The final 36 holes of the Wisconsin State Open began on Wednesday with three players tied atop the leaderboard and the traffic jam only built throughout the day, with five players sharing the lead in the early 18 holes and four players sharing the lead late into the afternoon’s final 18.
The jockeying continued as the sun began to fade until, finally, Marquette University’s Max Lyons shook off a host of contenders to win the 104th playing of the championship at Minocqua Country Club in Minocqua.
Lyons, who is from Arizona, won the event as an amateur before his senior season begins with the Golden Eagles. He is the reigning Big East player of the year and a two-time first team all-Big East member.
Results: 104th Wisconsin State Open
Lyons proved victorious by shooting a steady 5-under 67 in the afternoon after a 2-under 70 in the morning, winning with a 16-under par total while warding off a deep field of challengers.
Including the trio of golfers who began the day in the lead – Lyons and professionals Zach Place and Sam Weatherhead – six other players shared the lead at some point during Wednesday’s final rounds.
George Kneiser, a professional from Oconomowoc, set the pace by finishing his day at 14-under par to take the early clubhouse lead – giving players in the final groups a number to chase over their final holes. Kneiser fired a pair of 67s on Thursday, making a huge charge up the leaderboard after beginning the day five shots back.
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Kneiser settled in to watch the leaderboard, as he was tied with Kenosha’s Cameron Huss and Appleton’s Zach Burry and Spring Valley pro Tyler Leach. But Huss and Burry had five holes to go, and Leach had six.
It was just a matter of who would seize the tournament.
At times it appeared Huss, a University of Wisconsin alumnus, would be the one but he followed up eagles on the first and 11 th holes with bogeys. He birdied the 14 th to take a solo lead at 15-under but bogeyed the 16 th to again fall back to into the pack. Huss was attempting to follow up his amateur victory last year with his first as a professional.
Meanwhile, as Huss, Burry and Leach had up-and-down rounds, Lyons smoothly closed with three straight birdies and a 5-under 31 on his back nine to post a 16-under number that at that point, only Huss could catch.
Needing to go 2-under over his final two holes, Huss finished 1-over.
That allowed Kneiser to finish solo second at 14-under.
Lakewood, Colorado, professional and former Badgers player Griffin Barela also set a number with a closing-round 63 that included 10 birdies against one bogey. It was the lowest round of the tournament – and a course record – and propelled him to a 13-under finish to tie for third with Leach and Huss.
Professionals Harrison Ott (Brookfield) and Aidan Lafferty (Downers Grove, Illinois) tied for sixth with amateurs Drake Wilcox (Sheboygan) and Ross Thomson (Madison) at 12-under.
Weatherhead (Hartford) finished alone in 10 th at 11-under.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette University's Max Lyons holds off handful of challengers to win State Open
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