Byron Meth wins final U.S. Amateur Public Links on 37th hole

There was a hint of irony Saturday afternoon as Byron Meth held the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship trophy on Sand Creek Station’s 10th green.

Earlier in the day, the 565-yard hole had been a source of great frustration for the 21-year-old San Diego native. Like many area public-course golfers who have come to know the hole called “The Beast,” Meth had encountered its wrath twice during his 36-hole match-play final against 18-year-old Doug Ghim.

But after earning a third opportunity to play it when the talented duo couldn’t settle their duel in regulation, Meth navigated his way to a par that made him the final champion in the APL’s 89-year history.

Meth, a senior at the University of Pacific, edged Ghim 1 up on the 37th hole in a back-and-forth battle that took eight hours and put a tidy bow on an event the United States Golf Association is retiring after this year.

“I wasn’t happy when I heard it was coming to 10, but I knew I had it in me,” Meth said of the extra hole that will likely land him an invitation to play in the 2015 Masters. “I’d birdied it three times this week in competition. I knew I could do it. I just had to hit quality shots.”

Meth probably would have been happy to hit a shot from one of the numerous railroad cars that passed through Sand Creek during the championship match. He went to the 36th hole down one and needing to win it after Ghim, a Texas signee from Arlington Heights, Ill., gained the upper hand with an impressive eagle at the 340-yard 15th.

But Ghim, whose path to the final included wins over 2013 APL champion Jordan Niebrugge and Sterling’s Michael Gellerman, opened the door for Meth by hitting his tee shot out of bounds to the right at the par-4 18th. Meth made an unsettling bogey after his 35-foot birdie attempt failed to reach the crest of a hill where the pin was located, and rolled back toward him. But it was enough to win the hole from Ghim, who double-bogeyed.

“I guess I didn’t realize I was nervous until the club was coming down,” Ghim said of the errant drive that cost him his final lead. “It is what it is. It’s going to be a good learning experience.”

With Texas golf coach John Fields among the gallery that swelled to approximately 100 near the match’s conclusion, Meth and Ghim traded the lead four times. They were all square through nine holes. Then Ghim took his first lead at No. 10, when Meth hit his second shot two yards out of bounds to the left, his fourth into a water hazard right of the fairway and his sixth back into the hazard near the green.

Despite that turn of events and an eagle for Ghim at the par-4 12th, the golfers were all square after the morning round. Then Meth opened the afternoon round with his best stretch of play. He made three consecutive birdies and won the 26th hole with a par to go 3 up.

Ghim, who showed resiliency by rallying from three down in Friday’s semifinals against Gellerman, did it again by winning three of the next four holes to tie the match. That stretch included another ill-fated journey down No. 10 for Meth. He hit his approach over the green, then bogeyed the hole after his fourth shot landed on a paved walkway and scooted across the green.

The match stayed tight the rest of the way. Ghim appeared to grab a large slice of momentum when he drove the green at the par-4 15th and rolled in a 27-foot eagle to go 1 up. He followed with a terrific approach to within six feet and birdied the par-4 16th. But Ghim needed it, as Meth preceded him with a 15-foot birdie that he punctuated with a fist pump.

“That was a big moment,” Ghim said. “If Byron hadn’t made that putt, the match would have been completely different. That’s just a testament to how good he is.”

On the extra hole, Meth smashed a 3-wood tee shot down the middle of the fairway. Ghim also found the fairway, but his second shot hovered dangerously close to the edge of the water hazard before settling in tall grass, forcing him to punch out sideways on his third shot. He eventually made a bogey.

“It was a product of nerves,” Ghim said. “I’ve just never been in this position before. But next time, I’ll be ready.”

Meth, who received a congratulatory handshake from Ghim after his 17-foot birdie attempt stopped within concession range, gained extra satisfaction from winning on a hole that had haunted him.

“I made an X on it in the first round and a six on it in the second round,” Meth said. “To come in here and make a par under all that pressure – with everything on the line – it was outstanding.”

Meth joined a list of past APL champions that includes PGA Tour veterans Tim Clark, Trevor Immelman and Brandt Snedeker. Since 1988, the APL champion has been invited to compete in the Masters the following year.

“That would mean the world to me, and it’d be the best week of my life, hands down,” Meth said.

This story was originally published July 19, 2014 at 7:03 PM with the headline "Byron Meth wins final U.S. Amateur Public Links on 37th hole."