In fading daylight, Geof Magrath pulled a 60-degree wedge out of his bag and finally ended the Kal Tire Texas Scramble.
After 36 holes of the four-man best-ball golf tournament, held Saturday and Sunday at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club, Magrath and teammates Tobin Senum, Pete Sherba Jr. and Doug Engstrom Jr. were tied with the Shaun Lees group, which included Kevin Pederson, John Hopson and Keenan Hopson. Both teams carded 27-under-par scores of 115.
A playoff was required. But, after two holes -- No. 1 and No. 2 -- the tie still hadn't been broken. Birdies by both groups sent them to No. 18, where a closest-to-the-pin contest ensued.
Unbelievably, all eight players missed the green from 150 yards.
So, they moved to the 100-yard post and tried again.
Magrath was the last shooter on his team and was still facing an empty putting surface. With the weight of the tournament squarely on his shoulders, he grabbed the wedge. His ball took flight and came to rest 15 feet from the stick. Nobody got closer.
"It was fun -- it was that fun kind of pressure," said Magrath, the head professional at the PGGCC.
Magrath and company have now won the scramble two of the past three years. Last year, they were one stroke behind winners Cole Shaw, Blair Anderson, Jon Strasdin and Dennis Forrest.
For Magrath, Senum, Sherba and Engstrom -- who have been friends since childhood -- fantastic work with the flat sticks was the key this year. They needed only 21 putts to navigate the course on Sunday. The putt of the day was struck by Senum, who drained a 60-footer for birdie on No. 4.
The tournament had room for 64 teams and attracted 64 teams.
The BMO Ladies Best Ball will be on the course this Sunday.
