The first nine holes of the match could not have been more back and forth. Paradis and Martel exchanged holes all the way through to the 9th hole. Martel started to take control of the match on the 10th hole when he made birdie to win the hole. Following that, he birdied four holes in a row, 13 through 16. Impressively he got to 4 up after the first 18 holes.

With all that momentum, Martel was pushing for a short break to keep the pressure on. He said, “It’s obviously nice to have a good cushion but at the same time I still need to stay aggressive because I know Matt can run four straight off as well.”

Coming back at it, he kept plugging away only slipping up one time with a bogey on their 21st hole after pitching it up close from the left side of the green. With an eagle on the par 5, 5th hole, he regained his position.

Entering to the 30th hole of the match, Martel hopped on the bogey train and couldn’t shake it until the 33rd hole. He gave Paradis 3 holes, bringing himself down to 2up after being at 5 up just a few holes prior. Paradis needed to continue to win holes in order to advance the match beyond the 35th hole, but came up shy to a previous State Amateur champion.

Reflecting back on a tough position when the momentum shifted Martel stated, “I tried to stay aggressive. I didn’t hit a lot of bad shots when it got tight, I just had a tough break in the bunker and three putted 13. That putt I made on top of him on 15 was the difference maker.”

Although Paradis finished in the runner-up position for the second year in a row, he played a solid week of golf which cannot be overlooked.