Adam Plotts isn’t Tiger Woods.

Tuesday, August 22, 2000

Adam Plotts isn’t Tiger Woods. Joe Kroc and Scott Goergen aren’t Bob May. But the three were involved in a sudden death playoff Sunday afternoon that, to the fans at Ramsey Golf Club, was better than watching Tiger win his third major of the season over May at the PGA Championship.

Almost immediately after Austin Men’s City Open golf champion Tim Duren tapped in a five-foot putt for par on the 18th hole at Ramsey, Kroc, Goergen and Plotts — who qualified for the City Open through the junior division — were thrown into a playoff to determine the 2000 City Open runner-up.

All three golfers were clearly disappointed that their scores of three-over-par 146 for the tournament weren’t enough to dethrone Duren, who won his second straight title despite a pulled muscle in his shoulder.

Plotts’ parents and friends chuckled because nobody expected the junior qualifier to be in a position to win the tournament, yet he was outwardly upset at not bringing home the top prize. When Goergen learned of the final tallies, he nodded his head with a "what more could I do" type look. They both knew Duren was on top of his game Sunday.

Plotts, Kroc and Goergen didn’t have long to dwell on their misfortune, though. Ramsey club manager Roger Larson quickly moved the three competitors to the tee box at the 492-yard, par-5 first hole to begin the sudden death playoff.

Kroc drew number one, so he teed off first, sending his ball sailing 270-plus yards down the left side of the fairway, safely on the shortest cut of grass. Plotts took a slightly different approach, sending his tee shot approximately 290 yards, but to the left of a small cluster of trees that line the fairway’s left side.

"I figured if I could put the ball to the left side of those trees it’d be perfect," Plotts said later. "They took out a few trees a couple years ago that would’ve been in my way."

Up next, Goergen put his ball in an almost identical spot to Kroc’s. There was some rumbling in the gallery that Plotts took himself out of contention. Now not only was he playing out of the rough, but he also had to contend with a sand trap that sat directly in his path to the green. By playing the fairway, Goergen and Kroc took the trap out of their paths.

Plotts stared down the green and the sand trap as Kroc and Goergen calmly landed their approach shots within 15 yards of the green. Plotts pulled a 6-iron out of his bag and, putting nerves aside, drilled his ball over the sand and stuck it on the green within six feet of the hole.

"I just hit a really good second shot (on the playoff hole)," Plotts said. Goergen and Kroc didn’t wave white flags, each chipping within five feet of the cup. Neither was able to attempt their birdie putt, though, as Plotts showed the poise of Woods — and a similar fist-pump — as he calmly buried his six-footer for an eagle and the runner-up trophy.

"I had struggled with my putter all day," he said, "but I was pumped up at the end."

Plotts drew praise from the man he was chasing on the back nine Sunday — Duren.

"This was the first time in a while I was able to play with Adam," said Duren, now a nine-time Open champ. "He has a very bright future in this game."

So Plotts isn’t Tiger Woods. But won’t sneak up on anybody anymore, and without a doubt he earned himself some respect in the Austin golfing world on Sunday.