By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Professional golfer Steve Flesch of Union finished 12th in the American Family Insurance Championship on Sunday with a three-round total of 206 that was five strokes behind co-medalist Jerry Kelly, who won a playoff for the title in the PGA Tour Champions event.
Flesch was at the top of the leaderboard going into Sunday’s final round at University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wisc. In the second round on Saturday, he birdied the final three holes for a 7-under 65 and led the field by one stroke with a 133 total. But the 52-year-old left-hander had three bogeys and two birdies in the final round for a 1-over 73 that left him in 12th place.
Flesch, who was part of a television broadcast team for the U.S. Open last week, received $44,000 after Sunday’s final round. He has now earned $327,627 in PGA Tour Champions events this year, according to statistics posted on the pgatour.com website. His best finish so far this year was fifth place at the Hoag Classic in March.
The next event on the schedule is the U.S. Senior Open Championship that’s set to begin on Thursday in Notre Dame, Ind. With a total purse listed as $4 million, it’s one of the biggest PGA Tour Champions events.
Last year, Flesch won the Mitsubishi Electric Classic for his lone PGA Tour Champions title. He also won four titles while playing on the PGA Tour.