Michael Gligic rallies to win Frank B. Fuhrer Jr. Invitational

When Michael Gligic began his round in the Frank B. Fuhrer Jr. Invitational eight shots behind 54-hole leader David Bradshaw, the former winner of the Web.com tournament was still confident he had a chance to win.

Gligic knew he had to play well and hoped Bradshaw and other golfers in the 40-man field struggled at the difficult Pittsburgh Field Club course.

Bradshaw, a three-time champion and a two-time runner-up, had a rough day, finishing with a 7-over par 77, and no one else made huge charge.

Gligic, a Kitchener, Ontario pro who shot 3-under 67 in the final round, didn’t expect he would need eight extra holes to win his first Frank B. Fuhrer Jr. Invitational title and a $40,000 purse.

Gligic, Washington native Steve Wheatcroft and Michigan native Ryan Lenahan all finished the 72-hole event at 1-under par, forcing a three-hole aggregate playoff. After those three holes were played (holes No. 16-18), Gligic and Wheatcroft began a sudden death playoff on the par 3 No. 18.

They played it five times before Gligic won it with a par. Gligic made a fabulous up-and-down on the fourth playoff hole to stay alive. He missed the green to his left and then with little room to spare because of a back left pin placement, hit a flop shot to within two feet.

Still, he needed Wheatcroft to miss an 8-footer to stay alive.

“I can’t wait to come back here and get one of those jackets,” Gligic said. “It looks good on you.”

The winner of the event also gets a plaid jacket.

Frank B. Fuhrer Jr. joked during the presentation that the playoffs were so long he fell asleep five times.

And while Gligic and Wheatcroft didn’t get sleep, they were losing steam while battling the mid-80s temperature and pressure of the tournament.

“I didn’t mind playing No. 18 over and over,” Gligic said. “We knew the distance (220 yards), and we tried to hit 5-iron to the same spot and hoped he tired.”

Both golfers had opportunities to win it. Wheatcroft missed a 6-foot par putt on No. 18 that would have given him the win a 2-under.

Gligic wasn’t even a blip on the leaderboard after his first nine holes. Even though he eagled No. 2, three bogeys had him making the turn at 1-over for the round and 3-over for the tournament.

But the first four holes on the back nine got him back in contention. He birdied No. 10, eagled No. 11 by making a 40-foot putt from the fringe and birdied No. 13.

“It was a long day,” Gligic said.

Wheatcroft said he wasn’t bothered by playing the same hole over and over in the playoff.

“I hit two bad ones to end the playoffs,” Wheatcroft said. “I got too conservative on No. 15 and a couple times in the playoffs, I hit a few bad shots at the wrong time.

“I tried to put pressure on David.”

Wheatcroft overtook Bradshaw after a birdie on No. 13 put him at 3-under. Bradshaw was playing No. 11 and bogeyed to fall to 2-under.

A double-bogey six on No. 17 ended Bradshaw’s hopes of winning again.

Wheatcroft and Lenahan split the second- and third-place purse and walked away with $16,000.

Three players tied for fourth — amateur Jack Katarincic, a member of the Pittsburgh Field Club, and Indiana’s Matt Holuta and Bradshaw, who earned $7,750.