By HAROLD ZEIGLER, Correspondent
The last time Casey Osborne was in a playoff for a golf championship, it ended in disaster.
Faced with a four-foot eagle putt on the first playoff hole to win, Osborne missed.
Then he missed again, and again.
He four-putted, from four feet, and lost.
"Nerves," he said, remembering back two years. "And (the fact that) I had never made an eagle before."
Osborne was in another sudden-death playoff Monday, and despite three-putting the first playoff hole, this one ended much better.
A routine par on the third playoff hole, coupled with a bogey by his opponent, David Denlinger, enabled Osborne to win the Lancaster County Junior Golf Tour event at Tanglewood.
It was his first victory on the county's top junior golf circuit.
"It feels good, great actually," the Warwick senior said. "I've never won.
"I always knew I could do it. I just never really put a great round together.
"I felt like I played pretty solid today, other than the driver. And I putted pretty well."
Osborne and Denlinger, a senior at Lancaster Mennonite, each shot 2-over-par 74s from the 6,437 yard blue tees at Tanglewood.
Alex Palmer, a junior at Manheim Township, shot 75 to finish third, one shot out of the playoff.
Dan McCrudden, a junior at L-S who has two wins this summer on the LCJGT, finished fourth at 76.
Osborne's round included five bogeys, one birdie, and one eagle, when he drove the green on the par-4, 291-yard 12th hole and drained a 40-foot putt. He hit just four fairways overall, however, and 11 greens.
Denlinger's round featured two birdies and four bogeys — all on three-putts. He hit seven fairways and 13 greens.
Both could've won outright but each bogeyed No. 18. Osborne had tree trouble left of the fairway. Denlinger three-putted, missing a two-footer for par.
"My putting was terrible," Denlinger said.
On the first playoff hole, Denlinger had tree trouble and had to make a 6-footer for par. Osborne hit the 489-yard, par-5 10th hole in two but three-putted for par.
That's when he started thinking about his only other playoff appearance, two years ago at Groff's Farm when he was in the LCJGT's 13-15 year-old division. His four-putt allowed Palmer to win.
"The 2-footer I had, I thought about it a little bit," Osborne admitted.
Both made par on the second playoff hole, No. 11 at Tanglewood. Denlinger made a routine par, missing a 15-footer for birdie. Osborne missed the green and got up and down, making a 12-footer to stay alive.
Denlinger had tree trouble right on the third playoff hole, his approach shot catching a tree and landing short of the green. He had about a 16-footer for par, but missed.
Osborne two-putted from 18 feet for the win.
"I felt like I had a good chance at winning a tournament this year, and I did," he said. "It's a great feeling."
Osborne finished third in a LCJGT event at Foxchase in late June. He will be Warwick's No. 1 player in the fall.
"It gives me a lot of confidence for the high school season, knowing that I won a tournament, finally," he said.
"I feel like I should be competing like I did today in all of them. It'll give me a lot of confidence. Hopefully, I can win another one."
NOTES: The Lancaster County Junior Championship will be held on Thursday at Meadia Heights .... The next LCJGT event is Wednesday, July 23, at Crossgates.
