LEHI — That 18-under-par record score that Johnny Miller and son Andy shot last year at the Sorenson Champions Challenge might not be untouchable after all.
Even though Champions Tour regulars Mark O'Meara and Mike Reid didn't quite reach that mark in winning this year's two-man scramble at the Golf Club at Thanksgiving Point, they sure came close. Some think they might have matched the record score had conditions been calmer and without the stiff north wind that makes Thanksgiving Point so difficult. Instead, they had to settle for a second-best-ever 16 under par, which was good enough for a two-shot victory and a first-place check of $50,000 each.
"That 16 under par is comparable to the 18 under that we shot last year," said Miller, tournament host.
The O'Meara/Reid duo did what no other team in Champions Challenge history has been able to do, including the Millers last year. They had six twos on their card and they made a birdie on each of Thanksgiving Point's five (No. 9 was shortened to a par-3) difficult par 3s. They also eagled the short par-4 12th (the nines were reversed for the tournament) when Reid chipped in from about 30 feet behind the green. The O'Meara/Reid team also made eagle on the downhill 550-yard par-5 14th when O'Meara knocked it to about 10 feet on his second shot.
"We ham-and-egged it very well today," Reid said. "It was consummate team golf."
O'Meara and Reid turned the front side at minus eight, with their only par on the opening nine coming on the opening hole. After that, however, they rolled in eight straight birdies — including a wicked putt that O'Meara trickled in on the par-3 eighth. They were on record pace following Reid's eagle chip on 12 and got there again with the eagle on No. 14. However, they failed to make birdie on the tough par-4 15th and easy par-4 17th coming in. Their birdie on the par-3 16th put them at 15 under, which they knew at the time put them ahead of the field, and they added some icing on the cake with a tap-in birdie on the 18th.
"I think when you're playing a scramble you try to birdie every hole, and hopefully throw an eagle in on the par 5s. That should be your mentality. Players such as Mike and I, if we hit the ball well we should have opportunities on every hole," said O'Meara, a part-time resident of Deer Valley. "But it does come down, like in any event, to putting ... and I think that putting is what really put us over the top today."
For awhile it appeared that the young team of former BYU stars Daniel Summerhays and Todd Miller were going to make things interesting. After making the turn at minus six, they got it to 13 under through 16 with seven straight birdies. The key hole was the short 17th, where they both narrowly missed a 12-foot birdie putt that surely would have put some pressure on the O'Meara/Reid team.
"I just didn't hit it good," Summerhays said. "And sometimes they just don't go in."
The $37,500 that Summerhays earned is his biggest check as a pro. He left the tournament in a hurry to catch a flight to West Virginia, where he'll compete this week in his fifth Nationwide Tour event.
Ian Baker Finch and Jack Nicklaus II were the early leaders in the clubhouse when they posted a 13-under par. Mike Weir and Dean Wilson, winners in 2003 and 2004, finished in fourth at minus 12.
"We had our chances, but we just couldn't buy them," Weir said.
O'Meara and Reid both said they'll return for next year's event, but they might not defend. O'Meara said he'd like to play with his son Sean and Reid said he'd like to play with son Daniel.
"What we're saying is, we're going to check our sons' games out. If they're not going to be bringing it, then Mike and I will play again and we'll defend," O'Meara said half-jokingly.
E-mail: jimr@desnews.com