Derek Krom held onto his title at the Storm King Golf Club. He defended his championship with a sudden death victory over Stan Thomas on July 27.
The golfers were even at the end of the morning round, and were still deadlocked after completing the front nine of the afternoon round.
In spite of a mid-morning thunderstorm, the day was hot and humid. Spectators in 10 golf carts followed the finalists around the course and got to see an exciting match.
Thomas, who had recently defeated Krom for the senior title, went up by two holes on the back nine, and had a chance to finish his opponent on the next-to-last green. Thomas could have ended the match by sinking a 10-foot putt. “I had a good view of the line,” he said later. The ball headed for the cup, but lagged at the end of its journey, and veered at the last moment.
The ball hovered near the rim, the rivals halved the hole, and the match continued. As the golfers headed up the fairway from the 36th tee, a crowd formed on the balcony of the clubhouse. Both men were on the fringe of the green in two. Thomas chipped onto the putting surface and ran his shot a few feet past the hole. Krom elected to use his putter. He pushed the ball through the apron and watched the speck of white pick up speed as it reached the green and made a bee-line for the flag.
The fans roared as the ball plunked into the cup for a birdie that tied the match. Without a break, the caravan headed to the first tee for the start of the sudden-death playoff. Krom won the first extra hole to retain his crown.
Afternoon lead changes
19 Thomas 1 up
20 Even
23 Krom 1 up
27 Even
28 Krom 1 up
29 Even
30 Thomas 1 up
31 Thomas 2 up
33 Thomas 1 up
36 Even
37 Krom wins
To reach the finals, Krom and Thomas (the top two seeds in the championship flight) each defeated two opponents on the previous day.
It was a busy weekend at Storm King. Lori Ransom retained the women’s championship, and winners were crowned in three other flights.
Women: Lori Ransom (1st), Sue Centolanza (2nd). Men’s first flight: Tom Coons (1st), Chris Hoerup (2nd), Second flight: Matt Springer (1st), Dan O’Connell (2nd). Third flight: Bob Melvin (1st), Rob Chewens (2nd).
