“All too familiar,” Caine Fitzgerald said to a bystander Wednesday after completing the first playoff hole in the Colorado PGA Professional Championship at Cherry Creek Country Club.
Indeed, Fitzgerald had to be experiencing a little deja vu. Two years ago at Meridian Golf Club, he likewise was in a playoff in the same tournament. And like this year, that one had the participants play the 18th hole over and over until a winner was decided. Also, as with 2010, sudden death lasted longer than one hole.
But, fortunately for Fitzgerald, that’s where the similarities between 2010 and 2012 ended. Wednesday’s playoff went two holes, not three. And, most importantly, Fitzgerald won this time, unlike in 2010 when Chris Johnson prevailed.
After being runner-up in this event each of the last two years, the assistant professional at Murphy Creek claimed his first Colorado PGA Professional Championship title, defeating Matt Schalk on the second hole of sudden death when Schalk missed a 2-foot par putt. Ironically, Schalk had forced the playoff on the same hole about a half-hour earlier by making a 20-foot birdie putt, his third birdie in the last four holes of regulation.
“This feels good,” said Fitzgerald, a 38-year-old left-hander. “A lot of friends have won the tournament, so I’m really proud to get one for myself. I’ve been trying hard for a few years.
“For us (club professionals), this is our biggest event. I won the Iowa Open in 1997, but I was 23 years old and too young to know better basically. This is the first really big thing I’ve won since then, so I’m really proud of it.”
In a final round that was played for the most part in miserable conditions — drenching rain, casual water commonplace, standing water in bunkers, etc. — Fitzgerald closed with a 2-over-par 74, which left him at 4-under 212 along with Schalk, the general manager and director of golf at Colorado National Golf Club and The Fox Hill Club. Schalk (pictured at left) tied Doug Rohrbaugh of Ironbridge Golf Club for the day’s low round with a 72.
But after making three birdies in the last four holes to get into a playoff, Schalk let his shot at the title get away with the three-putt on the second playoff hole.
“You don’t want to miss a short putt like that, but I didn’t really feel like I did anything wrong,” said Schalk, who hit his ball into the nearby lake after the crucial 2-foot miss. “I must have decelerated and pulled it a little bit. It happens. It’s disappointing, but that’s the way it goes.”
The win was worth $7,500 to Fitzgerald, while Schalk settled for $5,000.
Rohrbaugh tied 36-hole co-leader Micah Rudosky of Conquistador for third place, three strokes back of Fitzgerald and Schalk. Rudosky closed with a 77. Defending champion Rob Hunt of The Links claimed fifth place at 217 after a final-round 76.
Those five — along with sixth-place finishers John Ogden of Cherry Hills, Bill Loeffler of Highlands Ranch and Mike Northern of Valley Hi — qualified for the PGA Professional National Championship that will be held June 23-26 in Sunriver, Ore.
While the weather cleared enough Wednesday afternoon for the leaders to play the last four or five holes of regulation without rain, it was so bad earlier in the day that there were understandably a lot of unhappy campers out on the course.
Even though Schalk tied for the day’s best round, he was among them.
“We shouldn’t have been on this golf course today,” he said. “Guys are squeegeeing greens, but they’re squeegeeing for one group but not the next group. You get to the point you’re changing the integrity of the golf course.”
With casual water — or outright puddles — the norm rather than the exception, lift, clean and place rules were in effect. But beyond the golf course conditions, it was a constant battle for players to keep their equipment dry.
“It was difficult out there,” Fitzgerald said. “It was challenging for sure. All day my mentality was, ‘OK, let’s make 18 pars.’ I just wanted to make it as stress-free as possible. I felt like I was pretty dialed in with my approach — how I wanted to handle it — but making sure I had a good grip on every shot, and executing what I wanted to do, was the key.”
And Fitzgerald was remarkably consistent given the conditions. He made a double bogey on No. 2, but from then on he carded one birdie, one bogey and 14 pars.
Rudosky, not Schalk, was Fitzgerald’s main competition most of the final day. In fact, the 2001 Section champion led the tournament by a stroke with nine holes left. But a 41 on the back side Wednesday derailed Rudosky’s chances.
Then Schalk, the Section championship runner-up in 2005, kicked it into high gear on the final four holes, making birdie putts of 8, 25 and 20 feet and Nos. 15, 16 and 18. And he left an 8-footer on No. 17 short.
Schalk almost won the tournament outright in regulation. Playing a group ahead of Fitzgerald, he made his closing birdie. Then Fitzgerald (pictured hitting at left with Rudosky watching) missed the green on 18 and had to drain an 8-foot par putt to keep his hopes alive.
In the playoff, Fitzgerald and Schalk made routine pars on the first playoff hole, and looked like they’d do the same on the second. After Schalk stroked his 25-foot birdie attempt 2 feet past the cup, Fitzgerald two-putted from 20 feet for par. Schalk’s par try then hit the left lip and trickled by the hole.
“I’ve been in contention quite a few times and just didn’t get it done,” Fitzgerald said regarding this tournament. “Somebody always played a little bit better. Honestly, I thought today that was going to be Matty (Schalk) the way he finished. I never dreamed he would have missed that putt. I felt awful for him.”
Fitzgerald estimates he’s finished in the top seven of the Colorado PGA Professional Championship six times — including those second-place showings in both 2010 and 2011 — but he finally claimed the big prize on Wednesday.
“I’m the bridesmaid of this (PGA) Section,” the resident of Parker said. “I’ve never won our player of the year. I’ve been the runner-up player of the year the last three years to three different people, and I’m working on it again this year.”
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