Deal and Miller win putt-putt championship

Nov. 28—The conclusion of the putt-putt season in Hickory witnessed an impressive comeback by Bryan Deal and Richard Miller of Valdese, as they clinched the 2023 Hickory City Best Ball Championship.

The victory unfolded over a four-round, 72-hole tournament held on all four courses at the Putt-Putt Fun Center in Hickory on Nov. 19.

Although Deal Miller started off slowly, the duo gradually narrowed the gap with Ned Houston and Stuart Starnes, who led the tournament and had recently tied the tournament record in a two-round event the previous month.

By the tournament's halfway point, Deal and Miller, still trailing by several strokes, continued to chip away at the lead.

After three rounds, they were in a tight race with two other teams separated by a single stroke, including Greg Miller and Mason Miller.

The final round took place on a course where Deal and Miller had earlier in the year set the all-time single-round tournament record with a score of 20.

In a competitive final round, Jaydon DelVechio and Grant Edwards achieved the lowest score of 21, elevating their position in the rankings and securing a sudden-death match-up for second place, which they ultimately won despite being six strokes behind.

Greg Miller and Mason Miller claimed third place, while Deal and Miller finished the round with a 22 and secured the championship by five strokes.

In the B Division, the competition remained intense throughout the tournament.

After the first half of the tournament, only one stroke separated four teams going into the third round.

At the end of three rounds, Gavin Hoke and Katelyn Hoke emerged with a four-stroke lead.

In the final round, Lori Miller and Kaiden Whaling achieved the lowest score of 24 in the division, securing second place.

David Willis and Rodney Pyatte came in third, while newcomers Gavin Hoke and Katelyn Hoke won the B Division championship.

In their first full season of competitive putt-putt, Deal and Miller placed in more tournaments and had more top-three finishes per tournament entered than any other team.

The pair said that going from worst to first in a year has been an interesting journey, to say the least, with plenty of ups and downs.

The Putt-Putt Fun Center will now close for the season before reopening in mid-April, depending on weather conditions.