CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. ? Erik Barnes, of the Austin Peay State University men’s golf team, won the Indiana Amateur Championship, firing a six-under par 282, Friday, at the Rock Hollow Golf Club in Peru, Ind. Despite a final-round 76, the Marian, Ind. native held on to win by one stroke over Erich Johnston, of Purdue.
It was consistency throughout the tournament that paved the way for the 2008 Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year. Barnes led the tournament playing 64 holes at par or better, including 14 birdies and an eagle. He jumped out to an early tournament lead after an opening-round 67, followed a 71 in the second round and a third-round 68.
Barnes and Johnston were one and two, respectively, atop the leaderboard after three rounds of play to set the stage for the final grouping. There was plenty of distance from the field with Barnes at 10-under par and Johnston at nine-under. However, the gap narrowed down the stretch.
The lead slipped from Barnes on No. 15, a 537-yard par five, after a double-bogey put him at five-over for the day. Johnston, meanwhile birdied to drop to two-over for the day and take a two-shot tourney lead into the final three holes.
All Barnes needed was to play Johnston even for the win and he did just that over the final three holes. His steady play saw him finish par-birdie-par, while Johnston followed a par on No. 16 with back-to-back bogeys on the way out.