For years as a child, Zach Prowant would go to the Williamsport Country Club every year in late July and watch the hundreds of golfers partake in the annual Williamsport Invitational tournament. It's a tournament Prowant himself most likely envisioned someday perhaps winning when he grew up.
So as he stood on the green on the 16th hole on Sunday evening and took two quick practice putts, the scenario in his head came to fruition as he sank the four foot birdie to give Kyle Deisher and himself the 3 and 2 win in the 83rd annual Williamsport Invitational tournament over Jordan Griggs and Jordan Isenberg.
"It's incredible (to win it). I've been watching since I was a kid and now to win it, it's pretty surreal," Prowant said. "It's awesome. It's a great accomplishment."
Prowant, who graduated from Loyalsock High School in 2006, and Deisher, a 2012 Montgomery High School graduate, played solid on the greens all afternoon against Griggs and Isenberg. Deisher routinely lined up amazing putts from all over the green, either sinking them to make a birdie or just gracing the hole by feet or inches to make par.
"Our championship (flight) match, we putted lights out," Deisher said, who was playing in his first Invitational. "If I wasn't making a lot of putts, I was staring the hole at least. If I gave the putt the right speed, I knew I had a good chance to make it most times."
Griggs sank a six foot birdie on the first hole to put Prowant and Deisher down one right off the bat. That deficit lasted just one hole before Prowant made par on the second hole, evening it up after both Griggs and Isenberg bogeyed.
The match stayed even through the fifth hole until when Prowant drove his tee shot about 230 yards straight down the fairway, allowing him to chip it in and make an easy birdie to put them up by 1.
Griggs and Isenberg wouldn't ever make it evened up the rest of the day.
"Wasn't hitting very good golf shots for awhile down the stretch," Isenberg said. "You got to keep grinding, you never know what might happen. You have to keep pushing it, we just didn't have it today."
It was then Deisher on seven who chipped a shot from approximately 150 yards out to within seven feet of the hole. Griggs hit a chip shot and managed to spin it in his favor on seven, but came up just a foot short of the hole and could only watch as Deisher sank his but to put them up by two.
"Just being patient and just not giving them holes," Prowant said of what sparked their team. "Just staying it it together and making birdies when we had the chances and then just protecting our lead. Once we got a few, we just did a good job of not giving them a few."
Deisher finished the day with three birdies while both Prowant and Griggs sank two. Deisher's best birdie easily came on the ninth hole.
The Montgomery alum hit a nice downhill shot on the green from up above the hole about 15 feet and played the slope perfectly, putting spin on the ball to sink it. Griggs had a chance to make birdie from about the same distance, only to come up inches short, giving Deisher and Prowant the 3-up lead.
Griggs and Isenberg looked primed for another late round comeback as they did in the first round of the tournament this year when on the 13th hole, Prowant missed a putt for bogey that made it just a 2-up game with five holes to play.
"The match isn't over until it's over. You got to keep grinding, you never know what can happen," Isenberg said. "Up there on 13, you'd have never dreamed that Zach would've missed that short putt and he did and it was a gift and we were hoping to take advantage of it. But a couple bad tee shots on the next hole, we weren't able to do it."
On 13, Deisher was uncharacteristic, missing a chip from just outside the green that went behind it and bounced off the cart path. Deisher then played his shot again, only to hit it up over the green to the front this time.
While Prowant and Deisher's putting was there strong game, Griggs and Isenberg were able to keep up with them and match them on most holes stroke for stroke, never letting them get a large lead in the match play tournament.
"We were three down this time, which is obviously not any better (than being two down on Friday), but I told (Griggs), we've been here before. We can do this, it's not impossible, (but) putts didn't fall," Isenberg said.
Championship Flight
Semifinals
Jordan Griggs/Jordan Isenberg def. John Zurich/Eric McNulty, 3 and 2; Zach Prowant/Kyle Deisher def. Todd Lazarus/Jon Manock, 2 and 1.
Finals
Zach Prowant/Kyle Deisher def. Jordan Griggs/Jordan Isenberg, 3 and 2.
