July 28, 2002

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -

Courtesy The Commercial Appeal

First-round leader claims MGA title in sudden death

By Zack McMillin

mcmillin@gomemphis.com

July 26, 2002

Winning a golf tournament means playing brilliant golf at key moments.

It also means persevering when things aren't going so well.

In winning the Memphis Golf Association Amateur, former Evangelical Christian School standout Ryan Mayberry did a little of both, surviving a three-day golfing rollercoaster for the most significant tournament title of his young career.

The 18-year-old ended the ride Thursday on the first hole of a three-man playoff at Windyke Country Club with a 5-foot birdie putt that slid all around the cup before falling.

"Oh, I was nervous," he said after the round. "I was just trying not to hit that putt off the green."

His gap wedge from the left rough may have set up his victory over runnersup Matt Cooper and Alan McAfee, but he would not have had the opportunity if not for gutty play in regulation on the final six holes of Windyke's West course.

Playing in the final group of the day - one that combined to shoot 5-over for the day - Mayberry made possible his closing 2-under 70 with par saves on 13 and 16.

On both par-4 holes, he had to get up and down for par from 40-plus yards.

On 16, after yanking a tee shot left, he could only punch forward on his second shot, and he had just enough clearance from a tree to put his 65-yard third shot into range for a makeable par putt.

"That was huge," said Mayberry, who is headed to Samford after winning The Commercial Appeal's Best of the Preps Golfer of the Year award as a senior at ECS.

After draining the putt, Mayberry walked to the 17th tee and dropped a 6-iron about 7 feet from the well-hidden pin on the 170-yard par-3.

That putt put him back at even par for the tournament and into a tie with Cooper, who had closed strong with birdies at 17 and 18.

With 40 or so spectators watching the final group play 18 - and with Cooper on the range hitting balls - McAfee rolled in a birdie putt after Walter Chun's birdie chip just spun out to make it a three-way playoff.

Cooper and McAfee also had birdie putts in the playoff, but McAfee's 25-footer stopped short and Cooper's skirted off the left edge.

It was the second runnerup finish for Cooper and McAfee, former players at the University of Memphis and Delta State, respectively. Cooper closed with a 5-under 67 on Thursday while McAfee, the second-round leader, shot a 1-over 73.

Defending champion Bobby O'Brien also shot 67 to finish one stroke out of the playoff at 1-over for the tournament.

"I thought I had made it," said Cooper, who is a member at Windyke. "It was right in the cup with a foot to go."

Said McAfee, a member at Ridgeway: "I'm proud of the birdie on 18, but it's disappointing. Anything can happen in a playoff."

And anything can happen in a three-day event, as Mayberry learned after shooting 65 on Tuesday at Memphis Country Club before struggling to a 79 on Wednesday at Germantown Country Club.

He hit just one fairway on the front nine on Wednesday, but Leo Leathers, one of MGA's longtime tournament officials, noticed Mayberry kept himself composed.

"I was more impressed with his game when he shot a 79 than with the 65," Leathers said. "He wasn't griping and throwing his clubs. He just had a smile on his face.

"You can't fight golf. It'll whip ya."

That attitude helped Mayberry survive a shaky front nine on Thursday, when Chun seemed ready to walk away with the tournament after turning with a 33.

But four back-nine bogeys brought the field back into the tournament, and Mayberry took advantage with his unflappable demeanor down the stretch.

"I just don't really worry about things," Mayberry said. "I keep it calm."