Former UNLV golfer, England native Harry Hall wins first pro event at Wichita Open
Harry Hall looks like a famous golfer.
Now he can say he plays like one, too.
Hall, a former UNLV standout and rookie on the Korn Ferry Tour, shot a 67 to win the Wichita Open with a final score of 20-under par on Sunday at Crestview Country Club. He celebrated the victory by thanking his family, located thousands of miles away in Hayle, England, for their unconditional support … and by cracking a joke in front of the same fans that shouted references about his doppelganger throughout the week.
“For everyone calling me Bryson (DeChambeau) out there,” he said with a grin, “my name is Harry Hall.”
Hall isn’t exactly the spitting image of DeChambeau, but he is on the muscular side for a professional golfer, and he likes to wear the same kind of driver’s hat that Payne Stewart and old-time golfers used to wear on the links back in the day.
They share enough of a resemblance that a few fans stuck around and yelled the words “congrats Bryson” as Hall posed with the Wichita Open trophy, which is shaped like an airplane propeller.
Hall smiled back at them. This was a time to celebrate.
Hall came into the week ranked 83rd on the Korn Ferry Tour money list, so this victory will go a long way toward helping him earn a promotion to the PGA Tour next season. He is no stranger to being in contention on Sunday, but he has had trouble closing out events. Hall had previously finished in the top 10 of three other tournaments on the Korn Ferry Tour with career earnings of $100,989. He more than doubled that here with his first victory of any kind since 2018.
“I’ve never actually been a winner, to be honest,” Hall said in a British accent. “I’ve always been a consistent top 10 finisher throughout college. To get a win is fantastic, especially at this level. It is pretty hard to do”
Hall wasted no team surging to the top of the leaderboard on Sunday by making birdie on his first four holes. The scorching hot start propelled him past third-round leader Kevin Yu, and the rest of the field spent the remainder of the day trying to catch him.
They could not.
“I’m not sure why, but I have started every single day out here hot,” Hall said. “If you have a good short game and can get the ball around the green on short, gettable holes you can get it up and down for birdie. That’s what I did.”
The other golfers in the field didn’t let him run away and hide, though. A handful of competitors charged hard at him on the back nine and made things interesting as Hall tried to close out his round.
He finished one shot clear of Curtis Thompson, who shot a final round 65 and barely missed a putt on the 18th hole that could have forced a playoff.
Thompson walked off the final hole shaking his head, before saying “hopefully somebody makes a bogey” behind him.
Brett Drewitt also made a late push to finish at 18-under par for the tournament. But nobody charged more furiously than former champion Ollie Schniederjans, who went on a birdie spree on the back nine to get all the way to 21-under on the 17th hole.
He ran out of momentum on the final hole, though. Schiederjans shanked his drive to the right and out of bounds, which led to a closing double bogey. That mistake allowed Hall to bogey the 17th hole and win the tournament with a two-putt par on the last hole.
Wichita Open tournament director Roy Turner was first to congratulate him after the victory, telling the assembled crowd that this was “the best tournament we’ve ever had.” Attendance numbers reached new heights, as fans flocked to the course as COVID-19 regulations faded away.
Hall seemed to enjoy playing in front of the large crowd. He was in control most of the day. Three bogeys prevented him from winning without a hint of drama, but he didn’t complain at all about that.
“I’m proud that I was able to keep my round together and made the shots I needed to at the end,” Hall said. “I finished like a Rebel, which is what my college coach always liked to say.”