Saturday, June 30, 2001
Gerwin defeats Thomas to win Met
By Malcolm C. Knox
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Robert Gerwin II made six birdies in the finals.
(Dick Swaim photos)
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Even after going 5-under on the front nine holes, Robert Gerwin II knew he had to keep working if he wanted the Met championship.
After all, he'd seen his opponent, 31-year-old Mike Thomas, play 10 extra holes against 18-year-old Mark Erlewine Jr. earlier that day. Gerwin had even beaten six-time Met champion Jim Volpenhein, 1-up, at Volpenhein's home course, Traditions Golf Club.
“I've been playing too much,” Gerwin said. “Anything can happen. I never felt he was out of it. ... Anybody can get hot at any time.”
He should know, with the way he blazed through the course in the finals of the 92nd annual Greater Cincinnati Golf Association Metropolitan Amateur Championship. Gerwin made six birdies, including three in a row, and one bogey on the way to a 4 and 3 win, his first Met title.
Mike Thomas lines up a putt.
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Gerwin, who plays out of The Camargo Club, took the lead for good on the fourth hole.
He landed his tee shot stiff in the middle of the green. Thomas' went to the left, landing about two feet from the woods and deep rough and his third shot flew across the fairway into the woods on the other side. Thomas ended up taking a six on the hole.
By the turn, Gerwin had extended the lead to three and Thomas was fading.
“I felt tired,” Thomas said. “I didn't really ac knowledge it, but I think I did feel tired turning into the back nine. About maybe 13 or 14 ... I was just beat.”
Mark Erlewine celebrates a birdie.
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Thomas and Erlewine played 28 holes, longer than anyone in the Greater Cincinnati Golf Association could remember Friday, in their semifinal match. Denny Straley, a volunteer for the tournament, played to eight extra holes in the 1959 Met, he said.
“(Thomas) will run out of gas, I'm sure,” Straley said before the final match.
Thomas, who plays and works at Vineyard Golf Club, got a break on the 11th hole and took advantage when Gerwin's tee shot went into the deep rough on the right side of the fairway. Thomas birdied, winning his first hole since hole No. 1. It would also be the last he would win.
“You've got to keep playing,” Gerwin said. “He's won four matches. Once you start thinking you've got it, you start failing.”
Gerwin, a veteran of the local amateur golf scene, reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur in 1997, but had never reached the final of his hometown Met.
At the awards ceremony, Gerwin thanked Volpenhein, the Greater Cincinnati Golf Association and Traditions. Volpenhein, smiling, thanked Gerwin for ruining his day.
In the other semifinal match, Erlewine led by two after 11 holes. By the 15th, Thomas had pulled ahead. Erlewine won 16, tying it. That's the way it stayed until they reached the 10th extra hole. On the 28th hole, Erlewine went into the rough, giving Thomas the edge he needed.
Even after losing, Erlewine smiled on his way back to the clubhouse. “I'm sure I'll get my chance,” the Covington Catholic senior said. “I'm pretty sure.”
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Gerwin defeats Thomas to win Met