BOYD MARTIN RALLIES TO DEFEAT CHIP BRIDGES AND WIN SCGA MATCH PLAY SENIOR TITLE

Boyd Martin of Corona del Mar defeated Chip Bridges of Encinitas after 19 holes to win the inaugural SCGA Senior Match Play Championship at Sandpiper GC. Photo by Robert D. Thomas/SCGA.

By Robert D. Thomas
Now that Boyd Martin has figured out how to win an SCGA championship, he’s making it a habit. Last year, Martin teamed with Rich Tolly to win the SCGA Senior Four-Ball Championship at Industry Hills. Today, the 57-year-old Corona del Mar resident rallied from 3 down with seven holes to play and defeated Chip Bridges of Encinitas on the 19th hole to win the senior division of the inaugural SCGA Match Play Championship at Sandpiper Golf Course.

The day ended as it began for the 61-year-old Bridges when he three-putted the 524-yard, par-5 first hole for the second time in the match. Moments before, Martin had watched in disbelief as his uphill eight-foot birdie putt had slid over the right edge of the hole. After Bridges missed his four-foot par putt, Martin said, “I wish I had made mine instead of him missing his, but either way it was a great comeback and I’m thrilled to have won my first SCGA individual title.”

Martin struggled with his iron-shot distance control most of the day and when he missed a two-foot par putt on the scenic 11th hole (the green lies just steps from crashing ocean waves), he found himself 3 down to an opponent who, apart from the opening three-putt, hadn’t made a bogey.

“I was in trouble,” admitted Martin later. “I figured I had to start making some birdies because I didn’t expect Chip to make many mistakes.” In fact, the end result was a combination of both factors as Bridges bogeyed four of his final seven holes and Martin finally squared the match on the 17th hole when he sank an eight-foot birdie putt. It would be the only birdie either golfer would make all day.

After the first hole, Bridges strung together 10 consecutive pars and had a 3-up lead heading into the 341-yard 12th hole. Both Martin and Bridges failed to reach the green on the sharply uphill hole, but Bridges pitched five feet above the hole and missed the slippery downhill putt, while Martin got up and down for par.

When Bridges managed to halve the 516-yard 13th hole with a bogey 6, it appeared that Martin might be running out of chances and holes. Both players laid up on the par-5 hole but Martin’s approach landed in the yawning bunker fronting the green. Bridges could not take advantage as his pitch shot sucked back down the green to about 60 feet from the flagstick. Bridges’ sharply uphill putt only went about 2/3 of that distance and he missed the 15-foot par putt. Martin, meanwhile, hit his explosion shot 12 feet above the flagstick (always a treacherous proposition at Sandpiper) and he also missed his par putt.

Martin cut the margin in half when Bridges hit his drive on the 14th hole underneath a tree, laid up to 110 yards but left his third shot 20 feet short of the hole. Martin was 20 yards short of the green but pitched four feet above the hole and sank the sliding downhill putt.

Bridges regained his 2-up advantage with a par 5 on the 15th hole as Martin missed a six-foot par putt, but Martin cut the margin again after Bridges bladed a chip shot 20 feet past the 16th hole, leading to another bogey.

That sent the match to the 367-yard 17th hole, the same hole where the day before Martin had holed out from the fairway to win his semifinal match against Warren Caves and where Hoffenberg would end his match against Dupont later in the day. Martin split the center of the fairway, wedged to within eight feet and rolled in the putt. Two holes later, Martin was clutching his championship plate.

For complete, hole-by-hole scores, click HERE.

For the Senior final-round photo gallery, click HERE.