Scoreboard at the 86th annual Energy Weldfab Meadowbrook Classic Invitational in Kilgore. (Pat Wheeler/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

KILGORE — Andrew Presley shot a gritty two-over-par 74 Sunday to win his third Energy Weldfab Meadowbrook Classic.

The come-from-behind win over second round leader Corbin Barton makes Presley, from Aledo, three for three at Meadowbrook with his other wins coming in 2019 and 2021.

“It was a good round because the hole locations made scoring difficult,” Presley said. “I like playing in this tournament because I have had success and enjoy coming to Kilgore.”

Presley trailed Barton by one shot going into the final round of the 54-hole medal play event, now one of the longest running individual invitational tournaments in Texas, dating back to 1937. After the first nine on Sunday, the match between Presley and Barton was still close with the rest of the field much further back. Then Barton suffered a triple bogey eight on the 13th hole when his second shot went out of bounds to the left of the green.

With a comfortable lead, Presley played steady golf the rest of the way to put the championship away. The final round was a disappointment to Barton, who won last year and is entering his senior year at LeTourneau University this fall. Finishing third was his college teammate Noah Summers.

“It was a funny feeling to all of a sudden have a big lead,” Presley said. “That forced me to play a little differently but I was able to make some solid shots and come out on top. It was a tough day for scoring for all of us because the hole locations were challenging with the slopes of the greens.”

Presley, a 32-year-old business executive in real estate development, pursued pro golf for several years with some success. He won a couple of events on the developmental tours that feed the PGA Tour, but his most memorable moment came in the 2013 US Amateur at Cherry Hills near Denver. He made the final 16 in match play with wins over U.S. Open Champion Bryson DeChambeau and LIV player of the year Talor Gooch.

Winning for the third time puts Presley in some rather elite company as the late Raleigh Selby of Overton won four Meadowbrook titles as did Rick Maxey of Longview. Selby once advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur, losing to eventual champion Sam Urzetta at Minneapolis Country Club in 1950.

Presley said he became aware of the Meadowbrook tournament through his friendship with Kilgore native Brad Busselman who plays golf at the same club in Fort Worth — Mira Vista Country Club.

“I love playing competitive golf and this tournament always has a good field,” Presley said. “I hope to keep playing in it in the future.”