Following 36-holes of tight fairways and slippery greens, Corby Segal and Stephen Hale needed three extra holes to capture the 2019 SCGA Four-Ball Championship title at Friendly Hills CC.
Finishing at 9-under par for the two-day championship in a tie with Eric Lindquist and Satchell Herrmann, the pair of squads that played together in the final group squared off in a sudden-death playoff.
Matching pars the first two playoff holes on 18 and 1, the former California Golden Bear, Stephen Hale, stepped up to the 2nd hole, a long par-3 measuring 191 yards uphill, before sticking his tee-shot to seven feet from the pin. He proceeded to make his birdie putt and secure the title over Lindquist and Herrmann.
“The grinding out there was magnificent,” said Segal on the sudden-death playoff. “We’re all trying to compete and we’re all grinders. This is our competitive golf and it makes it fun to grind for a little bit and get in there.”
Segal came in as the defending SCGA Four-Ball champion after winning the event with his long-time partner Tim Hogarth last year at Oakmont CC. Stepping in this year, Hale was a big help as the team came out strong in Monday’s first round with a whopping 7-under-par 63.
“It was fun, I’m glad we did it,” Hale said. “I knew if we kept going [in the playoff] the advantage is ours. I think we’re pretty experienced in that, I felt like the more shots we got the better chance we’d make birdie.”
Segal adds more hardware to his well illustrious SCGA career, while this accounts for Hale’s first career SCGA championship.