Nimmer Nails It; Goes Back To Back In Alpharetta
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2020-08-19
ALPHARETTA, Georgia — It’s not an unfamiliar script. A player arrives at a golf course in an Atlanta suburb, shoots a decent first round, makes a big move on the second day then turns it on in the final round to win. Bryson Nimmer has written those two stories over the last two weeks, and both times it has resulted in LOCALiQ Series victories for the Mackenzie Tour player.
Nimmer’s latest triumph came at The Championship at Echelon Golf Club, where he followed his 69-65 start with a final-round 66 to capture his second consecutive LOCALiQ Series title to go with his victory last week across town, at the Alpharetta Classic. He defeated Argentina’s Alejandro Tosti, Mexico’s Raúl Pereda and fellow American Isaiah Salinda by two shots.
A week ago, Nimmer fired a final-round course-record 62—with two bogeys—to capture the inaugural tournament at The Golf Club of Georgia. [In the final round], Nimmer didn’t go as low as last week, but he also recorded zero bogeys on the final day, with four of his six birdies coming on the back nine and two late in the day, at Nos. 16 and 17.
Locked in a battle with Tosti, who was playing behind Nimmer, and Pereda, who posted a 14-under score earlier in the afternoon, Nimmer checked the scoreboard on his phone on the 15th tee and saw he was trailing by one.
“I told myself if I could get two more (birdies) before I finished, that would probably get me into a playoff,” Nimmer said. Although he only parred the 15th hole, he was happy with his two-putt from 20 feet.
He did make the two birdies he thought he needed, and as it turned out, he actually cemented the victory at 16 and 17—no playoff necessary.
His drive on the par-4 16th left him in the rough and 110 yards from the pin. “I knew I had to be aggressive to a back-left flag. I was trying to win the tournament, so I went right at it and hit a really good shot about three feet left of the pin,” Nimmer explained. That moved him to 15-under, and he picked up another birdie at No. 17. Nimmer hit his 7-iron approach to 15 feet left of the cup and drained the birdie figuring Tosti had birdied the par-5 14th (he did). Nimmer closed his day by parring the 18th and posted a 66, 16-under overall.
“I went in, signed my scorecard and was confident there was going to be a playoff. When I turned around, [Tosti] was in the middle of the fairway. I figured he’d make either par or birdie,” Nimmer added. What he didn’t know was Tosti was actually at 15-under and a stroke behind with an approach into the 18th. He left that shot in the bunker and needed to hole out so Tosti could get into a playoff.
“I knew he missed the green, but I thought his chip was to tie me,” Nimmer continued. In actuality, he had already won the tournament.
“There were some members on the back patio who told me I won. I was pretty sure he was tied with me, but they told me that his chip was for par. That’s how I found out I won.”
The victory was again worth 500 Race to The Bahamas points, giving Nimmer a commanding lead in the points chase. He also earned $16,000, a $32,000 payday in his two-week visit to Atlanta metro.
Did you know Bryson Nimmer has played in two PGA TOUR tournaments? While still an amateur, he made the cut at the 2019 Puerto Rico Open, shooting bookend 69s to tie for 47th. Nimmer returned to the Puerto Rico Open this February but missed the cut. He shot scores of 76-73.