MANCHESTER – After the way he played the first two rounds of the Manchester City Golf Championship, Austin Fox didn't expect he'd be holding a trophy come Labor Day afternoon.

But with a near-flawless final round at Derryfield Country Club on Monday, the 19-year-old Intervale Country Club golfer earned his Rory McIlroy moment, winning his first city crown by a stroke over Derryfield's David Sherborne. With rounds of 73-76-68, Fox finished at 4-over-par 217, while Sherborne (75-72-71) finished at 218. Defending champion and second-round leader David Larrivee of Manchester Country Club finished third at 222 (72-72-78).

With a strong finishing kick – a birdie on No. 17 and an up-and-down par at 18 – Fox overtook Sherborne, a 30-year-old New Zealand native who appeared in control of the tournament before meeting disaster at 17, a 559-yard behemoth. Two-under par on his round and playing in the last group, Sherborne led Fox by two strokes when he drove out of bounds on the par-5 hole, a miscue that led to a triple-bogey 8 and put him one stroke behind.

A two-time Derryfield club champion, Sherborne recovered admirably, striking his approach on 18 to within 15 feet. But his birdie putt to force a playoff missed on the low side, giving Fox reason to celebrate the day before heading back to school for his sophomore year at New Hampshire Technical Institute.

“The last two rounds I've gotten a bunch of bad breaks, and today I got some good ones and (victory) happened,” said Fox, who lives in Hooksett. “It all balances out in the end.”

Sherborne, who had taken the lead with birdies on Nos. 3 and 5 while Larrivee faltered early, considered hitting 3-wood off the 17th tee but opted to hit driver after seeing on a nearby leader board that Fox had climbed to within two strokes.

“I thought, you know, I'll take a driver and give myself more of a chance of making a birdie, and maybe get more of a buffer,” Sherborne said. “And obviously I hit the worst tee shot I hit the last three days, and it couldn't have come at a worse time.”

Starting the final round five strokes behind Larrivee, Fox thrust himself into contention on the front nine, making birdies at Nos. 2 and 9 and his only bogey of the day at No. 8. After making seven consecutive pars to start the back nine, his 3-wood second shot on 17 finished on an uphill slope left of the green, and he subsequently pitched close and holed a short birdie putt.

“I went into 17 knowing I had to make a birdie somewhere,” he said.

On 18, Fox's approach landed on the front of the elevated green but spun back onto the fairway, about 10 yards short. After pitching to six feet, Fox holed a left-to-right breaker that wound up being the difference.

Larrivee, who led Sherborne by three strokes entering the final round, let his chances for a repeat slip away early, most notably with a double bogey at No. 6.

“I just didn't hit crisp shots,” the 45-year-old said. “Yesterday I got away with not hitting the ball great, but today it wasn't my home course, and I don't know some of the bounces … I just made a lot of mistakes.”

Manchester's Ryan Tombs (79-72-74) won the tournament's under-18 junior division for the second consecutive year, while Derryfield's Danny Arvanitis (72-78-76) posted his third consecutive victory in the 55-and-older senior division, winning a playoff over Manchester's Rich Terzian.

With his individual victory, Fox led Intervale to its first-ever team championship, which counts each city club's low three scores. With a 672 total, Intervale edged both Manchester and Derryfield by a stroke.

Manchester City Golf Championship
Final Results
Austin Fox 73-76-68–217;
Dave Sherborne 75-72-71–218;
Dave Larrivee, 72-72-78–222;
Jeff Sullivan 74-79–223;
Ryan Tombs 79-72-74–225;
Richard Terzian 75-77-74–226;
Dan Arvanitis 72-78-76–226;
Patrick Mahan 71-82-74–227;
Sean Lacy 75-78-75–228;
Kyle Badger 76-77-75–228;
Nate Gardner 81-80-68–229;
Barry Hammer 72-76-81–229;
Roger Larrivee 79-75-75–229;
Mathew Paradis 81-75-74–230;
Ethan Aube 77-83-70–230;
Ken Prince 74-77-79–230;
Ray Badger 74-78-79–231;
Bo Harris 78-78-75–231;
Dave Kane 78-78-76–232;
Todd Becker 77-78-77–232;
Tom Mareno 78-81-74–233;
John Schuder 84-74-75–233;
James Hickey 83-76-75–234;
Patrick Gocklin 72-84-78–234;
Jim Conley 74-84-76–234;
Derick Mahoney 74-82-78–234;
Peter Franggos 76-82-76–234;
Rick Morse 79-83-74–236;
Mitch Edwards 77-78-82–237;
Daniel Myers 78-80-81–239;
Sean Reardon 78-80-81–239;
Travis Scheyd 79-85-76–240;
Brian Cullity 80-80-80–240;
Norm Godin 76-84-80–240;
Brendan O'Sullivan 79-83-79–241;
Casey Kesselring 81-83-78–242;
Roger Godin 83-80-79–242;
G. deGrandmaison 78-83-83–244;
Tom Thornton 83-79-83–245;
Justin Clutter 80-79-88–247;
Dylan Cowette 78-84–NC