For the final AMA scoring event of 2023, 20 players played 4 rounds on the Putt18 mat and streamed their performances live in the AMA Events Facebook group.
Last year’s winner David Gomm set the standard on the first day of play on November 5th with a -13. 2 Days later, Tom Loftus tied David Gomm and those held as the top scores until Friday. On November 10th, one of the top AMA competitors, Justin Seymour, scored an eagle and two pars on his last 3 holes to take first place by one stroke with a -14. With only a few players left, it was looking like Justin was going to walk home with the top spot. Then Gary Shiff stepped up to the mat on Saturday, November 11th at 9 am central. Gary started his day off right with a Babe Ruth-esque breakfast of two hotdogs and a root beer before playing his rounds. Through 2 rounds, Gary had a strong -9 but after a 3rd round +3, he was put in a position of needing his best single round to finish first. Gary needed a -9 and shot a -18 in the final round to win the event and tie the Putt18 world record at the time of playing that has only been made or beat by New Zealand’s Matt Ansley. Gary finished with a -24 to win the event by 10 strokes.
Congrats to Gary on one of the most impressive putting performances of 2023! You can watch a Video of the winning round on the AMA YouTube page. |