kapalua

Deixler Nabs Kapalua in a Chip Off

It took more than 18 holes to determine the winner in the GPT’s first contest of the year, and when it was finally all settled, a familiar face was wearing the lei.

Rich Deixler fired off a back nine 40, which was good enough to secure a first place tie with upstart golfer David Coppins at the end of regulation on Sunday. Coppins led most of the tournament, including holding a one stroke advantage going into 18.  However an out of bounds tee shot forced him to make a great 10 footer to force the playoff.

During the sudden-death chip off, Deixler rolled in an 8-foot putt to seal the match.

“I wasn’t wearing my jacket this time around!” Diexler yelled, walking off the practice green—a reference to his poor play last week, which he blamed on cooler temperatures forcing him to wear a swing-altering jacket.

Deixler and Coppins sit atop the first two spots in the new standings released after the tournament. Storied GPT golfer, Jonas Rodriguez, played steady for a third place finish.

Also collecting big chunks of points was tour newcomer Sean Pender who shot a 4th place 89. Adam Clark finished in 5th place with a 90—not a bad finish considering it took the former GPT Champion 3 shots to get his ball beyond the ladies tees on the opening hole.

Boardmember Sean McElhaney looked to be sitting pretty after playing his last three holes on the front 9 at one-under par. But a triple-bogey 8 on hole 10 led to a disastrous 52 on the back-nine—and tumbled McElhaney to an 11th place finish.

A couple of disappointing results for early favorite Evan Friedman and last year’s champion Jonathan Leon. Friedman couldn’t crack the top-5, finishing in 6th place with a 91. Leon, meanwhile, was left out of the top-10. He carded a 95, good enough for 12th place. Also tumbling farther than most expected was Sam Sacks—once a GPT champion—who is now struggling to break 110 and is looking to tee off from the White tees at Langston. He finished toward the back of the pack in a tie for 21st place with Jim O’Grady—three strokes behind Will Benjamin, who still thinks he’s on the verge of his first GPT victory.

“I’m on the come-up, man!” Benjamin shouted after the match.

The tour takes next weekend off before heading to the historic links of Langston for the WGC Breadsoda Open April 30.