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It might’ve taken an extra playoff hole, but Scotland Schmidt ascended to the top of the mountain with a victory over Tiger Tahvildari at Black Gold GC. Schmidt had an impressive run to the final, with an opening-round victory of 6&5 proving his worth as the fifth seed. The next two matchups would end up being slightly more challenging, with both coming down to the final hole, with Schmidt emerging with a 1-up victory each time. Schmidt would then face the talented Cole Kim in the semifinal, winning handily by a score of 5&3 to propel himself into the championship match against No. 26 seed Tiger Tahvildari.
Both golfers would start the match with a par before each carding a birdie on the second hole to remain tied. Schmidt would be the first to take the lead, with a birdie on the par-5 fourth enough to put him 1-up in the match. Tahvildari would strike right back with a birdie on the par-4 fifth to even up the match through five holes of play. Another birdie for Tahvildari on the ninth would give him a 1-up lead as the golfers made the turn to the back nine.
Tahvildari would pick up right where he left off on the ninth, with a birdie on the par-3 10th putting him 2-up over Schmidt. This lead would only last one hole, however, as Schmidt would respond with back-to-back birdies on holes 11 and 12 to bring the match right back to where it started with six holes to play. Tahvildari would remain unfazed by Schmidt’s hot streak, reclaiming the lead on the 14th hole and holding onto it until the final hole of the match. After an errant tee shot, Tahvildari would need to hit a provisional and Schmidt would capitalize on the opportunity, tying the match on the final hole and forcing a playoff.
For the playoff, the golfers would head back to the 18th tee. Tahvildari would find the penalty are once again, leaving him needing to take a drop. Schmidt would see this and choose to play it safe, leaving himself a 10-footer for birdie, which he would convert to capture the SCGA Match Play Championship.
