B.C. OPEN GOLF TOURNAMENT

By Rob Centorani

Contributing Writer

ENDIC

Ancient history Contributed photo by Michael Chacanaca Jason Bohn holds up the B.C. Open trophy after winning the tournament Sunday with a record 24-under-par at the En-Joie Golf Course in Endicott.

OTT — Though the tournament is named after Endicott resident Johnny Hart’s B.C. comic strip, perhaps this week the initials should’ve stood for "Birdie Contest."

En-Joie Golf Club, the home of the $3 million B.C. Open, was no match this week for the best touring pros this side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Georgia resident Jason Bohn ended the birdie-fest on a hot and sticky Sunday by holing a 7-foot putt for par on the 18th green, se[an error occurred while processing this directive]tting a tournament record at 24-under par (264) to win his first PGA Tour event.

"The only thing I told my myself was stay steady and hit it solid," said Bohn, who gave an emphatic fist pump on the 18th green after the putt dropped. "When it came off the putter, I knew it was going to have a great chance to go in. To watch it go in was something I’ll never forget, ever."

Bohn, 28, shot a 6-under 66 Sunday, edging playing partner and close friend Ryan Palmer — along with John Rollins, J.P Hayes and Brendan Jones — by one stroke in earning $540,000 paycheck and two-year exemption on tour.

Palmer had a 15-footer for birdie on the last hole that just slid by the left edge before Bohn sank his slight left-to-right breaker.

The combination of the course measuring 6,974 yards — relatively short by tour standards — and playing fast, along with receptive greens because of flooding in the spring, turned this event into a shootout.

"It’s amazing the scores are that low," Bohn said. "Like the ad says, ’These are guys are good,’ and if you give them greens that aren’t going to spin back and that ball is going to stop right where you hit it, the distance control is just phenomenal out here. If you give guys 155 yards, they can hit it 155 yards."

The previous tournament record of 22-under was set in 2002, when Jeff Sluman beat Paul Gow in a playoff. Eight players matched or exceeded that record, including Ben Crane, Mathias Gronberg and Michael Allen, who finished tied for sixth at 22-under. Twelve players finished at 20-under or lower.

Bohn also broke the overall scoring record of 265 set by Calvin Peete in 1982, when En-Joie played as a par-71 course.

Bohn’s lights-out play this week, when he shot rounds of 68-64-66-66, followed him to the interview room after the tournament. Midway through the question-and-answer session with reporters, the lights in the press room lost power.

"That band must be rocking," said a smiling Bohn of the post-tournament concert that could easily be heard from the press room. "It knocked the lights out."

Even in near darkness, the ear-to-ear grin Bohn flashed throughout the interview was clear to see.

That’s likely because this guy made it to the tour the hard way. He failed to make it through qualifying school seven times before finally breaking through in February at Palm Springs, Fla., where his ninth-place finish earned him a spot on tour. Bohn played the mini-tours and the Canadian Tour for 5½ years before getting on the big tour.

"From Q-school to here, that’s a long time," said Bohn, who became a father a month ago. "That seven months is quite amazing. That’s quite a roller coaster."

Bohn’s season had hardly been a success before this week. He ranked 145th on the money list (the top 125 retain their tour cards), earning $262,802 in 16 events. In his previous nine tournaments, he had missed seven cuts.

"I haven’t seen that many great things come out of my game this season," Bohn said.

A tip from fellow touring pro Wes Short, Jr. following a Tuesday practice round proved beneficial for Bohn.

"He said my club is getting stuck behind me and to try and get the club out in front of me a little bit better," Bohn said. "That was my whole swing thought this week. To Wes, I owe him dinner at one fine restaurant, trust me."

Palmer and Bohn, who teamed up for a Tuesday practice round and were badly beaten by Short and Hunter Haas, said they fed off each other Sunday.

"We were partners this week and the way he played Tuesday, I’m not going to have him again," said Palmer, who birdied holes 14 through 17 Sunday to get to 23-under par. "We have a great friendship, but I don’t know about being his partner."

Palmer, a 28-year-old Texan, rolled in birdied putts of 25 and 20 feet on Nos. 14 and 15, respectively, to get to 21-under. Palmer and Bohn each birdied the drivable par-4 16th, with Palmer sinking a 5-footer and Bohn a 3½-footer.

At that point, Bohn had tied Rollins and J.P. Hayes for the lead at 23-under. Palmer was one shot back.

On the 197-yard 17th, both players hit 6-irons close. Palmer sank his 10-footer before Bohn made his 4-footer to take sole possession of the lead at 24-under.

"When we were making birdies coming down the stretch, (Palmer) said, ’Now this is getting fun, isn’t it, Jason?’" Bohn said.

The fun turned into trepidation after their tee balls on the 419-yard finishing hole, a difficult driving hole with water on the left and trees to the right. Each hit his drive way right, but Palmer caught a break as his ball bounced back into the fairway, leaving 160 yards to the green. Bohn’s ball stayed in the woods.

Palmer hit first and his 8-iron was right on line with the stick but carried 15 feet beyond the hole.

"I just flushed it," said Palmer, who won the FUNAI Classic in Orlando last season for his lone PGA Tour victory. "I thought I hit it right next to it, but it went 5 yards too long."

Bohn said he just wanted to make par from his position in the woods. He hit a low 4-iron out the trees that chased into the rough left of the green. His ensuing chip stopped 7 feet from the cup.

After Palmer missed, Bohn said he knew his putt was for the victory.

"The biggest gut check for me was the putt on 18," he said. "I might have failed on the tee shot, but I certainly sucked it up and made the putt."

Surprisingly, the putt was not the biggest money shot of Bohn’s life.

In 1992, as a sophomore at the University of Alabama, Bohn entered a hole-in-one shootout and won $1 million in Tuscaloosa. After making it through two qualifying rounds, Bohn and 11 others had one chance to win $1 million if they made a hole-in-one. He hit a 9-iron that two- bounced into the hole.

"No comparison," Bohn said of which was more gratifying. "The prize money was great, but I earned this. The million-dollar shootout was pot luck.

"This is something I’ll be able to take with me the rest of my life," he continued. "To win on the PGA Tour has been my ultimate goal since I was 7 years old."