Rabren nabs 2nd at ‘Masters’

Published 12:04 am Tuesday, July 1, 2014

0701 spt-Rabren, approach

Brooks Rabren hits his approach shot on No. 18 Saturday afternoon. | Andrew Garner/Star-News

DOTHAN — With the sun baking down on his shoulders, Brooks Rabren powered through the last few holes of the final round of the 2014 Future Masters Tournament on Saturday at Dothan Country Club.

The Straughn ringing senior put together a better day on the back nine on the third day of the 65th annual tournament, forcing it to go into a playoff with Tanner Owens of Memphis, Tenn.

Tied at 6-under for the championship, Rabren teed up his ball first on the playoff hole and hit his shot far left and out of bounds, causing a one-stroke penalty.

Rabren shot a double-bogey on the tournament-deciding hole and ended up finishing runner up in the tournament he was looking forward to playing in the most.

“It’s pretty disheartening,” Rabren said after his round.

Rabren said it was “exhaustion” that was the culprit on the final tee box, which sailed his tee shot far left.

Owens, who played with Rabren in the four-man group for the final round, made par on the playoff hole to seal the win by finishing at 6-under-par.

For the final round itself, Rabren finished the front nine even despite bogeying the fifth hole. He birdied the par-three third hole.

He made a come back on the back nine by making birdies on 12 and 14, and was tied for the lead after 15.

Both parred out the final two holes to send the tournament to the playoff.

Rabren said he was really feeling it Saturday, especially late in the round when he realized that no other player was within three shots of him and Owens.

“I hit the ball really poorly pretty much throughout the day, but I found a way to make pars,” he said. “I made some good up and downs.”

Rabren said the up and downs that stood out were “all of them.”

“I hit the ball really poorly and missed a lot of greens,” he said. “That was probably my worst ball-striking day of the week, but I found a way to pull it together for 18 holes. I left a lot of shots out there.”

While Owens may have won the tournament title, Rabren said his partner did play well.

“He played basically a flawless round of golf (Saturday),” Rabren said. “He hit every fairway, every green. It was awesome. It was really fun to watch. He’s a great player.”

Rabren said that he will be playing in next year’s tournament with it being his last.

“This tournament means more to me than any other I’ve played this summer,” he said. “It’s a pretty sad moment. It’s golf and it’s life.”