Keane soars to long-overdue win
Jonathan Keane had played in the Fresno City Amateur Men’s Championship numerous times before. And each time, the former Santa Clara University golfer finished just short of a title.
That finally changed Monday.
Keane, a lean 28-year-old from Edmonds, Wash., shot a 1-under 71 in the final round to finish at 4-under 212 for his first Fresno City Amateur title in seven tries. The closest he came before was 2009, when Keane finished runner-up to ex-Clovis West star Michael Weaver.
“I definitely had a chip on my shoulder,” he said. “But coming to this tournament and finally getting the victory feels really good.”
It wasn’t easy, however, for the investment counselor who now works in San Francisco.
Facing a five-way tie for the heading into No. 8 — Keane, defending champion Jason Anthony, Day 2 leader (and four-time winner) Danny Paniccia, Michael Tolladay and Lane Pulliam — Keane was the only golfer to birdie the 178-yard, par-3 hole, as the remaining four bogeyed.
Keane’s short game was on Monday as he birdied three of the course’s five par-3s in the final round. A tough challenge, considering the course’s slick greens.
“With these pins and having played this tournament a number of times, it’s knowing where to leave yourself to kind of set you up for birdies,” Keane said. “I was able to do that on the par 3s and it certainly helped. If I didn’t play those holes so well, I wouldn’t have won the tournament.”
With the support of caddy Scott Travers, Keane birdied two of his next three holes and saved par at No. 12 after a botched drive that sailed wide right and nearly 60 yards below the elevated green.
Meanwhile, Anthony finished the same hole in two shots for eagle to pull within one stroke of the lead.
The threats mounted for Keane, who bogeyed the next hole — a 437-yard, par-4. But Anthony and Paniccia also bogeyed. With the former bogeying twice more after that and the latter on the next hole, it left Keane in front.
Meanwhile, Tolladay could never catch up to Keane, who parred his final five holes to hold on for the win.
Tolladay, a former Bullard High standout, birdied two of his final three holes to finish in second at 2-under 214.
“I did all I could do coming down towards the end,” Tolladay said. “I can’t really ask for much more. I’m very happy with my finish.”
Paniccia and Anthony were one stroke behind in a tie for third and Pulliam was fifth at 1-over 217.
Jason Higton birdied six times for the best round of the day at 4-under 68. He finished sixth overall with a three-day total of 2-over 218.
Angel Moreno: (559) 441-6401, @anhelllll
88th Fresno City Amateur Men’s Championship
May 23-25 at Riverside Golf Course, 6,714-yard par 72
Results
1. Jonathan Keane -4 74 67 71 — 212
2. Michael Tolladay -2 78 65 71 — 214
T3. Jason Anthony -1 74 67 74 — 215
T3. Danny Paniccia -1 75 65 75 — 215
5. Lane Pulliam +1 72 69 76 — 217
6. Jason Higton +2 77 73 68 — 218
T7. John Hernandez +3 76 70 73 — 219
T7. Matt Fagundes +3 71 74 74 — 219
T7. Justin Avery +3 77 65 77 — 219
10. Alex Hebert +4 75 73 72 — 220
T11. Jacob Ruffino +5 78 71 72 — 221
T11. Jordan Koelewyn +5 75 73 73 — 221
T11. Blake McPherson +5 73 73 75 — 221
T14. Nate Jessup +6 77 72 73 — 222
T14. Matthew Ashley +6 74 74 68 8 — 222
T16. Warren Miller +7 78 73 72 — 223
T16. Patrick Burda +7 75 75 73 — 223
T16. Neil Bautista +7 76 72 75 — 223
T16. Dalton Hartman +7 75 73 75 — 223
T16. Tyler Leeworthy +7 — 223
T16. Drew Maurin +7 — 223
T16. Sonny Freitas +7 — 223
T23. Trevor Clayton +8 73 78 73 — 224
T23. Rich Gilkey +8 74 77 73 — 224
T25. Jason Herrera +9 79 73 73 — 225
T25. George McKean +9 76 73 76 — 225
T25. John Andrews +9 74 73 78 — 225
28. Ron Collet +10 74 74 78 — 226
T29. Tal Tartaglia +11 76 76 75 — 227
T29. Nate Skibo +11 76 72 79 — 227
T31. Phil Henderson +12 75 77 76 — 228
T31. Nick Sorensen +12 77 74 77 — 228
T31. Michael Miller +12 78 72 78 — 228
34. Conner Chuhlantseff +13 80 72 77 — 229
T35. Daniel Sewell +14 79 73 78 — 230
T35. Daniel Cliff +14 77 74 79 — 230
T37. Michael Cliff +15 78 74 79 — 231
T37. Michael Pugh +15 77 75 79 — 231
39. Kyle Stewart +16 73 77 82 — 232
40. Colby Thomason +21 77 75 85 — 237
This story was originally published May 25, 2015 at 7:50 PM with the headline "Keane soars to long-overdue win."