Local golf Middletown Men’s City Championship
By Skip Weaver
Staff Writer
MADISON TWP. — Michael Roberts was tied for the lead last year after nine holes in the last round of the Middletown Men’s City Golf Championship at Brown’s Run Country Club.
Then, in his words, he fell apart and finished as the tournament runner-up, four strokes back.
Roberts returned to that same Brown’s Run golf course on Thursday for the first round of this year’s city tournament. He shot a 1-over-par 73 and sits one stroke behind leader and defending champion Tim Sorrows (72).
“It was on my mind before I started,” Roberts said of his disappointing finish a year ago. “But once I hit that first tee shot, it was gone and my focus was on this round.”
Roberts parred the first 10 holes and felt pretty good. He was 1-under through 15 holes, but back-to-back bogeys on 16 and 17 pushed him to 1-over.
“It’s OK,” Roberts said. “I changed my approach a little in that I only hit driver three times. I focused more on hitting fairways and greens today. I would have been happy with anything 75 or under.”
Roberts was the only player in last year’s field of 77 golfers to shoot under-par rounds. He had a 69 at Wildwood Golf Club on the second day and added a 71 on the third day at Shaker Run.
The 47 participants this year will play at Wildwood today.
“I wanted to come out today and shoot something respectful so I could go there and be aggressive,” Roberts said of playing at his home course of Wildwood. “Hopefully I can go low.”
Sorrows said a double bogey on 17 was his only bad hole.
“I played all right,” the three-time city champion said. “It could have been better, but some of the pins were pretty tough.
“I’m a little uncomfortable going to Wildwood because it’s the one course I don’t get to play much,” he continued. “That definitely puts me at a disadvantage, but I just have to go play the course and play my own game.”
Conor O’Hea, a recent Middletown High School graduate who will play golf at Ohio Dominican University this fall, is third with a 74. Jeff Combs and Mike Dalton each shot 75, while Kevin Flynn, Karl Heffner, Tucker McGee, Tal Selby and T.J. Selby each carded 76.