Brewer earns city title for first time since 1995

Published 12:00 am Sunday, September 5, 2004

NATCHEZ &045; After winning the Bill McKinney Memorial City Golf Championship in 1995, P.Z. Brewer probably wondered if he would ever win this tournament again.

One year he finished second to five-time champion Greg Brooking. In 1999, 11-time champ Pete Powell came from behind twice on the back nine to defeat Brewer for his 10th City title.

But this year Brewer would not be denied as he made a crucial birdie on No. 4, the 17th hole of the day, and held on to defeat Chuck Fields by one shot Sunday at the Duncan Park Golf Course to win his second City Championship.

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&uot;The last time I won it for my dad, Paul Brewer, before he passed away,&uot; P.Z. Brewer said. &uot;This time I won it for me and my grandchildren, Brock and London Breedlove.&uot;

Brewer shot a final-round, 2-over-par 73 to finish at 141. Fields shot a 1-over 72 to finish at 142 &045; his best finish ever.

&uot;It feels great. It’s good to have it on there a second time,&uot; Brewer said. &uot;A lot of people won it once.&uot;

&uot;P.Z. won the tournament. He hit it well and putted well. He deserved to win,&uot; Fields said. &uot;I just never could catch him. I tried my best.

&uot;Today I played steady. I didn’t get hot. I made a lot of pars.&uot;

Yet Brewer nearly opened the door for Fields with a double bogey on No. 3, the 16th hole of the day.

After a bad second shot, Brewer compounded things by chipping over the green and then ended three-putting when he got on the green.

However, Fields bogeyed the hole and remained one shot back with just two holes to play.

But Brewer maintained his composure by hitting his tee shot on No. 4, a par-3, to just a foot from the hole and made the key birdie putt.

&uot;I needed it because he birdied the last (No. 2),&uot; Brewer said.

As for his final-round play, Brewer said he kept it consistent.

&uot;I didn’t make near the birdies I made (Saturday),&uot; Brewer said. &uot;Chuck kept the pressure on me all day long.&uot;

Bill Byrne shot a final-round 73 and finished third at 144. Eric Smith had another round 72 to finish at 144 and in fourth place.

Lee Jones shot the best round of anyone in the final round with a 2-under 69 and won the first flight with a two-day score of 144.

&uot;I made five birdies and an eagle on No. 11. I drove it up there about five feet,&uot; Jones said. &uot;I made five bogeys and didn’t manage my game too well. But I shot a good score. The course is probably in the best shape it’s been in in a long time.&uot;

Neal Partridge finished second after firing a final-round, 1-under 70 to finish at 145.

&uot;I made a lot of putts today,&uot; Partridge said. &uot;I had five birdies and four bogeys. All in all I played good. The pins were in tough spots. The greens were a little slower than they usually are. It made it hard to hit some of those chip shots close.&uot;

Ricky Williams shot an even-par 71 to win the second flight with at 149.

&uot;I played a whole lot better (today) than I did yesterday,&uot; Williams said. &uot;I decided to hit my putter harder today. I had five birdies today. All in all, I played a lot better today than I did yesterday. Some days you hit ’em and some days you don’t.&uot;

Allen Smith had one of the biggest improvements from Saturday to Sunday as he shot a final-round 73 to win the third flight with a two-day score of 156.

&uot;I hit the ball solid and putted real well,&uot; Smith said. &uot;I birdied No. 1, so I was ready to go. Yesterday I tripled it right off the bat.&uot;

Bruce Massey shot a final-round 79 to win the fourth flight with a two-day score of 163.

But the biggest improvement from Saturday to Sunday belonged to Danny Farr.

Farr, who shot a first-round 102, was 11 shots behind Cornelius Lewis and played in the first group on Sunday, shot a final-round 81 &045; a 21-shot improvement &045; to win the fifth flight at 183 on a scorecard playoff over Zack Rogel.

Lewis shot a 79 and moved up to the fourth flight, where he finished third at 170.