By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Michael Kessling started taking golf lessons at Highland Country Club when he was old enough to swing a driver and he went on to win the men’s club championship three times. But the 31-year-old financial planner’s biggest triumph on his home course came Thursday when he shot the low score in the championship final of the Northern Kentucky Men’s Amateur.
Kessling topped the leaderboard in the 36-hole stroke play final with rounds of 72 and 71 for a 3-over-par 143 total. Paul Huber, last year’s champion, finished second with 73-72-145 on his card.
“It feels good,” Kessling said of winning the amateur title on the hilly Highland course. “I’ve played here forever so I really wanted to come out and give it a whirl and see what I could do.”
Kessling was one of four golfers who survived two rounds of match play to advance to Thursday’s 36-hole championship final.
The morning round ended with him holding a one-stroke lead over Huber and Matt Bowlin with Tyler Lippert in fourth place. In the afternoon round, Kessling and Huber were tied for the lead going into the final nine holes and battled each other for the title.
Huber, an incoming freshman at the University of Cincinnati, took a one-stroke advantage with a par on No. 12. But Kessling tied it on No. 13, regained the lead on No. 15 and went up by two strokes with a birdie on No. 17.
“The big shot on 17 seemed to seal it for me,” Kessling said. “I hit a 9-iron (off the tee) to within like two feet (of the cup) and made birdie.”
On the final nine holes, Kessling had one birdie, seven pars and one bogey for an even-par 35. Huber finished out with one birdie, five pars and three bogeys for a two-over 37.
“He just hit some good shots and made some putts and I couldn’t get anything to fall at the right time,” Huber said of the last nine holes. “He was steady and very zeroed in. If there’s anyone I wanted to lose to, it was a member here.”
Kessling said his knowledge of the course did give him an advantage over the other three finalists, but it still wasn’t easy for him to win his first Northern Kentucky Men’s Amateur title.
“I was hitting the ball pretty good all day, I just couldn’t get my putting speed quite right,” Kessling said. “I was fortunate enough to make a couple putts and didn’t make many mistakes.”
Bowling finished third in the championship final with a 73-78-151, followed by Lippert with a 78-77-155. Chandler Clark won the 18-hole first flight final with a 79 that was three stokes better than runner-up Zach Day.
Complete amateur results are available on the Northern Kentucky Golf Association website.