It came down to a 30-foot putt, and San Benito's Justin Palmquist needed to come within, at the very least, three feet of the pin.
It was a fitting ending for two pairings at the Junior Advisors Team Shoot Out at the Skywest Golf Course in Hayward earlier this month. Palmquist and Haybaler teammate Derell Aton sat tied with Mountain View's Charlie Welch and Corey Robello after 18 holes, each team carding identical scores of 2-under 70, each team not necessarily ready to hand over the first-place medal.
In an ensuing putt-off to decide the champion, a designated spot on the green was chosen. But each player kept two-putting; no more, no less. It happened three or four times, Aton recalled, until officials stepped in and implemented the final tiebreaker: one player from each team will get one stroke at a 30-footer. Closest to the pin wins.
"That was pretty crazy," Aton said.
After the Mountain View pair came within three feet, any sub-par putt would leave Palmquist and Aton runner-up. Any sub-par putt, though, would be left on the shoulders of Palmquist, who had previously never competed in a tournament under the Junior Golf Association of Northern California.
His putt came within two feet of the hole.
"I was nervous. I was just trying to stay positive," Palmquist said. "I was just saying that I had to do it. It was like do or die."
It was actually Aton who had been putting well at the alternate-shot shoot out, but he felt that when it came down to a putt-off in the end, Palmquist was the choice.
"I kind of figured it was his chance," Aton said. "I gave him a chance to see what he could do. Everyone was watching. It was kind of stressful."
"I didn't want it in my hands at that moment," Aton joked later. "I told Justin to take care of it."
The 'Baler pair topped some 25 other teams that were competing in the boys 16- and 17-year-old division. Their San Benito teammates, Marcus Synegal and Will Cross, competed as well and finished with an 85. Haybaler Nathan Winn paired up with Travis Rowney and finished the boys 14- and 15-year-old division with a 77.
"It was intimidating seeing the other kids," Palmquist said. "It was really nerve-racking standing over the ball."
Aton said it was one of the top events of the year in the JGANC, and the two walked away with medals and a dozen Titleist Pro V1 golf balls.
"This is an event where it's a team shoot out, and all the top players try to enter and try to win," he said. "It's a premier event."
Palmquist and Aton had been practicing alternate-shot play for the two weeks leading up to the event, while the 'Balers, which will return each player to the team next spring, have been competing in tournaments all summer.
"All of us are really training for next year. We think we can be real solid and we've been playing a lot of golf - non-stop," Aton said. "We're just really trying hard for next season, not just me and Justin, but all of our team. We want to take out Palma.
"Three of us will be seniors, so we want to make the best of it."
Andrew Matheson Andrew Matheson is a sports writer for South Valley Newspapers. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 334 or at amatheson@svnewspapers.com.
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