Any excitement lost to circumstances surrounding the annual Austin Open golf tournament was regained with a sudden-death playoff at the top of the championship flight Sunday at Ramsey Golf Club.

Jeff Clark and Brian Engels went head-to-head for the city golf title, and it was Clark’s short-game that prevailed on the second hole of match play. Engels’ 12-footer for par came up short, but Clark’s 4-footer rolled into the cup for the dramatic championship victory on Sunday.

&uot;Those 4-foot putts, I was hitting them all day,&uot; said Clark, 19, who led the rest of the competition by two strokes after 18-holes Saturday. &uot;That was really the only thing I had working for me. My approach shots just weren’t good.

&uot;My short game hasn’t been this good in a while.&uot;

With Clark playing in the final foursome, Engels, 23, charged back from a four-stroke deficit with five holes left to force a playoff, unbeknownst to Clark. Engels birdied three of the final five holes to shoot a tournament-low round of 2-under-par 69, and Clark shot a 2-over 38 on the back nine to pull even with him.

&uot;I had no idea, I already had my clubs in my trunk,&uot; said Engels, the assistant pro at Austin Country Club. &uot;I didn’t think 69 would do it.&uot;

Sudden death

After an adventuresome first hole for both golfers, Clark emerged with his short-game still getting it done.

Clark’s and Engels’ tee shots on the 492-yard par-5 first hole both found the trees along the right side of the fairway, but Engels reached the green in regulation and Clark chipped to within 10 feet with his fourth shot.

Engels two-putted and Clark buried his uphill putt to push the playoff to a second hole, the par-3 second that Engels had birdied earlier in the day. His tee shot landed short of the bunker on the front-left side of the green, while Clark found the back fringe still 30 feet away.

Engels chipped past the pin by 12 feet, and Clark’s lag putt rolled to within his automatic range.

Clark, who finished fifth at nationals to earn All-American honors as a freshman for Riverland Community College, calmly knocked down the putt for the championship.

&uot;I was just trying to go out there and hit my greens and make pars, and that’s pretty much what I did,&uot; Clark said.

The city title is Clark’s first in five appearances in the Open. He finished ninth in each of the last two tournaments, and appeared to have this year’s title wrapped up before word of Engels’ 69 spread through the gallery following the final foursome.

Putt for dough

Clark hit a 4-foot putt for par on the 18th green, holding off what seemed to be his biggest threat in Dave Pilot. Pilot birdied No. 17 for a 1-under 35 on the back nine, but that only got him to within two strokes of Clark with one hole remaining.

Pilot missed a birdie on No. 16 by less than an inch, and Clark’s miraculous par-saver on No. 15 may have been the shot of the tournament. Clark escaped tree trouble on Ramsey’s 595-yard par-5 15th to reach the green in four, and his 15-foot left-to-right and downhill bender found the bottom of the jar for par.

&uot;I’ve never made a putt like that,&uot; Clark said. &uot;Pretty much the whole day I was getting up-and-down (for par).&uot;

&uot;On 15 I thought maybe if I made par and he made bogey I could get back in it,&uot; said Pilot, &uot;but he made a great putt. He played solid the whole time. I’m glad to see him win it, he’s a good kid.&uot;

Pilot and Scott Goergen were two shots off Clark’s day-one pace, while Engels, Greg Denisen and Tim Wiese were tied for fourth at four shots back. Goergen pulled even with Clark with an eagle on the first hole Sunday, but an out-of-bounds penalty on the par-5 12th pushed Goergen four strokes off the pace.

Pilot’s second shot on the 524-yard 12th rolled over the green, and his downhill chip was well short of its intended target. Clark got up-and-down for birdie, and Pilot’s par was not enough to reel in the youngster.

&uot;I started hitting the ball good on the back nine, but I didn’t make any birdies,&uot; Pilot said. &uot;I never really thought I was in it. I hit a good shot on 12 but it ran over the green, and I never really got back in it after that.&uot;

Scorecard

Pilot carded par on 15 of 18 holes on Sunday, and Clark parred 11. Engels rallied with six birdies against four bogeys. Goergen shot a 2-under 33 on the front nine but was a combined four over on the first three holes of the back half. Denisen’s even-par 71 was the second-best 18-hole total of the tournament.

John Sucha, after shooting a 9-over 80 on Saturday, shot 72 on Sunday — highlighted by 10 consecutive pars to end the round -- to tie Goergen for fifth.