Duke Simmons of Brandon out-dueled Kyle Ellis in a playoff Sunday afternoon to claim the championship cup of the Farm Bureau Invitational, which was played at the Dancing Rabbit Golf Club.
The annual tournament is a showcase for Mississippi’s top amateur and professional golfers, and is played on the state’s best golf courses, alternating from one area of the state to another each year.
Players in the championship round were tested by the Azaleas course at Dancing Rabbit. The Farm Bureau Invitational is the only championship tournament in the state that mixes the pros with the amateurs, and for the 10th straight year, an amateur won the tournament.
Lee Brannan of the Colonial Golf Course in Jackson was the top professional, finishing one stroke behind the leaders. He won $4,000 for his troubles. Amateurs, meanwhile, received prizes for their efforts.
Simmons and Ellis, a member of the Ole Miss golf team, were tied at 145. They were the leaders heading into the third and final round. Simmons had shot a 74 on the first day and a 71 on the second day. Ellis’ scorecard was flipped with a 71 and 74, respectively.
They stayed with each other throughout Sunday’s round. Both were one-under-par heading into the final hole, and each bogeyed the 18th, setting up the playoff. Both shot a 73 Sunday after 18 holes and finished the 54-hole, three-day event tied 2-over-par at 218.
“It was a long, hard day,” said Simmons, who parred 11 holes on the final day. “I really struggled to stay around par. The course played rough, and it did all three days.”
Simmons put the ball in the middle of the green in the playoff, and two putted the hole. Ellis hit the rough with his first shot but then put the ball within 30 feet of the hole. However, he three-putted the hole, leaving Simmons with the victory.
“This is easily the biggest tournament win of my career,” Simmons said afterwards. “Two-over-par was the winning score. That shows how tough it was.”
Ellis pointed to his putting game as the root of his problems.
“I’m on and off,” said Ellis, who could have won the tournament on the 18th hole had he sank a 10-foot putt. “I shoved it, and then three-putted in the playoff round. Putting was my downfall.”
Rodney Boswell, Brannan and Austin Brown finished at 219, followed by Tom Bryant, Jerry Covich and Becker Sims at 220.
Will Dottley, last year’s champion, shot a 70 on the first day of play. But then put himself four strokes behind the leaders with a 79 Saturday. Dottley shot a 75 on Sunday to finish at 224, six strokes behind the leaders.
This is the first time in the history of the tournament, which was first played in 1973, that it was held on two courses. Dancing Rabbit consists of the Azaleas and the Oaks. The field was divided with half playing one course on Friday and playing the second course on Saturday. The championship and first flights were played on the Azaleas course on Sunday. The remaining flights were played on the Oaks.
There were 161 golfers playing this past weekend, with 31 pros and 130 amaters making up the field.
