At Westwood, it's Metzger all the way
And other great stuff from the golf tournament that keeps on giving
NORMAN — More than 100 golfers teed it up at the Westwood Invitational, 50th edition, the heart of the Norman golf scene no matter how hard Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club continues making itself an utterly private course, nor the folks at Belmar swear by the beauty of their layout, nor what being the city’s first private club still counts for at The Trails.
Which is not to say they’re not all terrific courses, yet they don’t boast Westwood Park’s special sauce, particularly over July Fourth Weekend, when many of the best and most avid golfers from those tracks and others make their annual pilgrimage to the little course that could, sitting along one side of Robinson Street, Max Westheimer Airport along the other.
Again, Jondavid Metzger reigned supreme, winning championship flight a third straight time, becoming the first to do it and the first to own exactly three crowns.
Fred Lutz (’85, ’’86, ’88, ’90), Tim Graves (’89, ’92, ’95, ’96) and Kelsey Cline (’06, ’08, ’10, ’12) own four.
A 2003 Norman High graduate, Metzger stacked opening rounds of 65 and 65 with a final-round 67, posting a 13-under-par 197 total, 10 strokes better than a pair of Division I competitors by way of Norman North: Jake Hopper (70-69-68), who plays his college golf at Middle Tennessee State and Josh Stuart (71-69-67), who plays his at University of the Pacific.
“I’m about to turn 41 and I started off here at 6 years old,” Metzger said. “So I’m just comfortable here.”
Just as he was on his 54th hole, the 411-yard par 4 18th with out-of-bounds left and trees right.
After smacking his drive, Metzger picked up his tee immediately, knowing it to be in no danger. His approach, from about 115 yards, was right at the flag, finishing eight feet beyond the hole. Though his putt came up a little short, the final-hole exhibition typified how easy Metzger made his entire tourney appear.
“I played really well,” he admitted. “I had one bad stretch today. Other than that, I was in position; the moment I saw the pin, I knew what I needed to do.”
If you can believe it, he was 4-under-par after five holes Sunday. He birdied No. 12, a par 5, to get to 5-under, only to bogey his next three holes. On the way in, he birdied No. 16, another par 5, to establish his 3-under total.
Metzger felt “a great support system” at the place he first learned the game.
“Every single player here I felt was on my side and I just got comfortable and I played very well,” he said
Metzger, who teaches the game, giving as many as 50 lessons a week, was asked if he might consider giving just 35, allowing more time to pursue the game competitively.
“No,” he said. “I live vicariously through these kids [I teach], and it’s fun to watch these young guys. You know, I love watching Josh Stuart hit the ball and that Jake [Hopper] kid, beautiful player.”
After Sunday, they may be living vicariously through him.
The rest
• Josh Simpson, a 2007 Norman North graduate, made interesting history in masters flight, claiming the crown with a one-shot victory over both Robert Strother and John Crum.
Simpson finished with rounds of 72-68-74 for a 4-over-par 214 total, while Strother came in with rounds of 76-71-68 and Crum with rounds of 74-69-72.
The interesting history is Simpson’s now won four different flight crowns in four different flights, claiming third flight in ’06, second flight in ’07, first flight in ’20 and, in his fifth try, masters this year.
He’ll be kicked up to championship flight next year.
• Blaine Bruton, one of just a few women in the field, was trying to win her third different flight in three straight years and almost did it, opening with an 84 in second flight, then coming back with a 74 and Sunday carding a final-round even-par 70 for a 54-hole 228 total.
It just wasn’t enough to catch Gary Jones, who’d fired a pair of 77s coming into Sunday, who then carded his own even-par 70 to finish at 224.
Bruton reigned over fourth flight in ’23 and third flight in ’24.
• Then there’s the case of Bobby Florer, who’d worked the previous 38 Westwood Invitationals as an employee, most of those as an assistant pro, who’s since retired from the course, but who volunteered to work it anyway for a 39th straight year.
“They finally put me in the right flight,” Florer said, not long after winning the first flight crown after firing off rounds of 75-75-72 for a 12-over-par 222 total.
Florer was three strokes better than Nate Champeau, who managed the rare feat of shooting one round in the 80s, one in the 70s and one in the 60s — 81-75-69 — to place second.
• Other flight winners included Chase Schwabe in third flight, who bested Daniel Brewer by 11 strokes. Schwabe finished with rounds of 84-76-75 and Brewer with rounds of 81-82-83.
In the handicap-adjusted fourth flight, it was Tyler Payne posting handicap-adjusted rounds of 66-58-75 for a 199 total, three better than Mike Taylor’s handicapped-adjusted rounds of 71-69-62.
• A little more history, the tourney also hosted the returns to the course of Jerry Benedict, who ran the event as Westwood head pro from 1976 to 1985, and who just retired his head pro duties last year at Adams Golf Course in Bartlesville, the course he left Westwood to lead, as well as David Lisle, who ran the tourney as head pro from 1987 to 2013.
Both helped Rick Parish, who followed Lisle after many years as his top assistant, hand out flight trophies.
“It’s been fun seeing all the people,” Lisle said.
At Westwood, of course, all the people is a lot of people.
Been that way for 50 years.