Woltman wins Metropolitan Open Golf Championship

After playing near flawless golf for the first 36 holes of the Metropolitan Open Golf Championship, 29-year-old Dan Woltman flinched late Sunday afternoon at the Country Club at St. Albans.

Fortunately , Woltman could afford a couple of late hiccups.

Cruising along with a five-stroke lead late, Woltman played the final two holes 3-over par but still manged a one-stroke win on a hot, humid July Sunday afternoon.

“ I played two greats rounds the first two days when I shot 66 and 64,” Woltman said. “Today, it was more of a struggle. I wasn’t sharp and I certainly didn’t want to finish the way I did. But I was able to hit enough good shots today and get in with a respectable round of 74 and win the golf tournament. It feels to win.”

Finishing with a 54-hole score of 204, Woltman posted a one stroke win over Bret Paquet, Paul Haley and Eric Steger — all of whom finished 5-under par at 205. Bobby Hudson and first-round leader Chris Brant of Edwardsville were 4-under par at 206.

Brant, who opened with a 65 on Friday and trailed by just two shots with nine holes to play, made a bogey on hole No. 10 and could never recover as he fell short of becoming the third two-time winner of the 11-year-old tournament. Brant also won the tournament in 2014.

The win was worth $25,000 to Woltman who was playing golf all over the world the past two years. The Beaver Dam, Wis. native and former University of Wisconsin standout played tours in Asia and Europe the past two years.

But back home now for good, Woltman has played mini-tour events and has made over $33,000 in three stops on the Web.com Tour.

“I liked played in Asia and Europe. But it was tough on my wife and myself to be so far from home. We’re not in Wisconsin that much, but it’s a lot easier for my family to come and watch me play,” Woltman said.

“It’s been a pretty good year. I’ve played three times on the Web.com Tour and had a couple of top-25 finishes. I need to win like $9,000 the rest of the year in order to qualify to be fully exempt next year. So that’s what we’re looking at right now.”

Brant, Mitchell Gregson struggle

What Brant was looking forward to was a Web.Com Tour qualifier in his hometown of Edwardsville on Monday.

After shooting rounds of 65 and 68, Brant was poised at 7-under par looking to make a serious run at another title on Sunday. But with his parents and former Edwardsville standout Justin Hemings among those following him on Sunday, Brant’s normal consistent play off the tee and from the fairways left him for a while in the final round.

“I played well the first two days. Today I wasn’t as accurate off the tee and that’s usual for me,” Brant said.

“On a course like this, if you’re not accurate and you can’t get many putts to fall, it’s going to be a long day. That’s what happened today.”

Former Waterloo standout Mitchell Gregson, who holds the 54-hole record of 197 he shot when he won the tournament in 2012, shot 73 on Sunday, finishing at 211 and tying for 24th place.

This story was originally published July 11, 2016 at 11:12 AM with the headline "Woltman wins Metropolitan Open Golf Championship."