BOOTHBAY – Blake Eldridge thought he’d hit the shot of the tournament. It turns out it wasn’t even the best shot in his own match.
Down one on the 17th tee, Eldridge landed his wedge short, and it rolled, just barely, to the left fringe, leaving him with a 50-foot, left-to-right bender for birdie. No sweat, right?
His opponent, Todd Kirn of Webhannet, and formerly of Rumford and Oakdale Country Club, was on the green and had a seemingly easy two-putt.
“I thought I was done right there,” said Eldridge.
A small crowd gathered to watch, expecting to move quickly to the 18th, or perhaps to congratulate Kirn and console Eldridge.
As Eldridge’s offering snaked closer to the hole, though, the murmurs grew.
Clang.
The ball dropped and Eldridge was all of a sudden all square with Kirn.
“There was no skill there,” said Eldridge. “I picked a spot and prayed.”
On the 18th hole, with all of the momentum, Eldridge hit two perfect shots, and made the par-5 green in two. Kirn was short and left of the green, buried in the rough. A par would have been a good score.
As he sized up his 40-yard pitch, Kirn could only see the blue top of the flag waving in the sea breeze.
“The ball was buried, but it was sitting up just a little so I knew it would pop out,” said Kirn. “All I could see was the flag. I tried to get it about 3/4 of the way there and get it within six feet for a chance to make birdie.
Clang.
“As soon as I hit it, I ran up and watched it go,” said Kirn. “I saw it clank into the hole. It was unreal.”
Eldridge still had a chance to halve the hole and send the match to extra holes, but his putt from 35 feet fell two feet short.
“I thought I had him,” said a stunned Eldridge. “I really did.”
Comments are no longer available on this story