Johnson loses State Open in playoff

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Neil Johnson of River Falls lost to amateur Dan Woltman of Beaver Dam on the second hole of a sudden death playoff to finish second at the Wisconsin State Open at Blackwolf Run in Kohler Wednesday.

Tyler Obermueller of River Falls finished in a tie for seventh place while former Wildcat teammate Andy Rauscher tied for 50th.

Johnson led by two strokes with one hole to play in regulation but made a double-bogey six on the final hole while Woltman, a recent University of Wisconsin graduate and the sixth-ranked amateur in the country, made par to force a playoff.

Both players parred the first extra hole before Johnson hit his tee shot on a 220-yard, par-3 into the mud on the edge of a water hazard on the left side of the green. He took three shots to get out of the hazard and his fourth shot landed in a bunker behind the green.

Woltman, who had landed his tee shot onto the green, two-putted for par to win the title.

Both players finished 72 holes of stroke play at 5-under par 283. Obermueller, who trailed Johnson by two strokes at the end of 36 holes, finished at 6-over par while Rauscher finished at plus-25.

Woltman, who also won the title in 2007, joined Bob Brue (1958-59) as the only amateurs to win the Wisconsin State Open twice.

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