LITTLE ROCK — Tyler Green’s flushed face showed little enthusiasm Thursday after he watched a 25-foot putt curl into the cup for a 4-up lead at the turn during the final round of the Arkansas State Golf Association Boys Junior Match Play Championship.
It had little to do with wrapping up more than 30 holes of golf with possibly nine more looming on the back nine at Eagle Hill Golf and Athletic Club in Little Rock.
Instead, Green sensed a mounting charge by Kyle Cook.
“I needed to be at least 4- or 5-up at the turn,” said Green, 17, of Benton. “He was down that many in his earlier match and came back over five holes in a row.”
It wasn’t until Cook’s tee shot found the water at No. 16, a 170-yard par 3, that Green could exhale and secure his 3-and-2 victory after his opponent trimmed the lead to three over the opening three holes of the back nine at the 6,521-yard course.
“That was rough,” Green said. “He wouldn’t give up, and it was a long day and it was hot. It was more of an endurance test than golf.”
Green had plenty of reason to feel that way, considering it required 22 holes to defeat Fayetteville’s Davis Trice during his morning semifinal.
He still came out strong on the opening five holes of the final.
Green birdied No. 1, a 432-yard par 4, and followed it up with a birdie on the 529-yard par-5 second hole for an early 2-up lead.
At No. 8, Cook made a birdie on the 586-yard par 5 to get within 3-down, but his tee shot at the ninth was wide left into the 18th fairway to set up a second shot through a tight window between oak trees.
Cook managed to put himself into position for a twoputt par, but Green’s birdie again made it a four-hole deficit.
“He was good on the back,” Green said. “I knew my strength was on the front [nine], and if I could outdo him enough there it might be enough to hold him off at the end.”
That’s exactly how it unfolded, but not before Green went 5-up after Cook bogeyed No. 10, a 545-yard par 5.
“I knew I had to start pressing after that,” said Cook, 17, of Jonesboro. “The back nine had been playing pretty well for me, and I didn’t have a lot of holes left to start making a move.”
Teeing off at No. 11, Cook’s drive went right and settled near the base of a tree, but he recovered for a birdie and a 3-down deficit.
At the par-3 12th, Cook sent his drive sailing left and past the green, while Green’s went right and settled in the rough. Cook managed to get up and down for bogey, while Cook three-putted for a double bogey.
Two holes later, though, Cook failed to take advantage of a chance to close the gap more. His tee shot into the green at the 139-yard par 3 landed within 18 feet of the pin, but he missed a steep downhill putt. After Green sank his par putt, Cook settled for bogey.
A 15-foot chip-in for birdie from the fringe at the front of the green on No. 15, a 413-yard par 4, made it a 3-down deficit for Cook, and Green wondered whether his lead would withstand the push.
“I told my caddie, ‘He’s liable to chip this one in,’ ” Green said. “Then he does it, and all you can do is to go to the next hole.”
But Green’s comeback withered a hole later.
Thursday’s results
SEMIFINAL
Kyle Cook, Jonesboro, def. Landon Hearnes, Mayflower, 2 and 1 Tyler Green, Benton, def. Davis Trice, Fayetteville, 22 holes
FINAL
Tyler Green, Benton, def. Kyle Cook, Jonesboro, 4 and 2
Sports, Pages 23 on 07/27/2012