At the first hole of sudden death, Tech Georgia graduate Luke Schniederjans decided it was time to be aggressive. His 225-yard 4-iron landed high to create a two-shot birdie and earn a victory at the 99th Georgia Amateur at Atletico Atlanta.
“It will be a good memory to know that I won a state amateur at the Atletico Atlanta Club, just 15 minutes from my house,” said Schniederjans. “It’s a good feeling to win a tournament like this.”
Schiederjans gets a 10-year exemption for Georgia Amateur, plus a seat at Open Georgia at Ford Plantation in August.
The playoff started on the par-5 hole of 18, where a few minutes before Brett Barron made a 10 foot tie to tie Schniederjans and force a playoff. The two were tied equal to 213 after 54 adjustment holes; Schniederjans fired 71 and Barron fired 74 in the final round.
That meant a sudden death playoff between old friends. Schniederjans remembered being associated with Barron in his first 36-hole junior tournament years ago. But friendships were quickly pushed aside during the playoffs when Schiederjans went for the quick strike.
At the first extra hole, Schniederjans put himself in a good position with a long 3-wood off the tee. After watching Barron’s tee shot go to the fairway bunker, Schiederjans hit a high shot that landed 35 feet away. Barron had to get back on his feet, but stayed alive when his third pitch was almost in the same place he had been in the 54th hole.
Shaking off the pressure, Schniederjans spun his eagle putt attempt to less than a meter and when Barron lost his birdie effort, all he had to do was draw for victory.
“It wasn’t a super easy two-putt,” he said. “I had to delicate it over there.”
