Casey Wittenberg takes second Nationwide Tour title at the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open
After grabbing a T10 position at this year’s US Open, Casey Wittenberg returned to the Nationwide Tour and recorded a win at the 23rd Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open, on Sunday, June 24, 2012.
Wittenberg carded a five-under par 66 in the final round at the Crestview Country Club, in Wichita, to take a two-stroke margin over Justin Hicks and the overnight leader Jim Herman.
While making the start on the front nine of the course, he recorded birdies on the first and second holes. The par-four sixth hole witnessed him make the only bogey of the round.
On the back nine, he picked some pace and recorded four birdies between 11th and 16th hole that allowed him to take the winner’s cheque home for the second time in the 2012 Nationwide Tour.
In addition to that, he is the only player now to record multiple victories on the Nationwide Tour in the current season.
It has also brought him close to earning the full-time playing status for the PGA Tour should he win another title this year.
At the end of the event, he told that the victory was not an easy one compared to the Chitimacha Louisiana Open, where he managed to take the trophy home with an eight-stroke margin.
"I got a bad break on the sixth hole and essentially gave a shot back to the field there. I just put my head down and tried to make some birdies after that. I wanted to go win the golf tournament and not let it come to me," Wittenberg said.
"It's hard to win any golf tournament whether you win by one shot or you win by eight,” he added. "It's nice to have more than a one shot lead coming into the last hole and fortunately I was in that position coming to the last hole".
According to the golf commentators, the golf turned in Wittenberg’s favour when Herman’s second shot on the par-four 15th hole found the water hazard at the edge of the green.
As a result, he had to suffer a double bogey, followed by a bogey on the 15th hole that slipped him down to the third place on the leaderboard.
Thereafter, he managed to score two consecutive birdies to end the round. However, they were not enough to challenge the surging Wittenberg on top of the leaderboard.
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