Southeastern grad wins second Springfield City Am title

SPRINGFIELD — Trailing by one stroke entering the final round of the 102nd Springfield City Amateur at Reid Park Golf Course, Southeastern High School graduate and former Northern Kentucky University golfer Avery Green knew exactly what it would take to win.

“I went into it kind of like everybody says, play it one hole at a time and let what happens happen,” he said.

Green shot 67 at Reid North on July 14 for a two-round score of 133, claiming his second City Am title and first since 2018. He beat runner-up Will McDavid, who golfed at Urbana and Wittenberg University, by three strokes.

“There were definitely a lot of good golfers,” Green said. “There’s a lot of good competition. It definitely felt good to get the win.”

Nine-time City Am champion Josh Sine finished third with a 139 and Steve Petticrew placed fourth at 142. Caleb Westfall, who had won the last five titles, finished fifth at 143.

Green finished third last year, four strokes behind Mechanicsburg and University of Findlay graduate Caleb Westfall, who won his fifth straight title in 2023. Green was the last person to win the title before Westfall began his streak.

“It’s fun playing with him,” Green said. “He’s a hell of a player and competitor. We graduated the same year in high school so we battled it out there and got to play each other throughout college. Now that we’re not in college playing against each other, we travel around quite a bit playing in some scrambles. We figured we better join forces.”

Green shot 66 on July 13, trailing McDavid (65), by one stroke. Green birdied the first hole to pull even with McDavid.

“It was a really good way to start the day,” he said. “From there, it was a lot of back-and-forth with (McDavid).”

Green and McDavid were tied through 12 holes. Green birdied the 15th hole to grab the lead and did his best to make par the rest of the way.

“I had three holes left and I wanted to make three good pars and I figured that would be enough,” he said.

After back-to-back pars, Green birdied the 18th hole to seal his second City Am championship.

Two years after graduating from Northern Kentucky, Green has never been hotter on the golf course.

“I feel like this season is the best golf I’ve played in my life,” Green said. “You feel like maybe that would come during college when you’re constantly practicing, but I think after a few years out of college, you learn more about the game. There’s always more to learn about the game. There’s always more to improve. … Hopefully, I can keep improving.”

Several players were unable to finish their final round due to inclement weather. Andy Bonar and Jayson Skaggs shared the Championship Flight B title at 114.

Northwestern junior Nolan Hockett won the Junior Division championship with a score of 74.

Petticrew was the Seniors Division champion, while Doug Savage won the Super Senior Division at 146. Other flight winners included: Preston Finley (First Flight, 107), Justin Pratt (Second Flight, 120), Mitch Clark (Third Flight, 127), Schiler Wertman (Fourth Flight, 139).

Springfield City Am Champions

Last 15 years

2010: Josh Sine

2011: Andy Bonar

2012: Josh Sine

2013: Josh Sine

2014: Clark Engle

2015: Josh Sine

2016: Zach Fowler

2017: Lucas Wells

2018: Avery Green

2019: Caleb Westfall