EVANSVILLE — This individual round ranks among the best in Romain Cadillac Evansville Men’s City Tournament history.
That isn’t up for debate. Caleb Wassmer etched his name among the greats with an 11-under 59 in the opening round on Saturday, Aug. 1 at Fendrich.
Nobody in 97 years of this event has gone that low in the City Tournament. A moment he’ll forever have regardless of what happens next.
“There’s really not words to describe it,” Wassmer said.
How did it happen? The North Posey graduate had the hottest putter on the property.
The potential shifted midway through his opening nine. Wassmer rattled off seven straight birdies beginning on No. 14 (he started on the back nine) and made the turn in 6-under 29. The only error came on the par-3 fourth. Wassmer hit a five iron to 30 feet but got too aggressive on his first putt, leading to a bogey. What came next directly led to the final outcome.
A two-putt birdie at 7. A 12-footer that snuck in for another birdie at 8. Wassmer found the fairway at 9 but hit a wedge from 75 yards thin to the back fringe. He still managed to sink the ensuing 25-foot putt. The final tally: 12 birdies, one bogey.
The previous City Tournament record at Fendrich was believed to be 61 by three people, including his father and 10-time City champion Kevin Wassmer. Tournament officials confirmed nobody has ever broken 60 at any of the four courses.
“59 is something that I knew was probably there if everything came together,” Wassmer said. “Especially here at Fendrich. The greens have been kind of soft, especially with the rain, and a lot of the work they’ve done to make the course really nice for us. Granted, I didn’t think I’d rattle off seven (birdies) in a row.”
His round was the headline from a dominant theme in the opening round: a lot of low numbers.
Thirty-one players finished Day 1 in red numbers. There was a staggering 73 at 2-over or better. That’s half the field for those counting at home. It’s not unexpected for Fendrich to yield low results, but this day was an outlier in the history of this tournament.
Two-time champion Logan Osborne sits in second at 7-under following a bogey-free round — he played in the same group as Wassmer. Blake Ruckman posted the low round of the morning at 66 to sit in third. A large group of talented players are right behind them. Jace Day, Wade Worthington, Alex Cook and two-time defending champ Peyton Blackard are 5-under. Walker Beck, Luke Johnston, Daymian Rij and Hank Schreiber sit at 4-under.
They’re all sitting behind the overnight leader who accomplished history.
“I had a plan coming in on my tee shots,” Wassmer said. “Did a really good job all day. I knew that if I got one or two (at 7) that there was a really good chance with how I was playing, wedging it and putting today. Everything might come together and be able to make a run.”
Below are the complete first-round scores. The second round moves to Helfrich with the low 40 and ties earning spots at Rolling Hills and Evansville Country Club. It’s going to be tough to best what occurred on Saturday.
Evansville Men’s City Golf Tournament
59: Caleb Wassmer
63: Logan Osborne
64: Blake Ruckman
65: Jace Day, Wade Worthington, Peyton Blackard, Alex Cook
66: Walker Beck, Luke Johnston, Daymian Rij, Hank Schreiber
67: Alex Manion, Ryan Knapp, Jacob Fleming, Matt Monroe,
68: Evan Bonnell, Drew Cahill, Trevor Grant, Brody Sorrell, Mason Mills, Troy Wagner, Patrick Montgomery, Cade Schiff
69: Dave Turpin, Kyle Smith, Matthew Godsey, David Mills, Michael Daum, Stewie Hobgood, Chase Emge, Kyle Aiton
70: Layne Cunningham, Lucas Ray, Trevor Wagner, Jeff Rhymer, Brandon Moore, Nathan Hoss, Isaac Marx, Jon Somers, Doug DeLong, Chip Tiemann, Spencer Wagner, Cameron Weyer, Zach Thomas
71: Derek Broshears, Drew Shockley, Will Ray, James Marshall, Nolan Ballard, Jacob Eble, Kyle Asay, Phillip Riggs, Brayden Carrie, Kevin Higdon, Adam Akin, Kyle Whitmore, Brayden Johnson, Austin Abbott, Brandon Long
72: Sam Lingo, Grant McCleary, Joseph Hawk, Collin Brinker, Cameron Roy, Chad Houchin, Lucas Zielinski, Jason Boyle, Nathan Dewan, Jason Mueller, Clint Sallee, Nolan Schapker, Andy Eble
73: Camden Koester, Reed Johnson, Hunter Riggs, Treston Short, Alex Webb, Mike Kirchoff, Trent Mulherin, Kurt Seib, Ryan Horstketter, Eric Brinker, Alex Weinzapfel, Peyton Butler
74: Scott Hastings, Mason Royalty, Patrick Craig, Nathaniel Caudle, Ryan Schulz, Joseph Richardville, Garrison Clowdus, Landon Smith, Jackson Strong, Eli Reeves, Luke Price, Brayden Lamborne, Brandon Broshears
75: Eli Edwards, Ryan Beaven, Brent Weinzapfel, Mary Murray, William Osborn, Nico Bordfeld, Mark Kennedy, Yaoming Gong, Lee Hoagland, Matt Huff
76: Glen Fehr, Ed Lappe, Justin Waiz, Matt Price, Gehrig Wynn, Conner Frey, Kellen Higginson
77: Ed Prevo, Liam Garling, Kyle Hodoval, Andrew Schmidt, Jacob Murphy, Quinn Bane, Zach Schnell, Sam Key, Kurtis Anthony, Jake Hess, Chris Newkirk, Noah Stewart, Seth Bell
78: Alex Mitchell, Chase Maynard, Drew Lappe, Jordan Bedwell, Mason Monroe, Cody Coll
79: Alex Abbott, Aaron Singleton, Jacob Miller, Daniel Woods
80: Mohammad Shehadeh, Tom Doyle, Luke Hamlin, Adam Harpenau
81: Brennan Austin, Daniel Preske
82: Matthew Mills
83: Nolan Gretler, Evan Rhymer
Kyle Sokeland is a sports reporter for the Courier & Press. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @kylesokeland or email at kyle.sokeland@courierpress.com.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Caleb Wassmer sets City Tournament record in opening round at Fendrich
Reporting by Kyle Sokeland, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
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By Kyle Sokeland, Evansville Courier & Press | USA TODAY Network
