The annual Challenge Cup and Senior Challenge Cup battles between PGA Professionals and IGA amateurs was hosted by Brickyard Crossing Golf Course Thursday, August 7th and ended with the sides splitting the titles.

The morning round matches were played in a Four Ball format. The IGA took 6 ½ points to the PGA’s 1 ½, and the PGA Seniors claimed 2 ½ to the IGA Seniors’ 1 ½. In the afternoon singles matches, the seniors split the points 4 and 4 which gave the victory to the PGA. Brian Sears of Foxcliff Golf Club in Martinsville and Cary Hungate of Kokomo Country Club led the winning team by sweeping their opponents.

The IGA took 7 ½ points in the afternoon singles to maintain the lead and successfully defend their 2007 title. Randy Nichols of Brookville, Brandon Pike of Bloomington and Nathan Wine of North Webster led their team by defeating their opponents in both rounds.

For the second year in a row, the Indiana PGA Argosy Casino/Grant Communications Open Championship was decided by a playoff. Quinn Griffing, PGA Professional at Donald Ross Golf Course in Fort Wayne, came back with a six-under-par 66 in the final round to shoot 280 and force a playoff with Brett Melton of Country Oaks Golf Course.

The first hole of the playoff determined the standings when Melton birdied. He placed his approach shot from the fairway to eight feet and made the putt. Griffing was able to place his approach even closer but missed the putt by inches. “The putt on the playoff was tricky. I remembered [Jeff] Cook’s putt from earlier today and it didn’t break as much as we all thought it would,” explained Melton. Remembering that and executing earned him the championship and $5,000.

Melton held the lead after each day of the tournament and had a six shot lead heading into Thursday’s round. He struggled on a day when others went low, but hung on for his first Open victory. “I was not as sharp as the first three days. I tried to stick to my game and hit good shots, but I had to keep fighting today. I did it through sheer determination,” he said.

A lot of Melton’s shots found the fescue and the bunkers, testing his game and mental strength. On the fifth hole he drove his ball into a left fairway bunker and hit his approach out of the sand over the green into the woods. His third shot went back into a greenside bunker but was able to stay focused and got it up and down for bogey. At the seventh hole he drove it left into the fescue, and his second shot went into a bunker, but he stuck with it and saved par. On 14, Melton holed out from a greenside bunker for a birdie. “When it came off the face, I knew it was a good shot, but I never expected it to go in,” he admitted. His final test came at the 18th.

After driving the ball to the middle of the fairway, he attempted to go for the green in two shots from 275 yards out. With his fairway wood he miss-hit it low right into a creek. Fortunately for him, it landed on a rocky sandbed where he had a shot at the green. With 60 yards in, he opened his 60-degree wedge and swung hard hoping for the best. That landed him on the fringe 10 feet away, and he two-putted for par and the tie with Griffing.

Griffing came into the day with a set game plan and tried to stick with it. After four birdies on the front nine for a 33, he looked determined at the turn to catch Melton and the leaders. Two more birdies on the back side and an eagle at the par-5, 13th hole put him right back into contention for the win. “The bogey at hole 17 hurt me. I hit a 7-iron from 190 out, and it didn’t fly. Then I made three putts,” said Griffing. That bogey took him back down to eight under and tied with Melton. Both made par at 18 to force the playoff. “Obviously I wanted to win, but I was excited about the fact that when I needed to post a good round to get back in it I did. I will take that away from here,” said Griffing.

Next up for Melton is a stop in Iowa for the Waterloo Open. He won the title in 2005.

Had Brownstown’s Chris Baker had his preference, he would not have been at Wolf Run Golf Club competing in the 108^th Indiana Amateur Championship. The recent Iowa State graduate, All-American Honorable Mention and 2008 Iowa State Male Athlete of the Year, missed an opportunity last week to qualify for the Nationwide Tour’s Knoxville Open presented by Food City.

Had he been successful in his qualifying attempt, his amateur career would have ended with his recent IGA Public Links Championship win. The other 155 competitors in the field would have been happy had that been the case.

Baker took full advantage of his additional opportunity to compete as an amateur and finished as the only player under par to capture the 2008 Indiana Amateur Championship in convincing fashion. He finished the tournament at two-under-par 282 after a final round score of even-par 71 to finish as the lone player to complete 72 grueling holes on the treacherous Wolf Run G.C. layout under par.

The next best finisher was runner-up Joe Mahurin of Noblesville with a 289. “Runner-up was better than I expected. My goals for the tournament were to keep the ball in play, have no three-putts and make no big numbers,” said Mahurin. He succeeded in avoiding three putts all four days despite the difficult and undulating greens and agreed it was an impressive feat that Baker finished the tournament under par. “Chris is a fabulous ball striker and the whole package. It was a phenomenal job for him to finish under par,” he said.

“You need to always feel like you can do something special. I hit the ball great, and I was pleased with how I played,” said Baker, who lead the field in most birdies made with 19. Now he looks to the PGA Indiana Open Championship July 7-10 at Prairie View Golf Course in Carmel, where he plans to tee it up for the first time as a professional. “It has been a great stretch finishing college on such a high note, winning the IGA Public Links and now this. It’s been a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to the future – it has a lot to hold,” he concluded.