Duff Comes From Behind Twice to Get First Win
Coming down the stretch in the last group of the day, after a great under par round, Nic Duff’s hopes for his first win dimmed when a bogey on 17 dropped him 3 shots back of Chris Cooley who was in the club house at 5 under par. But a great drive and approach shot on 18 left him 20 feet away from an improbable tie for first! With hushed gallery watching, including Cooley, Nic sunk the putt for the season’s first net Albatross! In the ensuing playoff, Duff took the early lead with a par at the first. But Cooley bounced back with par on the very difficult 3rd hole while Duff knocked his first shot off the back of the green and took 3 more to get in the hole. Suddenly one down with one hole to go, Duff’s final hole 15 foot down-hiller slammed the back of the cup for an ace! Cooley was unable to convert to tie and Duff had win number 1. Jeff Pasz finished 3rd at 2 under par and Scott Wilsey was 4th at 1 under. Duff’s win sent the Tour archivists scurrying into the records vault to see if anyone else has managed a first win with a temp MTHI. They haven’t come back yet. On course prizes went to Barb Hoelzle and Jan Cepiga while Gregg Nothdurft won the 2nd Qualifier for the East Skins Game. Wilsey’s 4th place prize money was just enough to edge him past Hoelzle for the all-time lead in Cherry Creek winnings.
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