A Champion is Crowned

By BRIAN KORESSEL
Senior Producer, GolfChannel.com (Continued)

And just like on the only par-3 on the front side, Holtby again hit his tee shot close to give himself a good look at birdie. Woodman, meanwhile, almost holed his tee shot but had to watch as his ball raced to the back and over the green.
 
“That was a bit of a kick in teeth there. To lose the hole after hitting such a good shot (off the tee) was tough, so 2-down with five to play,” said Woodman about the situation.
 

Each player made par at the 14th and then watched the other make lengthy, clutch bogey putts at the 15th.
 
Being 2-up with three to play, Holtby’s par-3 luck ran out as he hit into a greenside bunker then blasted out to some 20 feet. Woodman looked as if he could get one back as his tee shot was sitting on the fringe in front of the pin. His lag putt however, was woefully short and his missed his par effort let Holtby off the hook by tying the hole. Holtby now had Woodman in a dormie situation, 2-up with two to play.
 
After Holtby came up short on his approach at the 17th, he faced an extremely tough chip over a greenside bunker. With Woodman safely on in 2, Holtby’s chip was spot on, coming to rest just 2 ½ feet from the hole. Woodman’s long lag putt was solid, but he probably needed it to go in to extend the match being as Holtby was just a short putt away from winning the Big Break IV.
 
But the pressure of the moment had other ideas, as Holtby gagged his putt to lose the hole and give Woodman a second life.
 
“For some reason I always found ways to self-sabotage, I would never allow myself success. And I’m just having all these nightmare flashbacks,” said Holtby on his choke job at the 17th. “The only comforting thought was that I was 1-up with one to go.”
 
With his confidence almost completely shattered and walking up to the next tee in a state of shock, Holtby was somehow able to keep himself in check as he split the fairway at the 18th. Woodman also rifled his drive down the left side to just 128-yards from the pin. Holtby’s approach was a bit long, coming to rest in some rough off the back of the green, while Woodman’s effort just trickled onto the fringe behind the hole.
 
“It’s not easy – you’ve got to get up-and-down it to win the game and that’s not easy to do, certainly from there,” said Woodman on Holtby’s chances.
 
Holtby chipped on but his ball flew by the hole before stopping 12 feet past the pin. Woodman’s putt to win the hole outright came up just short setting the stage again for Holtby to win the Big Break IV.
 
“I guess I had memories of how many times and some of the bad experiences I’ve had in letting things go when I’ve had them right in my grasp,” recalled Holtby on the mounting pressure and the demons racing through his head.
 
With cast and crew watching and the cameras rolling, Holtby stepped up big-time by nailing the 12-footer to win the match at the 18th hole at Carnoustie.
 
“Twenty-five years of playing golf, 15 years as a professional - down to 10 seconds. It’s been an incredible journey,” said the champion Holtby. “This might create some opportunities in life that I’ve never had yet.”
 
“I was disappointed. The momentum was starting to go my way and I just felt that if I was given one more chance I could have gone on and won,” said Woodman after the match. “But I was very pleased for Paul. I couldn’t wish a nicer guy and a more deserving guy to roll that putt in and win the Big Break IV.”

Related Links:

Final Match Scorecard

Big Break IV Home Page

Big Break IV Photo Gallery

Contestant Bios