The rising Georgia Tech sophomore and former Etowah standout bogeyed his first hole — the par-4 10th — and never quite recovered en route to his 1-over round Saturday, and a four-day score of 1-under 287, in the Dogwood Invitational at Druid Hills Golf Club.
Albertson entered his final round at the 6,860-yard course tied for 20th at 2 under, but he steadily dropped down the leaderboard as his round progressed. He followed No. 10 with a bogey on the par-3 13th, but he bounced back with a birdie at the 15th hole.
Whatever positive feelings Albertson may have felt following that first birdie were soon dashed after consecutive bogeys at 16 and 17 — he bogeyed the 17th hole in all four rounds — resulting in a 3-over 39 at the turn.
“I didn’t play well right from the start,” Albertson said. “I bogeyed my first hole, and went to 2 over early, and finished the front with two more bogeys. You can’t have a start like that and expect to play make any strong moves.”
Albertson made up ground over his final nine holes, securing birdies at the par-4 second and fifth, but it was his failure to collect birdies at the par-5s — he parred all four of them — that really disappointed him, leading him into in four-way tie for 28th overall.
“I played a lot better on the front nine, but I still wasn’t satisfied with my round,” Albertson said. “The course played really well (Saturday), but I wasn’t able to take advantage of anything. I didn’t get a single birdie on any of the four par-5s, and you have to make those to make any kind of moves out there.”
Having participated in many big tournaments throughout his young career, Albertson has high expectations of himself, and he knows that his performance at the Dogwood means he has things to work on in order to improve.
“This was a great field in a great tournament,” Albertson said, “but this one result isn’t going to affect me. I’ve played well at times, and, sometimes, not so well. You have to learn to move on to the next tournament and see what you can do there.
“Of course, I wanted to win. I want to win every tournament I play, but, sometimes, it doesn’t work out. I have to go back and practice on some things to get ready for the next time.”
Ben Kohles shot 67 on Saturday and passed third-round leader Bruce Woodall — his Virginia teammate — to win the championship at 17-under 271.
Buoyed by an eagle at No. 7 for the second day in a row, Kohles finished two shots ahead of Woodall and Michael Kim. Woodall shot his tournament-worst 71 in the final round, with Kim coming in at 68.
Bobby Wyatt (274) and first-round leader MJ Maguire (276) rounded out the top five.
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