JANESVILLE — They grow up so fast.
Take Janesville golfer Easton Haworth, for instance. Last Tuesday, he was putting the finishing touches on winning the 17 and 18-year-old division at the Janesville Junior City Tournament at Riverside Golf Course with a two-round score of 6-under 138.
On the same course Sunday just six days later, he made five birdies over his final eight holes with a combination of accurate approach shots and superb putting to win his first Janesville Men’s City Golf Tournament championship.
“This was definitely the biggest one yet,” Haworth said of his win. “I played really well today and got the job done. It was playing pretty easy out here today.”
Haworth’s 54-hole total of 3-under 212 for the weekend gave him the city title by one shot over two-time champion Drew Morrison, who won the tournament last year.
The win was anything but assured halfway through Sunday’s final round. Morrison had a one-shot lead over Haworth to start the day after 18 holes at the Janesville Country Club on Friday and 18 more at Glen Erin Golf Club on Saturday.
“I hit it very well all three days, honestly,” Morrison said. “It just came down to putting. I didn’t make enough putts and Easton made them.”
Both made the turn at Riverside at 1-under to stay separated by one.
On the par-5 10th hole, both players drove the fairway, but Haworth’s second shot drifted left and came to a stop in a small stand of trees between the 10th green and the 11th tee box.
Morrison put his second shot just off the green. A skillful chip shot put him within a couple of feet for a birdie putt that he drained. Haworth’s pitch from the trees rolled all the way across the green and he needed three putts to finish the hole with a bogey.
The two-stroke swing put Haworth three shots back with just eight to play, but he got one back right away with a well-read birdie putt on the 11th. He got back to within one shot on the par-4 13th.
“I knew I had to get aggressive,” Haworth said after falling behind by three shots. “It’s just knowing you have a lot of attackable holes coming up and that anything can happen. He ended up making a lot of pars and I made a lot of birdies.”
Both Morrison and Haworth made birdie on No. 14 and both were on the green in one on the par-3 15th hole. Their putts wound up on a similar line to the cup with Morrison’s ball about three to four strides farther from the hole.
His birdie putt slid right. Haworth then stepped up and dropped his putt with a subdued fist pump to get to 3-under. Morrison made his par to keep the two tied going to the 16th.
Both made bogey at 16 before Haworth took the lead — albeit briefly — at 17.
Haworth’s drive strayed into the rough through the dogleg right, while Morrison hit his into the front left greenside bunker, but both players managed to give themselves decent looks at birdie from those trouble areas.
Haworth poured his birdie in first to take the lead and his finishing fist pump came with a little more gusto.
“It almost ended up short, but the last roll took it in. So I was pretty pumped to see that go in,” he said.
But Morrison responded, knocking his in to tie it back up with one regulation hole to play.
“When he had the 20 feet and he made it, it wasn’t surprising,” Morrison said of Haworth’s birdie at 17. “That almost made it easier for me because it became a ‘I had to make it’ kind of thing.”
Morrison, the 2013 WIAA Division 2 state champion at Edgerton High, outdrove Haworth at 18 in both in distance and accuracy. But Haworth managed to put his second shot from the rough right of the fairway onto the green.
Morrison’s approach rolled onto the sloped fringe of the green above the hole, leaving him with a much trickier downhill putt than the one Haworth faced.
Haworth took advantage, getting his putt to stop within a couple feet of the hole. Morrison’s first putt broke down the hill toward the hole much sooner than he wanted, leaving him with a long par attempt.
When that putt stayed left, he tapped in for bogey and Haworth put in his short par try to claim the championship.
“This was probably my last chance to beat him for a while,” Morrison said with a smile after Sunday’s round. “He hits it a mile, has a good short game and he’s got a bright future.”
With the junior and men’s city titles now on his resumé, the 2024 graduate of Janesville Craig High School will be making his move to Alexander City, Alabama, later this week, where he hopes to see his game continue to mature as a freshman on the Central Alabama Community College men’s golf team.
Nine-time city champion Sam Van Galder and 18-hole leader Matt Zimmerman finished in a tie for third at 220 shots, while Kevin Riley and Matt Behm tied for fifth at 222. Riley overcame an 80 on the tournament’s first day to finish in the top five.
2024 JANESVILLE MEN’S CITY GOLF TOURNAMENT
First round at Janesville Country Club, second round at Glen Erin Golf Club, final round at Riverside Golf Course
CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT
Easton Haworth 71-73-68—212
Drew Morrison 71-72-70—213
Sam Van Galder 74-74-72—220
Matt Zimmerman 70-77-73—220
Kevin Riley 80-71-71—222
Matt Behm 74-71-77—222
Nick Corban 79-70-74—223
Caleb Kern 78-71-74—223
Brad Bohlman 81-72-71—224
Xander Wuetrich 74-78-72—224
Joe Lange 78-71-75—224
Ryan Coffey 81-74-70—225
Dustin Richards 74-78-73—225
Michael Oellerich 75-75-76—226
Austin Purdy 75-78-74—227
Michael Kletzien 81-73-77—231
Kyle Chrostowski 83-72-76—231
Alex Falligant 75-76-80—231
Brian Angileri 82-75-75—232
Mick Homb 82-73-78—233
Zach Tourdot 77-79-77—233
Matt Kempfer 82-79-73—234
Daniel Romano 80-76-78—234
Wyatt Marshall 84-74-77—235
Thomas Romano 80-78-77—235
Bobby Kennedy 83-76-76—235
AJ Gray 78-77-80—235
Ben Janke 85-78-73—236
Ryan Zimmerman 81-83-74—238
Jack Nickols 77-77-84—238
Jordan Gagg 76-77-85—238
Mitch Phillips 86-77-76—239
Ryan Koenig 83-77-79—239
Tanner Woodman 85-80-75—240
Aaron Phalin 86-79-76—241
Sal Gomez 82-82-78—242
Jordan Moss 84-81-80—245
Grady Skoglund 78-82-87—247
Tyler Schwenkner 81-83-84—248
Pat Kennedy 86-79-84—249
Nolan Moran 83-82-84—249
Michael Schmitt 86-78-85—249
Kevin DeLap 84-81-87—252
Jose Perez 87-78-87—252
FIRST FLIGHT WINNER
Andrew Siefert 88-82-73—243
SECOND FLIGHT WINNER
Gregg Bordner 94-87-79—260
SENIOR FLIGHT WINNER
Gary Merk 76-81-74—231
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