Herman was still in good position to win the tournament that he had led since Friday afternoon, but needed to finish strong. And Wittenberg had just flown his approach over the green on the par-4, giving Herman a window of opportunity.
But it wasn't meant to be. Herman decelerated on his gap-wedge approach from 130 yards out, and the ball came up short in a greenside pond. The resulting double bogey gave Wittenberg a two-stroke advantage, after Wittenberg got up and down from just long of the green.
"Casey had just gone long, and that's what I was thinking, that everything was playing short," Herman said. "I just deceled. I'll remember that one for a while."
And once Wittenberg birdied the 16th and Herman bogeyed, the verdict was essentially final.
Wittenberg went on to par 17 and 18, finishing up a final-round 66. The 5-under par final round gave the Memphis native a two-stroke victory over Herman (70) and Justin Hicks (67) at the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open.
"I hit the ball fairly good," Wittenberg said. "(I) hit the lines that I relatively wanted to hit...Just tried to put my head down and make birdies. Tried to go win the golf tournament, and not let it come to me."
Heading into the final round, Wittenberg held second place alone at 13-under, two strokes back of Herman. Fresh off a solid T10 showing at last week's U.S. Open, the one-time star amateur came into Sunday's final round with plenty of confidence - especially after shooting 5-under on his back nine Saturday to surge into contention.
Sunday, Wittenberg picked up right where he left off, birdieing his first two holes to pull within a shot (Herman birdied the second as well).
Although Herman birdied the third to regain the two-stroke advantage, Wittenberg remained patient, feeling good about his game and knowing that there was a lot of golf to be played.
"I didn't really hit bad shots," Wittenberg said. "I just didn't hit anything really close...You just can't ever quit, you've got to keep going, trying to scrap as hard as you can."
Even despite an untimely penalty on the sixth green. In one of the more frustrating rules of golf, Wittenberg had to add a shot to his score - when his ball moved as he took the putter head back. The ensuing bogey pushed Herman's lead to three, but that was the largest it would get.
And with the win, Wittenberg can put the penalty in perspective.
"Essentially gave a shot back to the field," Wittenberg said. "But you know, sometimes that's just the way it works out."
Now Wittenberg has a chance to return to the PGA Tour with one more great week. Wichita was his second win of the year, and a three-win season provides an instant 'battlefield promotion' to the PGA Tour.
With an aggressive mentality on the golf course, Wittenberg is confident that he can get in contention whenever he plays well.
"That (aggression) is just my M.O. there," Wittenberg said. "I try to play smart but aggressive golf. I try to make birdies, and I try to shoot low numbers...If I can just focus and continue to work on what I'm working on, hopefully I'll give myself another chance before the end of the year."
The Oklahoma State grad is playing next week in Indiana, and could be on the PGA Tour in a matter of days.
It has not been an easy journey for Wittenberg, in his search for consistent PGA Tour success. After a promising amateur career that provided Wittenberg with exemptions in the Masters and U.S. Open - along with sponsor's exemptions to plenty of PGA Tour events - the 27-year old found himself relegated to the Hooters Tour when he couldn't make it through Q-School.
But despite the adversity, Wittenberg plugged away - knowing that he had the talent, and that good things would come.
"It's a hard game," Wittenberg said. "If you can ever just find a little bit of an edge, it's usually never that far away...Golf's a funny game. It rides in streaks, everybody's game runs in streaks."
Wittenberg finally earned full Nationwide status in 2008, and played well enough to earn his PGA Tour card for 2009. After failing to keep his card, he came back to the Nationwide circuit.
But with two wins already before the end of June, there is little doubt that Wittenberg will be returning to the PGA Tour soon enough. It's just a matter of when.
Maybe when he gets back out there, he will be ready to make a consistent career of it.
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-Despite the loss, Herman remains positive and upbeat about the solid week. After going double bogey-bogey on holes 15 and 16 to fall out of contention, the Cincinnati native closed strong with birdies on 17 and 18 to tie for second.
"It was a great week," Herman said. "(I will) build off it going into next week, and see if I can get it done next week."
Herman moves into 14th on the Nationwide money list after his effort, putting him in solid position to make it back to the PGA Tour. Still, the 34-year old knows there is a long way to go.
And that he let one slip away here in Wichita.
"You play 68 holes, and it comes down to one mistake," Herman said. "That's why we hate this game, and love this game."
-After a disappointing bogey at the short par-5 14th, Hicks rebounded nicely with a birdie on the tough 17th. The birdie allowed Hicks to finish T2, and the Royal Palm Beach resident - now 9th on the money list - feels good about the direction of his game, heading into the heat of the season.
"It's just about putting good solid weeks up," Hicks said. "If it's wins, or seconds, or thirds, or fifths, or tenths - whatever it is. I've got a really good, confident feeling about what I'm doing. Just playing some good, confident golf these days - and trying to have as much fun with it as I can."
-Joseph Bramlett closed in 68 to share fourth with a trio of others. After spending his rookie season as a professional on the PGA Tour, Bramlett is out on the Triple-A circuit for 2012 - finding consistency and sharpening his game for a potential return to the big tour.
"I've been working on a lot of things in my game this year," Bramlett said. "And I've started seeing some improvements with it."
After an up-and-down 2011 that saw Bramlett miss 13 of 25 cuts and fail to retain his PGA Tour status, the Stanford grad has played steady golf in 2012 - making 10 of 12 Nationwide cuts.
For Bramlett, all is well. And if he wants to make it back to the big leagues, he knows what he has to do.
"I've got to play well," Bramlett said. "I've got to make birdies and have good finishes. There's a lot of talented players out here...But the biggest thing I'm focusing on is just trying to improve - each week."
-The Nationwide Tour returns to action Thursday morning, for the inaugural United Leasing Championship in southern Indiana.
Looking forward to it.
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