Author: By Brady Bingham
OGDEN — The classic ebb and flow of matchplay was on full display at Ogden Golf and Country Club.
In a back and forth contest, in bitter cold weather Friday, Oct. 30, Barry Schenk and Adam Johnson defeated Joe Summerhays and Eric Bumstead 1-up to win the Utah PGA Four-ball Matchplay Championship.
The team of Schenk/Johnson never trailed, and led by as much as 3-up after the first four holes. After Summerhays and Bumstead battled back — including winning three consecutive holes on the front nine — neither player hit the green on the final hole.
Schenk won the 18th hole, a par 3 at OGCC, with par to earn the victory.
“We were hoping it wouldn’t come down to the last hole,” Schenk said. “We all battled really hard. That’s how it goes in matchplay, anything can happen.”
“I don’t know if anybody really played their A-game today,” Johnson said. “But the weather was cold. We had to grind through it and keep going. We had the hand warmers going all day.”
The temperature was barely about 40 throughout most of the match. It also rained slightly during the back nine.
With the match all square through 15, Schenk made a two-putt birdie on the par 5 16. But Summerhays drained a 35-foot sliding putt to birdie on top of his opponent.
“I felt like I needed to make a putt to stay in the match. I just got lucky and made one,” Summerhays said.
Then on 17, neither Schenk nor Johnson hit the green in regulation. However, Johnson got up and down — making a crucial 8-foot par putt — before Summerhays missed a tricky downhill 6-footer.
That left the match all-square headed to 18, where only Schenk found the green off the tee.
“We battled back, but we just never put ourselves in a position to get that final point back,” Bumstead said.
The team of Schenk/Johnson, a 15 seed for the tournament, defeated Outzen/Sarlo 3&2 in their opening match. They then beat Baird/Wesley 1-up, Davis/Green 6&4, and Stone/Volk 2&1 on their way to the finals.
By Brady Bingham
