GREENSBORO — Matt Ryan played the par-5 18th at Greensboro’s Forest Oaks Country Club four times on Saturday, but the fourth and final go-around on the finishing hole proved to be the one that mattered most.
Through three rounds, Miller was the event’s outright leader with rounds of 65-65-70—200 for 16-under par – one shot clear of Ryan and four shots clear of Drew Weaver of High Point, entering the final round.
On the first playoff hole, Ryan, of Santa Clarita, Calif., laid well back after a pushed tee shot and wound up hitting his third to 40 feet short of the hole. Miller, who went for the green, wound up just short and left, pitching up to 12 feet for a good look at birdie.
Both players missed, and went back to the tee on 18 for another shot at the win.
They each split the fairway on the second go-around, with Ryan lacing a driver off the deck to the front of the green, and Miller pulling a 3-wood left of the green, well below the towering back-left hole location.
Miller flopped his third to 30 feet past the hole, while Ryan lagged his 60-foot eagle try to 8 feet.
Again, both players missed, with Miller lipping out and Ryan staring in disbelief as his putt kissed the hole but failed to drop.
“I feel like I birdie that hole every time I play it, but that was three straight pars for me, and it was starting to get monotonous,” Ryan said.
On the third try, Ryan again pelted a driver off the deck, this time scooting his ball further up the green to 50 feet, but on roughly the same line.
Miller, needing to hit a stellar third, hit a wedge from 100 yards to 18 feet, putting the advantage squarely on Ryan’s shoulders.
“I thought to myself, ‘This is pretty cool. How often do you get two chances from the same place in golf?’” said Ryan of the line on his eagle putt.
After 50 minutes of playing the same hole, Ryan stepped up with a solid eagle putt to 4 feet. When Miller’s birdie attempt missed, the former Fresno State star rolled in the birdie try to put the overtime session to rest.
Ryan Sullivan of Winston-Salem, posted a bogey-free 64 in the final round to finish in solo-fourth place at 16-under 272, earning $6,000. The finish marked his third career top-10 in four total starts at Forest Oaks.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.
0 Comments
You can be the first one to leave a comment.