Fairlee
Mellon couldn’t rely on that kind of local knowledge heading into the Jeff Julian Memorial Vermont Open, but it turned out he didn’t need it. He had something else he could rely on playing in the final group with a couple of former Vermont champions.
His putter.
The onetime University of Cincinnati Bearcat drained a tricky mid-range putt for birdie on 18 to force a playoff with 2012 Vermont winner Rich Berberian Jr., and then poured in a 20-footer on the first playoff hole to earn a dramatic victory at Lake Morey Country Club.
Mellon carded rounds of 66-67-68–201 to claim the $7,000 prize for first place. Berberian took home $4,000 by shooting 64-70-67–201. PGA Tour veteran John “Jumbo” Elliott was one stroke back at 202 on rounds of 70-65-67. The 52-year-old won $2,800 for finishing third and celebrated the 20th anniversary of his 1996 Vermont title by winning $1,000 as the low senior after two rounds.
While Elliott and Berberian are Vermont Open regulars, Mellon was making not only his first appearance at Lake Morey, but his first visit to Vermont. He was all smiles afterward, and his flat-stick was a big part of the reason why.
“The main part of my game the last two days has been my putting,” he said. “I think I had 24 putts my first round and 28 the second.”
Mellon started the final day one shot clear of Berberian, but with his trusty putter taking a little sabbatical he trailed the Windham Country Club pro by one stroke heading to the 542-yard 12th hole.
“The first 11 holes today I didn’t make anything,” Mellon said. “I wasn’t exactly frustrated, but I just wasn’t in the zone of making putts.”
He started to get into the zone on 12, sinking an eight-footer for birdie to pull into a tie for the lead. He then matched Berberian’s birdie on 13 and regained the lead with his third consecutive birdie when a risky shot over the pines from the middle of the 13th fairway settled 12 feet from the cup on 14 and he made the putt.
Berberian knew he could have been in serious trouble on 15 after he missed the green left and was faced with a sloping tester for par.
“When you hit a bad chip shot like I did on 15, and Spence already has the lead, I could have made a bogey and he might have pulled away,” Berberian said.
It didn’t turn out that way.
“He didn’t hit his best chip shot and missed his putt, and I ended up making mine,” Berberian said. “That’s when everything kind of flipped.”
After three consecutive birdies, Mellon followed his bogey on 15 with another on 16 to slip to 8-under, one shot behind Berberian.
With Elliott making a long putt for birdie on 17, the threesome crossed the road to the home hole with Berberian clinging to a one stroke lead over his playing partners.
Berberian left the door open for the other two when he couldn’t convert a tough birdie putt. Elliott failed to take advantage after his approach spun back the upper tier and he settled for par.
Mellon’s approach, like Elliott’s, reversed course off the upper level. His putt to tie would not be easy.
“I was looking at it and saw that it broke a little bit left up the hill,” Mellon said. “I asked my buddy Andrew, who was caddying for me, ‘What do you think it does at the hole?’ He saw exactly what I saw. I was happy that he kind of confirmed it for me.
“When I hit it, I actually thought I left it short, but it just kept climbing and dropped in the left side.”
With Berberian making his three-footer the final two headed back to the 10th hole for the playoff.
After a solid drive, Mellon was disappointed with his second shot on the par-4.
“Leaving it 20 feet short from 45 feet isn’t exactly what I wanted,” he said. “I knew I was going to have to make the putt after (Berberian) hit his to six feet or so.
“It was another tricky one. I had somewhat of a similar putt in regulation on 10 and I thought I read it correctly but missed it. This time we played it pretty straight and it went right in the heart.”
When Berberian’s bid to extend the playoff wouldn’t fall, Mellon had a win that trumped his victory in the World Club Championship in Jeju, South Korea, a year ago.
“That was a team victory as an amateur, but this was my first professional victory,” he said. “Getting my first pro win under my belt is a huge step for me.”
It also helped ease the pain of a “major” disappointment.
“U.S. Open qualifying was the weekend I got back from Florida and I missed local qualifying by a shot,” he said. “I was in a little bit of a daze because I put so much into it. This will definitely help.”
Divots: Rutland Country Club’s Jesse Larson used a birdie on 16 to get to 8-under, but lost a chance to get into the playoff with a bogey on the closing hole. He finished tied for third with Mark Stevens, of Pembroke, N.H., who dropped a playoff last week for the Massachusetts Open. … Alex Rainbury, of St. Johnsbury, was the low amateur at 213, 18th overall.