Tournament Champions
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The St. Louis Amateur Players Tour opened its 2027 season on Sunday, October 11th at Annbriar Golf Course in Waterloo, Illinois for a premier amateur golf tournament. A field of 101 players made the trip across the river to compete across five divisions, with two net games running alongside, in the first of this season’s St. Louis amateur golf tournaments. Players are flighted into divisions based on their APT Tournament Index.
Annbriar, a Dr. Michael Hurdzan design dating to 2003, has long been regarded by APT members as one of the fairest tests on tour — a course that does not favor the long hitter or the short hitter, but simply rewards solid play. It carries a 4½-star rating from Golf Digest and has hosted a Korn Ferry Tour Monday Qualifier as well as the Missouri Valley Conference Championship. Its signature hole, the par-4 11th, lived up to the billing: it was the hardest hole on the property, surrendering just three birdies all day and playing nearly a stroke and a third over par.
The St. Louis chapter of the Amateur Players Tour is sponsored by Autohaus BMW, the family-owned and operated BMW center on South Hanley Drive in Maplewood, Missouri.
In Division 1, Jarrett James of Chester, Illinois posted the low round of the day, an even-par 72 that held off the division by a single stroke. James turned in even-par 36 and came home in even-par 36, and the swing shot came at the par-5 14th, where he holed out for eagle. He added birdies at the par-5 5th and the par-4 12th against only two bogeys all afternoon. Cameron Hailstone of Gillespie, Illinois pushed him to the end with a 1-over 73, going out in 1-under 35 with birdies at the 3rd, the par-5 5th and the par-4 6th, then closing his round with a birdie at the par-5 18th — five birdies in all, the most by any player in the division. Michael Flynn of Shiloh, Illinois finished third at 3-over 75, also making the turn in even-par 36 with birdies at the 1st, the par-5 9th and the 11th, the one hole almost nobody solved. Six players finished within five shots of the lead.
Division 2 produced the tightest finish of the day. Chad Henry of Valley Park, Missouri and Taylor Young of Salem, Missouri each signed for 2-over 74, and Henry took the title in a playoff. Henry’s round was built on patience — twelve pars, an even-par 36 on the front, and birdies at the par-5 9th and the par-4 12th. Young matched him through regulation with an even-par 36 of his own going out and birdies at the 10th, the 12th and the par-3 15th. David Adams of Fenton, Missouri and Todd Feuerhaken of Cottleville, Missouri shared third at 3-over 75, both coming home in better than they went out; Feuerhaken played the closing six in even par with a birdie at the 16th, and Adams made three birdies, including one at the par-4 11th. Four players finished within two of the lead in what remains one of the chapter’s deepest divisions.
Division 3 belonged to Kevin Zawodniak of Troy, Illinois, whose 3-over 75 was a three-shot win and the kind of finish that decides a tournament. Zawodniak made five birdies, three of them in a front-nine burst at the par-4 6th, the par-3 7th and the par-5 9th, then played the last three holes in 1-under with birdies at the par-3 17th and the par-5 18th to come home in 1-over 37. Christian Benavides of Saint Charles, Missouri was second at 6-over 78 after turning in 1-over 37 with thirteen pars on his card. Brian Chilton of Maryville, Illinois and Justin Wilson of St. Louis tied for third at 7-over 79; Chilton made eleven pars on his way to a 3-over 39 and a 4-over 40, while Wilson birdied the par-5 9th and the par-3 15th.
Division 4 also went to extra holes. Peter Robinson of Glen Carbon, Illinois and Norm Toon of St. Louis finished regulation tied at 10-over 82, and Robinson emerged with the win. Robinson’s lone birdie came at the par-4 13th, and he played the closing six in 2-over to force the tie. Toon made ten pars and went out in 4-over 40. Gary Orf of Chesterfield, Missouri took third at 11-over 83, steadying a 7-over front nine with a 4-over 40 coming in that included a birdie at the par-5 9th — the most generous hole on the course, which gave up 22 birdies across the field. Sondra Braun of Columbia, Illinois was fourth at 12-over 84 with a birdie of her own at the 13th.
Division 5 came down to a single shot. Bill Braun of Red Bud, Illinois won it with a 23-over 95, one clear of Wayman Declue of Dupo, Illinois at 96. Brian Cope of Wentzville, Missouri and John Skaggs of St. Louis shared third at 100.
The Mid-Am Net game ended in a share of the top spot, with Andrew Masters of St. Louis and Chris Poetz of Manchester, Missouri both posting net 1-under 71 to split the title two clear of the field. Matt Roling, visiting from the Iowa chapter out of Shellsburg, and Tucker Jensen of Kirkwood, Missouri tied for third at net 1-over 73.
Senior Net was the largest contest of the day, and Brian Chilton backed up his third-place finish in Division 3 by winning it outright with a net 5-under 67, a one-shot victory. Three players tied for second at net 4-under 68 — Christian Benavides, who also finished runner-up in Division 3, Gary Orf, third in Division 4, and Peter Robinson, the Division 4 winner, giving the senior field four double-dip finishers in a single afternoon. Tiffany McMillan of Ellisville, Missouri was fifth at net 3-under 69, and Dolly Buenaventura of St. Louis and Paul Stanton, in from the Kansas City chapter, tied at net 2-under 70 to round out the money positions. Sixteen players finished within five shots of Chilton’s number.
Next up in the St. Louis chapter — the Fall Bash at Far Oaks Golf Club on Sunday, October 25th. Space is limited and registration closes October 19th.
