But just before Gerwin’s miss, Brady Catalano of Columbus rolled in a birdie putt of at least 30 feet to win the tournament with his second straight 69 to finish at 5-under par. Gochenouer and Gerwin finished tied for second at 4-under and one long putt away from a playoff.
“I knew that I had to go really low the second day if I wanted to have a chance to win,” Gochenouer said. “I just went out there and played my game and just worried about myself, and it obviously worked out really well.”
Gochenouer finished second for the second straight year in the event. He also did that twice at the Division II state high school tournament before winning it last year as a junior and leading Alter to the team title.
Gochenouer, who shot 73 Tuesday and played the final three holes in heavy rain, made six birdies and no bogeys on Wednesday. He birdied three of the first four holes, then 10, 11 and 15 on the back nine.
“I didn’t drive it great the first day, but Wednesday I drove it really well, and that’s what set up all the birdies that I made,” he said. “It’s a tight course, and you really have to hit the fairways. I was able to fire at the pins.”
Gochenouer did that on No. 10. From 110 yards he hit a low 50-degree wedge that squarely struck the flagstick about halfway up and rolled back off the green. Instead of landing past, spinning back a little for a sure par, Gochenouer need a good chip for a chance at par. Instead, his shot bounced once, hit the stick and fell in the hole for a birdie.
“That was pretty crazy,” he said.
Gochenouer’s Alter teammate, T.J. Kreusch, followed his opening 70 with a 75 Wednesday to finish tied for ninth at 3-over par.
Holden Orofino of Powell won the 15-and-under division in a four-hole playoff against Jack Marsh of Worthington. Orofino shot rounds of 76 and 73 to finish 7-over par. Marsh was the first-round leader and went 73 and 76.
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