The 101st Fort Wayne Golf Association City Championship got off to a soggy start with the first of three rounds Saturday.
The morning tee times played under a heavy rain for several hours and it wasn’t until well after noon that the weather cleared up. When it finally did, it left a version of Orchard Ridge Country Club that was soft and gettable for the field’s 158 players.
“It was weird, I thought it was going to end up raining all day, but now it’s perfect,” Nick Holder, a co-leader after 18 holes, said shortly after his round. “It was a constant downpour for probably the first 13 holes, it didn’t let up the whole time. … But everyone’s gotta play in it, you can’t let it affect you.”
Holder, the former Bishop Dwenger and Purdue Fort Wayne standout, shot a 3-under 68, one of eight players under par, to hold a share of the lead alongside longtime contender Joe Hayden with two rounds to play.
Holder has been near the top of the leaderboard in the City Championship for several years, finishing second in 2022 and tied for sixth each of the last three tournaments. His younger brother, Alex Holder, who plays for NCAA champion Auburn, finished second himself in 2024 and caddied for his older brother Saturday – Nick Holder made sure to give Alex credit for some of the reads on the well sloped Orchard Ridge greens.
Those greens were somewhat tricky early on because of the rain, but Holder adjusted as the round went on and putted well.
“It made the greens a lot softer today, they were pretty receptive,” he said. “The first few holes I kept leaving (putts) short on the greens, so it took a little bit to get used to it, but after the first few holes got the speed down pretty well and started rolling some in. Made that adjustment and was pretty good the rest of the way.”
Even par after 10 holes, Holder, who is coming off finishing 24th in the Horizon League Championship for PFW, birdied three of the final eight to soar into the lead. He hit his irons well all day, going 4 under on the five par 3s, though he gave a couple of strokes back with a pair of bogeys on par 5s.
In contention yet again, the former Saint and Mastodon is taking it one shot at a time. He won’t change his mindset because he’s sleeping with the lead, he says.
“I’ve been here before, so I’m just going to treat it like another round (Sunday),” he said. “It’s just golf. It’s only a big deal if you make it a big deal. Just trying to stay within myself, play my game and trust the process.”
Hayden has long been arguably the most accomplished FWGA player without a city title. He 3-under on a bogey-free front nine and survived a double-bogey 7 on the par-5 12th to shoot even-par 35 coming home.
The 54-year-old Hayden has had a slew of close calls in this tournament: He finished second after losing a playoff to Patrick Kelley in 2013, was third in 2015, third after leading through 36 holes in 2016, third in 2018, second in 2021 and third in 2023.
After finishing tied for 25th last year at Sycamore Hills, he finds himself in contention with an array of far younger players and tied with Holder, three decades his junior.
Homestead product Ryan Parker, coming off his freshman season at Indiana Wesleyan in which he finished 14th in the Crossroads League Championship, is tied for second after a 2-under 69. The son of Spartans girls basketball and golf coach Rod Parker had a bogey-free opening round, collecting birdies on Nos. 14 and 16 after starting on 10 and capping his round with 11 pars in a row. He finished second as a 17-year-old in 2024.
Joining Parker on 2-under was former Bellmont standout Winston Brown, who was all-conference at Division II Tiffin this spring. Brown likewise went without a bogey, finishing with 10 consecutive pars.
Carroll alumnus and 2024 Huntington All-Crossroads League performer Peyton Richmond is at 1-under 70 after three birdies in a row on Nos. 12-14 and he’s joined in fifth by Matthew Chapman and Ryan Marquardt.
Defending champion Justin Hicks, a Leo product and a key player for PFW as a sophomore this past season, was even after the front nine but had three bogeys in a row on Nos. 10-12 and is tied for 32nd after a 75.
Another Mastodon, Julian Dugan, who was second last year a stroke back of Hicks, is three behind after a 71 that featured 16 pars. He’s tied for eighth along with three-time champion Rory Ransburg.
Heath Peters, the tournament champion in 2020, went out in 31 after five birdies on the front nine, including three in a row on Nos. 6-8, but he struggled to double bogeys on Nos. 14 and 18 to shoot 72.