sam Hulsey, Gainesville
T7 Doug Green, Cumming 70 66 68 204 -12
David Noll Jr., Dalton
T7 Jordan Johnstun, Evans 67 68 69 204 -12
Ryan Zabroske, Alpharetta
T7 Ryan Chitwood, Alto 65 66 73 204 -12
Seth Parmer, Bowdon
10 Adam Cooper, Columbus 70 68 67 205 -11
Paul Kite, Cataula
T11 Adam Cohan, Savannah 69 68 69 206 -10
Taylor Hall, LaGrange
T11 William Mitchell, Roswell 67 68 71 206 -10
Christian Raynor, Kennesaw
T11 Jim Bell, Newnan 70 67 69 206 -10
Michael Bugden, Newnan
T11 Todd Kohout, Atlanta 70 66 70 206 -10
Sterling Hale, Atlanta
T15 Randy Donahoo, Kennesaw 71 67 69 207 -9
Robert Sheats, Atlanta
T15 Mike Brown, Atlanta 70 70 67 207 -9
Peter Persons, Macon
T15 Brian Davidson, Baldwin 69 71 67 207 -9
Scott Pitts, Cornelia
T15 Travis Moore, Atlanta 68 70 69 207 -9
William Allen, Marietta
T19 Carter Collins, Statesboro 71 68 69 208 -8
Steve Collins, Claxton
T19 Brad Clark, Atlanta 67 70 71 208 -8
Jeremy Elliott, Atlanta
T19 Nic Daugharty, Valdosta 70 68 70 208 -8
Casey Willis, Tifton
T19 Mark Lyons, Mableton 69 69 70 208 -8
Winston Morris, Marietta
T19 Mike Cromer, Norcross 71 66 71 208 -8
Bubba Gwyn, Duluth
T19 Mike Combs, Roswell 69 69 70 208 -8
Bob Crean, Roswell
T25 Scott Davenport, Marietta 68 71 70 209 -7
Rick Wilson, Cartersville
T25 Walt Lee, Atlanta 70 69 70 209 -7
Dave Womack, McDonough
T25 John Belicka, Woodstock 67 68 74 209 -7
Nick Brown, Canton
T25 David Dukes, Atlanta 73 67 69 209 -7
Keith Wood, Atlanta
T29 Cason Hammock, Columbus 71 69 70 210 -6
Bill Roberts, Pine Mountain
T29 Chad Branton, Cartersville 70 63 77 210 -6
Cres Dodd, Calhoun
T31 Doug Stiles, Athens 70 70 71 211 -5
Garrick Stiles, Statham
T31 Rod Reed, Alpharetta 70 70 71 211 -5
John Smith, Duluth
T31 Mel Mendenhall, Marietta 68 72 71 211 -5
Mark Nickerson, Roswell
T31 Joe Alexander, Acworth 71 69 71 211 -5
Kevin Jordan, Smyrna
T35 Chris Hall, Kennesaw 71 66 75 212 -4
Donny Phillips, Suwanee
T35 Hector Cora, Atlanta 69 70 73 212 -4
Jorge Cora, Atlanta
T35 Pete Abernathy, Atlanta 67 71 74 212 -4
Richard Sosebee, Smyrna
T38 Phil Hardin, Macon 69 70 74 213 -3
Hal Johnson, Macon
T38 Bobby Brent, Columbus 72 67 74 213 -3
Preston King, Columbus
40 John Blanton, Kingsland 72 68 74 214 -2
Corey Murrell, Kingsland
41 Ed Cunliffe, Atlanta 69 69 77 215 -1
Jeff Taylor, Decatur