HAVING wrestled with his driver all day, John Blackman saved his best for when it mattered most taking out the 2010 Cootamundra Golf Open on the first play-off hole on Saturday.
Blackman, who won the Open in 2008, birdied his final hole of the day to post a four-under 67, a score that would eventually be matched by two-time Cootamundra Club Champion Brent Lange.
With Blackman having played earlier in the day, he was not in the club when it became obvious a play-off would be required to determine the 2010 champion, however a quick phone call saw him make his way back to the course.
With Lange back out the practice green, Blackman, who now resides in Temora, made the short stroll over from his mother’s house in Albert Street and literally walked to the 10th tee where the play-off was due to begin.
With the sun setting in the background, Blackman ripped his drive off the tee and despite the fact he, nor Lange, nor any of the crowd that had gathered to watch the play-off saw it off the club, Blackman knew he got a fair bit of it.
Lange also split the fairway, but as the players made their way up the 357m par-4, the magnitude of Blackman’s drive became obvious.
While Lange was just behind the 130m markers, Blackman’s ball was sitting just slightly off centre and directly opposite the 100m brick.
Given the cool of the late afternoon air and the fact there was little or no run all day due to the recent rain, Blackman’s drive was nothing short of brilliant.
To give another indication of its merits, Lange opted to use a low iron, possibly a four, for his second, while Blackman let rip with his gap wedge.
Lange just missed the green left, but was above pin high and possibly in a better spot than his rival whose approach hit the dancefloor but spun back to finish some 35 feet from the hole.
Opting to putt from just off the green, Lange’s third finished around two feet short of the hole and the attention now turned to Blackman.
Taking his time studying the putt, Blackman’s long range birdie attempt looked good for all but the last couple of inches of the journey, eventually finishing just tight of the hole giving him an easy tap in for par.
With Lange needing to sink his putt to send the play-off to the next hole, which was to be the seventh where both players are capable of driving the green, his attempt slid left off the blade and drifted below the hole to hand Blackman his second Open crown.
The two combatants treaded very similar paths on their way to their respective 67s.
Lange opened with a birdie on the first, but gave it back at the short par-3 third, before a string of three birdies from the sixth saw him make the turn in 32.
He birdied 11, took bogey on 12, but used his length off the tee to grab a late birdie on the par-5 17th.
Blackman also birdied six, seven and eight to be three under at the halfway mark.
Tugging his drive left on six, he hooked a 6-iron just short of the green and got up and down, while another wayward tee shot on seven, that finished in the middle of the 10th fairway, was compensated by a great second which finished two feet from the hole.
He monstered his tee shot on eight, landing on the dancefloor and two putted for a three.
His tee shot on 12 was one of his best for the day, collecting the nearest the pin on his way to his fourth birdie, while his only blemish for the day came on the par-4 15th when he three putted from the front fringe after his approach spun back off the green.
A good par save on 16, where he again hooked it off the tee, was followed by a lip out for birdie on the penultimate hole.
He didn’t know it at the time, but Blackman’s birdie on the last, which had a bit of luck to it, would eventually get him in the play off.
Gripping and ripping it from the box, Blackman bent down to pick up his tee only to hear that dreaded ‘thud’ as his ball hit the last tree down the right side of the fairway.
Luckily it bounced back onto the fairway, with his approach finishing 10 feet from the cup and he nailed the putt.
Email a friend