Kearfott captures Will County Amateur; beats Natale in sudden-death playoff

    Reporting from Crete
    Sunday, April 22, 2012

    Tom Kearfott might not have been affected as much by Sunday’s consistently strong north wind at Balmoral Woods at the next guy.
    Says he, “The good thing about being 310 pounds is the wind doesn’t move you quite as much as it does these flatbellies. I’ve got a little advantage on them.”
    Kearfott, from downstate El Paso, was steady all the way around Balmoral on an equally windy Saturday, posting a 1-under-par 71, and his 5-over 77 on Sunday aggregated to 4-over 148, advancing him to a sudden-death playoff with defending champion Michael Natale of Chicago. Kearfott parred the par-5 first hole and Natale, wayward with his first two shots, bogeyed it – disbelieving that his par-saving putt didn’t break the way it had at the start of the round – allowing Kearfott, in his first attempt, to take the title and don the Brown Jacket.
    “I played steady today, just kept going,” Kearfott said. “I didn’t make any real bad mistakes.”
    Fellow downstaters Todd Mitchell (a multiple Illinois Amateur champion), Jeff Niepagen and Mike Cushing, all of whom work in the same Bloomington insurance office as Kearfott, convinced him to make the trip to Balmoral for the traditional kickoff to the amateur season in Illinois.
    “They’ve been after me for five years,” Kearfott said. “My kids are old enough now that I don’t have to stay home, so I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll play.’ “
    Their persuasion earned Kearfott office bragging rights. Mitchell tied for 14th, while Niepagen and Cushing settled for 21st.
    Ralph Houck, a superb low-ball hitter, tied Chris Thayer of Chicago for third, at 5-over 149. Houck was 1-over on his last six holes on Sunday, when the wind was at its most fierce, and his even-par 72 was the best round of the day.
    Look for a full report in the May issue of Illinois Golfer.
    – Tim Cronin