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Jackson County Open Champion Josh Dirlam (photo courtesy Cascades Golf Course)

By Gary Kalahar, JTV Sports

Josh Dirlam and Scott Denig were both happy to see the script flipped a bit Sunday in the Jackson County Open golf tournament.

Dirlam birdied the first hole to beat Denig in a playoff after they tied at 4-under-par 140 at Cascades Golf Course. For Dirlam, it meant a breakthrough victory after some close calls this season. For Denig, it was gratifying to stay in contention until the end.

With a second straight day of good scoring conditions – outside of two brief rain showers, the second halting play due to a storm —  a tournament-record seven players finished under par. Cody Lysher was third at 142, and Andrew Tindall, Mark Kurzynowski, Steve Maddalena and Greg Zeller all posted 1-under 143.

Dirlam, a senior at Lawrence Technological University, added the County Open title to his 2015 City Championship. This year, he finished second in the Jackson Masters, went to the semifinals in the Lyle Ambs Memorial, and advanced to the Sweet 16 in the Michigan Amateur. He took a two-stroke lead into the final round of this one.

“A lot of close calls,” Dirlam said. “It’s been a good summer. I’ve been playing good, confident golf for the most part. But as close as I’ve been, I would have been heart-broken if I lost this one.”

Denig, who entered the final round two strokes behind Dirlam, was glad to still be battling down the stretch in search of his first major local victory. Denig was tied for the lead after the first round in the 2013 Spring Thaw before finishing sixth, and he entered the second round of the last two County Opens in the top six but went backward.

“It’s the first time I played well on the second day,” Denig said. “I had fun, that was the big thing. The only time I was nervous was on the second putt on 18. I was focused on hitting each shot, one shot at a time.”

The putt on 18 was a nine-footer for par that would have won it for Denig, but the bogey left he and Dirlam tied after a seesaw back nine that saw the two of them match scores on just one hole.

Dirlam had grabbed the lead with a 4-under 33 on the opening nine Saturday but felt like he was scrambling the rest of the way.

“If you took balls out there and dropped them where you wanted them to be, that’s where I was most of the day (Saturday),” he said. “ (Sunday) my ball-striking wasn’t as good, but my short game, especially my chipping, saved me. It’s hard when you’re not hitting the ball great coming down the stretch. But we love it. That’s why we play. When you perform like you’re capable under pressure, it’s a good feeling.”

Dirlam made a chip-and-putt birdie on No. 10 to take the lead, then needed another good up-and-down to save bogey after a tee shot in the water on No. 11. Denig’s par there brought them back to even. Denig bogeyed No. 12, but after the half-hour weather delay, he rolled in an 18-foot birdie putt on No. 14 to pull even again.

“I was happy the rain came when it did,” Denig said. “I was losing my focus. The delay re-set me. That putt on 14 got me going again.”

Denig drove to the right of the green on the par-4 15th and rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt to take the lead, giving it back with a bogey when he overshot the par-3 16th.

“That was adrenaline – I never hit a 6-iron that far,” Denig said.

The lead was Denig’s again when Dirlam bogeyed No. 17, and it would have been a two-stroke swing had Denig coaxed in a 6-foot sidehill putt after a 7-iron approach he called his best shot of the weekend.

Dirlam figured he needed a birdie on No. 18. But his approach went just over the green, and he had to make a 10-footer for par to force the tournament’s first playoff since 2009.

“I figured if I stuck with it, grinded it out, made a bunch of pars, we’d see what happens,” Dirlam said. “But when I missed the par putt on 17, I thought I lost it. When I mis-hit the chip on 18, I thought I lost it.”

In the playoff, Dirlam was just off the green of the par-5 first hole in two and chipped within three feet for the winning birdie after Denig’s second left him with tree trouble and he could get no closer than 25 feet for his birdie try.

Dave Kendall Golf Academy
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