Davis Seybert fired off a 5-under-par 67 in the final round to dethrone two-time defendng champion Parker Beaty and win the 2022 Odessa Men’s City Championship Sunday at Ratliff Ranch Golf Links.
“It feels great,” said Seybert after the round. “I just got goosebumps thinking about it.”
Seybert, who began the day two shots behind Beaty, was determined to not let the defending champion get too far ahead.
The Midland College sophomore birdied four of the opening five holes to tie things up heading into the par-4 sixth hole.
Beaty, despite making two birdies of his own to open his round, suddenly had no cushion to work with.
Seybert would finally cool off on the par-3 seventh, after an errant tee shot left an awkward pitch shot that he was unable to convert into a par.
Refusing to give back any ground, however, Seybert struck a beautiful second shot to seven feet on the par-5 eighth to put the pressure immediately back on his opponent.
Beaty’s second found the rough just off the right side of the eighth green, some of the deepest on the course throughout the week.
With Beaty unable to get up and down, Seybert would tap in for birdie to square things up again.
After both men parred the ninth, the duo moved to the back nine to determine the outcome.
Beaty would come out firing, knocking a wedge to within 10 feet and converting the birdie, while Seybert’s putt slid by.
Leading by a shot, Beaty pushed his tee shot into the native area on the left on No. 11.
Despite playing preferred lies this week, heavy foliage forced him to take a drop, and he would go on to make double-bogey on the par-4.
Both players would make bogey after missing the green at the par-3 12th.
The two men would find themselves in polar opposite situations on the par-5 13th.
While Beaty managed to knock his second shot onto the green with a 3-wood, Seybert missed his into the right bunker.
That set up the true turning point of the final round.
Seybert got up and down after blasting his shot to 10 feet from the bunker, while Beaty three-putted from the back portion of the green.
A complete reversal of how they began the day, Seybert was now two up coming down the final stretch.
Beaty would knock another wedge close to cut the lead to one on the par-4 15th, but Seybert would return the favor a few holes later on the par-4 17th to maintain his two-shot lead heading to the last hole.
Likely needing an eagle to force extra holes, Beaty took an aggressive line over the water on 18.
His tee shot came up just short of the fairway and in the rocks, forcing a punch out back into the fairway.
With his third shot settling just about 10 feet behind the hole, Beaty’s chances of a three-peat were all but dashed.
Seybert would make par to finish two shots in front.
The new champion had nothing but compliments for Beaty after their duel.
“I had to play some good golf to take down a tremendous player,” Seybert said. “Parker is really good, and he’s been good for a long time.”
Despite having won numerous different tournaments throughout his career, Seybert was extremely proud of this week’s victory.
“No matter where I go, or what I do, I can always say I’m a city champion,” he said. “That’s pretty cool.”
The round of the day belonged to Austin Anderson, who shot a 65 in the final round to tie Michael Hodges for third at 4-under.
In the senior division, Mark Jones closed with a final round 71 to take home the trophy by six shots.
In the super senior division, Skeet Glover shot 73 on Sunday to win his division by 11 shots.
Follow Nicholas Pursley on Twitter @nicholaspursley.
