As storms were approaching Ole Monterey Golf Club Sunday afternoon, tournament newcomer Blake Carter was poised to make some thunder of his own.
Standing on the par-3 16th hole with a 3-up lead over defending champ Justin Young, considered by most to be the prohibitive favorite, Carter, a rising senior at Longwood College, was admittedly holding on for dear life in his quest to capture the Amateur Division of the 79th annual Roanoke Valley Match Play Championship.
“I played the best I could play today,” a smiling Carter said beside the 17th green after clinching the 2 and 1 victory. “It’s by far the best two rounds I’ve ever played in a major tournament.” Earlier in the day Carter had dispatched long-hitting Kyle Bailey in 21 holes during the semifinal round.
When asked if he was comfortable with a 3-hole lead with three to play against Young, Carter shook his head.
“I wasn’t comfortable at all. You still have to play golf and Justin is a great player. To be honest, it was good playing with a great guy like Justin.”
Carter left the door open at the 16th when he missed a 4-foot par putt after Young had gotten up-and-down on the long par-3.
“I was battling, but I couldn’t make that putt, ” Carter noted. “Winning is hard.”
He finally closed out the match on the par-5 17th when he rolled in a 3-footer to win 2 and 1.
In the group ahead, the biggest upset of the tournament was unfolding as #12 seed Rob Saferight shocked #1 seed David Tolley 1-up to win the 50-and-over Senior Division.
“Kevin Dill (RVMP committee member) talked me into playing in this and I had my best two rounds imaginable today,” Saferight said as his sizable following stood beside the 18th green.
“This is my only big win, ever…..no kidding,” Saferight added with a laugh. “All day long I hit it good, but this is as good as I can play. I really appreciate the Blue Hills crowd (Saferight’s home course) coming over here. They were great.”
Tolley, the runner-up in the 1982 U.S. Amateur and a competitor in the 1983 Masters was expected to have a cakewalk in the final. Tolley had bested Dill 5 and 4 in the morning’s semifinal. Unfortunately for Tolley, one of the biggest hitters in the area, he ran into a buzz saw with Saferight.
In the other two finals on Sunday, Bill Nunnenkamp topped Jeff Lynch 2 and 1 to win the 60-and-over Masters Division, while the always-steady and down-the-middle Marvin Taylor defended his RVMP title in the 70-and-over Grand Masters Division with a hard-fought win over Richard Suggs that took 21 holes to decide.
Bill Turner
