Flower Mound, TX – It was a humid morning last week at Bridlewood Golf Club in Flower Mound, TX when three charter members of the FGA gathered with the previous two winners to play a round of golf that will long be remembered in the annals of the Frigidaire Classic. Joining stalwarts Todd and Scott Elliott was H. Chu Kim in his first appearance in the Classic since 2012. Since his last outing, newcomers Blake and Clark Elliott have burst onto the scene raking in three consecutive championships between them.
Clark came to Bridlewood as the defending champion, having wrested away the trophy from his father, Todd, on the last hole of an action-packed and dramatic 2017 Frigidaire. Determined to rebound from his near miss a year ago, Todd set out early to distance himself from the field. His plan worked to perfection. After posting a stellar net 35 on the front nine, the 7-time champion held a 5-stroke lead at the turn.
What unfolded over the next 9 holes, however, would forever mark this Classic among the greats. Each of the five golfers improved on their first nine. Blake authored the biggest turnaround. After a net 40 on the front, Blake strung together perhaps the best stretch of golf in his young career to record a phenomenal net 30 on the back. On most days, a net 2-under score would produce an easy path to the championship. But not on this day.
Blake’s brother Clark would not let the title slip easily away. Another very strong showing for the fast-rising golfer, who would be married to his sweetheart Kirsten Freshwaters the following afternoon, resulted in a net 3-under 69, besting Blake by a single stroke. His 3-foot miss on 18 shouldn’t have mattered given his courageous effort to that point. Indeed, even with that miss, on any other day, Clark would have walked away with his second straight Frigidaire crown.
But this day belonged to Todd.
After making the turn with his 5-stroke lead, Todd did not rest on his previous success. He didn’t just coast home. No, his back nine was an even more brilliant display of golf than his front nine. By the time the rain started sprinkling down on the 18th green, Todd stood over an 8-foot birdie putt that would give him a record shattering gross score of 79. He settled for a par – and a 39 on the back. Included in that wonderful score was the single greatest shot in Frigidaire Classic history.
As the fivesome approached the tee at the 145-yard par 3 12th, everyone was well aware that no one had ever carded a birdie on a par 3 in the Classic. The FGA was 0 for 350. But that was about to change. Blake led off with a great shot that settled about 6 feet below the hole. Excitement erupted. Could this finally be the one? After Scott put his tee shot just over the green, Todd readied his eight iron. His ball sailed effortlessly through the midday air, never leaving the pin. It bounced on the green and rolled toward the cup. Each golfer held his breath as the ball came ever closer to the hole. For a time it seemed the ball would drop from sight, but it stopped, still visible.
Only after reaching the green would the expectant golfers see just how masterful Todd’s swing had been. His golf ball now perched on the edge of the hole, barely two inches away. A mere breath of a tap from Todd’s putter gave the Frigidaire its very first par 3 birdie.
As it turned out, Todd needed every bit of his great play to earn his eighth championship, the most of any FGA golfer in history. His par on 18 was a fantastic end to a record-setting round, not just for Todd, but for the entire group. The aggregate net score of 1 over par was by far the best ever recorded. In addition to Todd and Clark’s net 69 and Blake’s net 70, Chu finished with a very respectable 4-over net 76, despite having played exactly zero rounds of golf in the previous year. And, with a score that would have won several championships in the past, Scott brought up the rear with a net 77.
An interesting footnote to this round came five holes after Todd’s miraculous shot when Blake, still regretting his missed birdie putt on the 12th, drained a 25-footer on the 17th for the FGA’s second par-3 birdie. Like father, like son.
Next year’s highly anticipated event will be held in beautiful Central Oregon. While the area offers a natural appeal not often matched across this great land, it will have a hard time matching the superlative level of golf engineered by the five participants in the 2018 Frigidaire Classic. Truly, it was one for the ages.
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