ROANOKE, W.Va. — Not much separated Christian Brand and David Bradshaw through the first 45 holes of the 89th West Virginia Open at Stonewall Resort. The two former champions were closely tied near or at the top of the leaderboard throughout the first two rounds of the tournament.
As Brand describes it, he found the accelerator midway through his final round. The Capital High School and Marshall University graduate collected six birdies in a span of ten holes to pull away from Bradshaw. Brand claimed his third West Virginia Open title by three strokes over Bradshaw, finishing at 10-under.
“The back nine, the 45th to 54th holes of every event like this is what means the most. So it was good to play the best,” Brand said.
Brand and Bradshaw started the day tied at the top of the leaderboard at 6-under. Bradshaw, a 12-time champion, took the lead with a birdie on the third hole. Brand answered with birdies on the sixth, seventh and eighth holes. He headed to the back nine with a two shot lead at 9-under.
“I just locked in a little bit, to be honest with you. Early on, I was a little bit tentative, especially with the putter. I had a really good yardage on six, the short par three. It was a perfect yardage for my wedge. I hit a great shot to within three feet. Typically, that’s how I play golf. It jumpstarts me. I just have to get that pedal pushed a little bit and then I am able to get it all the way to the floor.”
Bradshaw’s tee shot on the 11th hole found a hazard and he went on to make double bogey. Brand made birdie on the 12th hole to extend his lead to five strokes at 10-under.
That cushion shrank quickly. Brand lost his tee shot left of the 13th fairway and he made double bogey. Bradshaw made birdie and a three-shot swing reduced Brand’s lead to just two shots.
“When that ball was flying on 13 into the tall stuff, I thought to myself, ‘I forgot how hard it is to win a golf tournament’. Because I haven’t been playing. It was a lazy swing. It is late in the championship so you are a little bit tired. I knew [Bradshaw] was going to make birdie from the fairway.”
Christian Brand’s comments at the trophy presentation after winning the 89th West Virginia Open: pic.twitter.com/Rko9PwCWXs
— Joe Brocato (@joebrowvm) June 24, 2022
Brand responded with back-to-back birdies to double his lead back to four strokes.
“The birdie on 14 and then making the putt on 15 was really the hammer to get back to equilibrium.”
Brand’s lead once again slipped to two shots after he made bogey on the 16th hole and Bradshaw chipped in for birdie on the 17th. However, Brand shut the door with a birdie on the final hole.
Brand and Bradshaw competed in the same group for all three rounds of the championship. The duo have combined to win fifteen of the last nineteen Open titles.
“[Bradshaw] is the barometer,” Brand said. “That’s the best way to say it. He was won it twelve times and he is a great champion. If he doesn’t win, which is very rare, he is at the top of the leaderboard. If you want to win this championship, you understand who you have to beat. Competing against him always brings out the best in me.”
Brand previously played on the Web.com and Korn Ferry Tours and he is in the process or moving back to amateur status.
“I will be playing a lot of amateur golf starting next year. I will be getting my amateur status back. This is really the only championship I can play in this year. I put a lot of emphasis on this. It does feel good to be back. I like just being around all the guys, Brad [Ulman} and [Chris] Slack and everybody on the executive committee. They watched me grow up and I have known them forever. It does feel good to be back. It feels like part of the family again.”
Wheeling’s Thadd Obecny finished third at 3-under. Hurricane’s Sam O’Dell and Petersburg High School graduate Nick Fleming shared low amateur honors. They finished tied for fourth at 1-under. Hurricane’s Pat Carter was the low senior. He finished tied for 15th. Cameron Jarvis of Barboursville was the low junior golfer.