Peel defeats DeTemple in final match at Maryland Amateur

Billy Peel, IV won the Maryland Amateur in an unusual way at the Chevy Chase Club when Pete DeTemple, in pain from badly blistered feet and a sore back, was forced to concede their final-round match.

A qualifying round followed by two days of double-round walking took its toll and DeTemple – at 56, the oldest finalist in tournament history – finally yielded in the middle of the sixth fairway. It was the 24th hole of a scheduled 36-hole match.

“Five rounds in three days [leading up to the final] was just too much,” DeTemple said afterward. “My body just wouldn’t let me continue.”

At the time, Peel was 5 up.

Peel used an eagle and a birdie to make the nine-hole turn at 1 up as DeTemple won three holes in keeping it close. That was pretty much it, however, as Peel birdied three holes on the back to finish the morning round 4 up. The course was played at 6,918 yards to a par of 70.

A looming rainstorm and the mutual agreement of the players sent the match back to the first tee without the usual break for lunch, and Peel promptly won the hole with a par; DeTemple won the second with a par, and Peel ended the scoring with a winning par at the fifth.

“The birdie on 18 was huge,” Peel pointed out later. DeTemple had four feet for par when his opponent had his bid from 25 feet fall into the cup.

Earlier, Peel, 30, who works in securities, was 1 up through No.4, then won the 350-yard fifth when his wedge second shot from 85 yards took one bounce and rolled into the hole. Conceded birdies at the ninth and 10th enabled Peel to go 2 up and he tacked on one more at the 16th to set the stage for his stroke at the 18th.

“I was nervous at the start, but was able to settle down,” Peel said in thinking of such past Columbia champions as Marty West, III, who was 9-for-9 in final-round wins; two-time winner Richard Lattimer, and Mike Mitchell, who won once.

In getting to the final, Peel (qualified with a 69) eliminated Matt Barnes, Lou Baker, Kyle Nordheimer, and David Putney, while DeTemple (qualified with 68) put out Mac Webster, Keegan Shreves, defender Morgan Egloff, and Brad Riley.