Four-hole playoff needed at Woodside

Ryan Nelson stands over a par putt he would sink to win the egolf Tour's Scratch Golf Championship on the fourth playoff hole. Staff photo by Noah Feit.

On the fourth hole of a sudden-death playoff, Ryan Nelson made par to win the Scratch Golf Championship, the eGolf Tour's first-ever tournament at Woodside Plantation in Aiken.

For Nelson, the playoff really began on his 72nd hole of the tournament. He was a stroke behind clubhouse leader Clark Klaasen, who was at 15-under par for the tournament after shooting 68 on Saturday. Playing in the final group, Nelson was also a stroke behind his playing partners Seung-su Han and Jonathan Fricke, who began the day tied atop the leaderboard.

"It was do or die coming in," Nelson said of making his fifth birdie of the day on No. 18 to finish his round at 69, tied with Klaasen at 15-under. "I knew I had to get at least one, and I was very fortunate."

Nelson, Klaasen and Han were all fortunate to get in the playoff. Fricke had a birdie putt to win the tournament outright on 18, but his 20-plus foot putt ran well past the hole, ensuring a playoff. Fricke then compounded the situation as he missed his par putt and went from a chance at winning the tournament to missing the playoff entirely.

The sudden death playoff began on No. 18, and the field of three was quickly reduced. Both Nelson and Klaasen made par, but Han bogeyed, ensuring that a different name was on top of the leaderboard after all four rounds of the tournament. The playoff moved to No. 10 and back to 18 on the Rees Jones Course, with both Nelson and Klaasen making par on each of the extra holes.

A breakthrough came on the fourth playoff hole, when Klaasen sprayed his tee shot to the right and landed in pine straw, surrounded by trees. Nelson was safely in the fairway but said he swung too hard on his approach and landed in the rough left of the green.

Fortunately for him, it took Klaasen four shots before he was on the green, ensured of making bogey at best. The door to his first eTour victory was still open for Nelson, if he could chip to good position on the green. He did better than that, hitting his ball within two feet of the hole and ensuring a win.

"It was a tough lie down there," Nelson said. "I made a very good shot."

When he tapped in for par and clinched the victory, he didn't celebrate. Nelson looked more relieved than anything else to escape another day of triple-digit temperatures and to come out on top of a talented field of golfers.

"The competition is great, so winning gives me a little more confidence I can play and play well," Nelson said of the victory that comes with a $26,000 first-place check. "This is a definite confidence booster."

Nelson was the only player in the tournament to post scores in the 60s all four rounds. His rounds of 68-69-67-69, combined with the playoff success put him ahead of Klaasen (68-67-70-68) and Han (71-67-65-70). It also was one stroke better than the number put up by Stephen Poole.

The Aiken resident had a tremendous final round, shooting 66 to finish at 14-under. That left him tied for fourth place with Fricke (68-69-66-71) and Clint Jensen (67-70-67-70). Only Phillip Mollica (63) and David Sanchez (65) had better final-round scores than Poole, who had seven birdies and just one bogey Saturday.

"I got off to a good start and birdied No. 1 and No. 2," said Poole, who added birdies on Nos. 7, 11, 14, 16 and 18 to back his third-round 65 and go into the clubhouse as the early leader. "It was nice to get off to a fast start, and I played solid the last two days. I've got a lot to take from this week; my game feels good."

Poole, who shot 68-75 in the first two rounds to make the cut on the number, had a tremendous weekend. He had the lowest score of any player in the field with Aiken connections.

Former USC Aiken player Kevin Grady had his second 68 of the tournament Saturday to finish tied for 23rd at 6-under. Aiken's Alex Hamilton was one stroke back, tied for 29th at 5-under after closing with back-to-back 70s. Aiken resident Dane Burkhart, another former Pacer, concluded the event tied for 52nd at plus-1.

Poole said he enjoyed playing so close to home, and not just because he earned $7,696.67 for his efforts.

"I get to go home after every round and see my wife and play with my daughter," he said. "It's nice to be home for the week and not just relaxing, but playing in a golf tournament. ... It's nice to have a tournament in your hometown. I hope they figure a way to let us come back the next few years because the whole week has been great."

It seems likely that eGolf will try to make Aiken a regular stop on tour. Stewart Moore, eGolf's chief operating officer and vice president of public relations, was effusive in his praise for the event and especially Woodside Plantation.

"The golf course has been the real star this week," he said, complimenting the difficulty of the greens and immaculate condition of the fairways. "It's been well received by the players and is PGA Tour conditions. Woodside has been a great host, and this week has been nothing short of a home run. ... This is a place we look forward to coming back to."

Noah Feit is a reporter for the Aiken Standard and has been a professional journalist for more than a decade.

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