“I got lucky,” Huff said later. “Geno hit a bad shot, and he usually doesn’t.”
If spirits had been dimmed by Bonnalie’s exit, they were promptly brightened again when the highlight stroke of the day came on the next hole. Finding himself faced with a long uphill putt on No. 11, Huff spent several minutes pacing the perimeter of the green and looking the terrain up-and-down while other competitors lined up their own strokes. When his turn came, the defending champion delivered a carefully calibrated shot that climbed and arced perfectly toward the hole, then looked for a moment like it might run out of steam just shy of its target, only to fall at the last instant for an eagle, drawing gasps of admiration and applause.
This year’s Sole Survivor was uncharacteristically short on chip-offs — the tense sudden-death affairs that ensue when multiple players are tied for the high stroke total on a given hole and must take turns attempting a chip onto the green from the same designated spot, with whoever comes farthest from the hole eliminated. Only two such situations arose, with the latter the more dramatic and significant as it came on a four-way tie between all of the remaining contestants: Huff, Trigsted, LGCC men’s association president Jared Mraz, and Mitch Baldridge, who was ultimately eliminated as his chip curved well to the left of the hole.
Mraz’s exit came next when he attempted a downhill chip on No. 17 that skimmed the edge of the hole for a potential birdie, but instead rolled past, then an uphill putt that did the same thing going in the other direction, before finally putting the ball away for a five-stroke bogey.
Trigsted and Huff were left to face off on No. 18, the day’s 10th and final hole. Huff, who had come through a nailbiter last year against Lewis-Clark State golf coach Zach Anderson, was spared any more such drama by Trigsted’s disastrous drive.
“I got in Position A this time on the fairway,” said Trigsted, who recalled having also been derailed by an errant drive when he finished runner-up to Huff seven years ago. “My only bad shot of the day, into the water. I hit it onto the greens — proud of giving myself a chance at par — but he had an easy two-putt for birdie. Tough break, but I’m excited to get at it again next time.”
All about the shot you’re on
Huff won his first Sole Survivor title in 2008, topping fellow area veteran Corey Brown (also among this year’s contestants) in a down-to-the-wire tiebreak. A second championship followed a decade later in 2018, with Trigsted the runner-up on that occasion as well.
Huff’s current dynasty started in ‘22 with a win over Mraz on the championship hole, and three more consecutive titles have followed since. No one had ever won the tournament more than twice in a row prior to this.
While he is no slouch in standard-scoring golf tournaments, match play very much seems to have become Huff’s true domain of success. What is his secret?
“He’s just super, super consistent,” Trigsted said. “Jason knows how to make par, and he knew how to birdie the last hole.”
The flat-lining Steady Eddie himself had this to say:
“I just like it, because each hole, you start over. Whatever you did doesn’t matter, and whatever you might do doesn’t matter. It’s all about the shot you’re on.”
Wendt may be contacted at (208) 848-2268, or cwendt@lmtribune.com.
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