BYRON — So much for suspense.
Drama? A nail-biting finish? You had to look elsewhere; there was nothing of that sort during the 21st Rochester All-City Golf Championship, which concluded Monday at the Somerby Golf Club.
Brian Sommerfeldt made sure of that.
"I've been playing good golf all summer,'' he said. "Going into the tournament, I would have been happy with a top three. All in all, I really wanted to do better than last year.''
Last year Sommerfeldt finished in the middle of the pack, shooting a 76-80 in the rain-shortened tournament.
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This year, he blew away the field, winning by 11 strokes, the biggest margin in tournament history. Sommerfeldt opened with a 75 Saturday at Eastwood, carded a 1-under 71 Sunday at Northern Hills and completed his fine play with an even par 72 Monday at Somerby.
The 71 and 72 were the two low rounds of the tournament. He finished with a 281 total.
"I was most nervous Saturday at Eastwood,'' he said, "probably because of pre-tournament jitters. It helped, though, that I play at Eastwood quite often.''
Saturday?
"My tee time was 7:20 in the morning so I was out hitting balls at 6:20 in the dark. Then I started out bogey-bogey but settled down and finished the round with six birdies.''
Sommerfeldt held a five-shot lead heading into the final round, which was played on a crisp, cool, overcast day.
"Today, I found the green, hit it close and made putts," he said. "The guys I was playing with (2012 champion Michael Phen and Patrick Beste) made it comfortable for me out there. I opened with a bogey but they just told me to take it easy and play my game and I was able to right the ship."
At one point, Sommerfeldt was 2-under.
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"I never had a double bogey, and, really, no bad holes," he said.
Sommerfeldt, 27, is a 2005 graduate of Rochester Mayo but his game of choice in high school was baseball, not golf. He was a starting shortstop with the Spartans.
"My father (Kurt) and grandfather (Dick) got me started playing golf when I was growing up, but nothing competitive. I was just a casual player.
"I finally got to a point and realized that golf was something I could play for the rest of my life. And I was told that I was pretty good at it.''
On a spring golfing trip this year to Missouri, he never had a round out of the 60s.
"The guys I went on the trip with convinced me to enter the All-City and said that I would have a good chance to win," he said. "And that's what happened."
Sommerfeldt doesn't have a home course, but likes to play Eastwood, Willow Creek, Maple Valley and Soldiers Field the most, because they are close to his home. He plays two or three times a week.
"I've played scrambles and those types of tournaments before but this (All-City) is the most competitive tournament I have ever played," he said, "and I like that. After all the years of playing sports, my competitive spirit is still there."
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He owns Brian Sommerfeldt Construction LLC, a tile siding company he founded in 2011. Ninety percent of his business is new construction.
When he returns to defend his title next year, Sommerfeldt will do so as a married man. He is getting married next June to Danielle Ludwig, who also plays a little golf.
"But her golf is mostly social," he said, "although she did shoot a 52 the other day. For me, I would like to see where golf takes me. I wouldn't mind entering a few more tournaments."
Kyle Cooper finished second (78-76-75 — 229) while Scott Threinen was third (80-81-71 — 232). He won a playoff with Ken Gerzsenyi, a longtime top-10 finisher in this tournament.
Threinen also finished third last year. Elton Mosman, last year's champion, finished at 237 after rounds of 74, 82 and 81.
Phen, the 2012 champion, also finished at 237.
