Tim Belden wins city title on last hole

SANDUSKY — Tim Belden and his family were supposed to be on the road to Hilton Head, South Carolina, at 8 a.m. Friday. Their trip had to be delayed by a handful of hours, though. Belden had qualified for the Mills Creek Open city golf championship, and the 7:30 a.m. tee time against Tim McKenna was moved up a day. Belden made it worth the wait. It took all 36 holes, but he birdied the last hole of the tournament to earn his fourth Mills Creek Open crown (2007, 2014, 2015, 2022) with a 1-up victory. "It was just an incredible match," Belden said. "We both played well." On four loops around Mills Creek's nine-hole course, Belden shot rounds of 68 and 69. McKenna, the defending champion, started with a 71 and came back with a 67. "It was a lot of fun," McKenna said. "I love playing out here. We had a nice turnout this year. Thirty guys got in the qualifier. It turned out to be just a great day. I'm happy." Belden, the Perkins High School girls golf coach, stormed out of the blocks with birdies on the first two holes, both par-4s. McKenna, 69, won the third hole to slow the momentum, and from there, Belden and McKenna went mostly shot for shot. "Got off to a good start, but he just chips away," said Belden, 38. "He made a few putts. That's always what it comes down to out here is putting, who's gonna make more putts, especially in the finals." Overall, Belden and McKenna halved 17 of the 36 holes. By the time they turned back to No. 1 for the fourth and final time, McKenna had just made it all square. On the 28th hole of the day, McKenna worked a great up-and-down from right of the fairway to match Belden with a par. But Belden hit a great approach shot on the 29th and cashed his birdie putt for a one-shot lead. "Inside 150, especially with my wedges, that's a strong point of my game," Belden said. McKenna got it back square on the 30th hole when he drained a 15-footer, the longest putt made on the final nine. "I hit some good shots, putted great all day," McKenna said. They halved the next two holes, but Belden played a clean hole on No. 6 while McKenna left his drive wide to the right. Belden two-putted for the 1-up lead with three to play. McKenna had the answer on the second-to-last hole, a par-4 with a tough pin placement just past a water hazard. The green was driveable, if the players wanted to take the risk of getting wet. Belden went first and hit his hybrid to the back of the green. McKenna had to match, although he had planned all along to hit his 2-hybrid to try and make up the deficit regardless. He hooked a perfect shot, about 210 yards into the wind, within six feet of the hole. McKenna made the putt to send it to the final hole of the championship all square. "That was the club," McKenna said. "I stepped back, thought of all my basic fundamentals to hit a good shot, and I hit it right on the nose." Both golfers hit similar drives into the fairway on the par-5 ninth. McKenna's second shot was short with a steep slope between him and the green. Belden hit a firmer approach, on distance with the hole and just wide to the left rough. That left Belden with a chip shot to try and set up a winning putt, and he dropped the ball within three feet. "That chip on the last hole, little Phil Mickelson flop shot, was perfect," Belden said. Belden looked at the short putt from a variety of angles before dropping it in to win the title. "That 3-footer looked like it was about 10 feet," Belden said, "but was able to get it in." The pair of Tims embraced after the round, one they both were happy with. One spectator observed that "it's too bad someone had to lose." McKenna had won his second city open championship in 2021, 34 years after his first in 1987. He said last year that he didn't think it'd ever happen again, but then he finished pretty darn close to doing it again. "I always say I'm not going to," McKenna said. "If I had won this, I might've retired. I'll probably come back. I've got a whole year to rest up." Belden took a few photographs to celebrate the occasion, but there were bigger concerns on the mind of his 7-year-old daughter, Lydia. She had watched almost the entirety of Belden's 36-hole round, with her father calling her "a trooper." But enough of that. "Dad, can we go to Hilton Head now?" Lydia asked Belden. The trip had been delayed long enough, and Belden could take the drive south as a victor. Golf wouldn't stop for long, though. Belden has a tee time at Harbour Town Golf Links, the site of the PGA's RBC Heritage event, for Saturday afternoon. "I could go 36 more," Belden said with a laugh.