John Ramsey (CDGA)

“It was the most comfortable day and I can’t be thankful enough for that,” Ramsey told the CDGA. “I play with Chadd (Slutzky) all the time, I’ve got my good buddy on the bag and I’ve played quite a few rounds with (John) Ehrgott. So the comfort of the day really helped.”

With a comfortable yet buttoned-up atmosphere in the final group, Ramsey got off to a hot start following a self-proclaimed “horrible range session” prior to the final round. Tallying three-straight birdies to begin the round, Ramsey quickly took the lead from Ehrgott as he was 1-under for the tournament standing on the fourth tee.

Carding two more birdies on Nos. 7 and 9, Ramsey went out in 31 and was two shots clear of Ehrgott as the pair made the turn making the championship a two-man race.

Biding his time, the two-time Illinois Mid-Am champion Ehrgott put the pressure on Ramsey after carding back-to-back birdies on Nos. 13 and 14, shrinking Ramsey’s lead to just one shot. But, for Ramsey, having the one contender playing in his group was something he was once again comfortable with.

“It was nice to have your opponent right there with you, so I think that helped me a lot just to see what he was doing to kind of play off of him,” Ramsey said.

Ehrgott had an opportunity to sneak through the crack in the door he worked hard to get open on the par-5 16th. Leaving himself pin-high and just off the green in two while Ramsey had to battle an awkward stance and was 100-yards from the hole with his third, both players walked away with pars, essentially closing the door on Ehrgott.

Following up the par on No. 16 with a bogey on 17, Ehrgott gave Ramsey a two-shot cushion heading into the par-4 18th.

Using the cushion, Ramsey raked in a bogey on 18 to claim the title with a 4-under 68 and a tournament total 2-under 214.

“It feels really good,” said Ramsey. “This is kind of the one I’ve been looking for, for a long time and it feels really good to finally do it.”

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