AKRON, Ohio – Steve Kibare, wearing an easy smile reflective of his calm persona, put on a dazzling display of golf on Tuesday en route to a convincing victory in the APGA Bridgestone Collegiate at Firestone Country Club.

The Georgia native entered the final round with a share of the lead, but his nearest pursuers stumbled one by one. Then, with one mighty swing, he delivered the decisive blow on the oft-torturous par-4, 11th hole – a 415-yard monster.

Kibare conquered No. 11 with a perfectly lofted 9-iron from 137 yards that gently touched down on the green before rolling softly into the cup for a tournament-clinching eagle. Kibare held his emotions in check as he stood near the green with his legs crossed, looking like a golfer who knew the deal had been sealed.

“The shot was into the wind, so I just hit a little sawed-off nine iron,” Kibare said. “The shot didn't leave the flag, and it landed a foot past and it spun back into the hole.”

Kibare never saw the ball nestle into the back door of the hole. He didn’t celebrate – at least, not outwardly. Inside, however, he knew losing wasn’t in the equation as he strolled confidently toward the green without his putter in tow.

Kibare, a Dalton State College graduate, fired a 5-under, 65 in capturing his first APGA Collegiate title. He followed a first-round 69 with a nearly effortless, bogey-free second round accentuated with his tournament-clinching eagle and three birdies – including a 24-foot birdie putt on the 148-yard, par-3 sixth hole.

“I just knew if I did my own thing, and I stuck to the plan me and my mom had made, we could come out on top,” said Kibare, who won $9,000 with his victory.

Kibare, whose mother, Rosemary, had been his swing coach, entered the tournament as somewhat of a longshot. South African Kieron van Wyk, Greg Odom Jr. and Quinn Riley were considered the favorites. But the work he put in with his mother made a significant difference both physically and mentally.

“It’s very demanding off the tee here,” said van Wyk, who found only five fairways in navigating the South Course in 74 strokes. “You needed to get your ball in play, which I struggled with, and I think that's why I didn't score pretty good.

“So if there's any takeaways, I have to drive the ball better. I knew if I got off to a good start, I could probably put some pressure on Steve. But I did not do that, so I felt like I was chasing all day. Steve just kept making birdies, so there was nothing we could do about getting beat by good golf.”

Odom finished runner-up with a two-round total of 140, firing back-to-back 70s. Mahindra Lutchman was the only other golfer in the field to shoot under par in the final round, a 2-under 68, to place third at 1-over.

Riley, who shared the first-round lead, was six over for his round to finish tied for seventh with van Wyk at 5 over. Cameron Riley was third at 2 over while Mulbe Dillard and Marcus Smith Jr. tied for fifth, nine shots adrift of Kibare.

“Obviously, my expectations were exceeded with the way I played, but yes, I knew I had to drive the golf ball well out here,” Kibare said. “The greens were not as firm as they were last year, just because of all the rain (on Monday), but the rough was still thick and to cope with.”

For all the fireworks on 11, the door began to close on both Riley and Odom on the par-4, 386-yard 10th hole. As they both struggled to salvage bogey, Kibare capitalized on an approach shot that left him 12 feet below the hole.

Riley’s pitch settled 15 feet above the hole. Odom chipped out of the deep rough to within 6 feet. They both watched anxiously as their par putts died near the hole – and their title hopes withered.

Kibare, who birdied Nos. 6 and 7 to tally 33 on the front side, confidently rolled in a birdie putt on 10 to stretch his lead to six shots. While his win appeared assured, he sealed it on 11 with what he called “my best shot of the year.”

A shot he thought he had missed.

“I was told by the group ahead of me that it had gone in,” said Kibare, whose parents are Kenyan natives. “I felt as if I had missed the shot.

“I had just birdied No. 10 and they had both bogeyed, so I thought to myself, ‘I should be good.’ I don't think I looked at the leaderboard up to that point. I get on 11, and it goes in, and I'm like, there's no way I’m not winning.

“I felt really good. I can’t lie. I knew I had to keep playing my own game and really focusing on each shot that I hit coming in.”

Admittedly, Kibare was guarding against overconfidence with seven holes remaining. It simply wanted to stay in the moment. So, he relied on his swing – and his faith.

“One thing I did during this tournament was I prayed before every golf shot,” said Kibare, who finished tied for eighth last year. “That helped me stay in the moment and not get ahead of myself. I wasn’t worrying about what was happening around me.

“I knew (Riley) had a bad start, then he birdied seven and eight, then stuck it on nine. I missed the green on nine, and that's when I realized, if everything falls his way, only two shots would separate us.”

Ultimately, Kibare separated himself from the field on the back nine. And it took only one mighty swing to do it.