Tim Duren got what he hoped for, but what he hoped for wasn’t as easy as he thought it would be.

Monday, August 23, 1999

Tim Duren got what he hoped for, but what he hoped for wasn’t as easy as he thought it would be.

With a two-stroke lead entering the day and his son Brian at his side, Duren breathed a sigh of relief as his 4-foot putt for par on No. 18 rolled in to edge Dave Pilot for his unprecedented eighth Austin City Open title Sunday afternoon at the Austin Country Club.

Duren shot a two-over-par 74 Sunday after shooting a two-under-par 69 at Ramsey Golf Club Saturday for a score of 143, while Pilot made up four strokes with the best performance of the day on Sunday, but fell one short at 144.

Duren, the perennial tournament favorite, talked days before the event about how he hoped he could walk up the 18th hole with his son Brian. The wish came true when both players were grouped along with Chris Larson and Joe Kroc for the final foursome to tee off for the final round of the Championship Flight. But the wish nearly became a hindrance when paternal instincts almost took over as a father and son battled for the city’s title for the first time in the tournament’s 50-year history.

"This was probably the toughest one because of my son," said Duren. "Yesterday I was focused and kept to myself most of the time. Today I was more in tune with what he was doing.

"I watched him all day long. No. 12 was real tough.

"When we teed off I shook his hand and said ‘good luck Brian,’ but then I had to wipe the tears away," said Duren, who had played against his son and been paired with him before but never in such a competitive setting. "After that I just kept my concentration and stayed focused."

Close behind Duren and Pilot, whose 70 was the lowest score shot on the second day, was last year’s runner up, Larson, who shot a 74 to go along with a 71 from the first day.

"You try not to, but it’s human nature," Duren said when asked if had felt pressure when Larson closed to within one on No. 16.

"(Tim) is always tough," said Larson, who was tied for the lead after 13, but triple bogeyed No. 14. "He just hangs in there."

"I should have played a lot better," said Larson, who played through stomach pains that began last week at a tournament in Kansas City and continued this weekend.

Kroc, who shot 76 Sunday after shooting a 71 Saturday, finished fourth. Kroc, a three-time City Open winner who finished tied for fifth last year, stayed in the hunt with his chipping, which consistently landed around the pin all day.

Brian Duren tied with Adam Plotts for the top junior golfers in the tournament. Brian Duren (71-77), Plotts (73-75), Josh Usgaard (73-75) and Jeremy Dudycha (73-75) all finished at 148, which was good enough for fifth.

"I’m extremely proud of him," Tim Duren said of his 16-year-old son and soon-to-be junior at Austin High School.

Defending City Open champion Greg Denisen, who beat Larson in a one hole playoff for the title last year, tied for 10th after shooting 75s on both days.

The elder Duren, who also won City Open titles in 1985,86,88,89,93, 95 and 97, said he played more aggressively on Saturday than on Sunday.

"I just wanted to play my game and let them come to me," he said.

And come they did, but to no avail.

Pilot, Duren’s closest competitor, was already in the clubhouse drying of his pant cuffs trailing only by one when the champ was busy fending off late runs by Larson and Kroc.

Duren learned of the tournament standings just in time.

"My wife told me on the 17th," Duren said. "I’m glad she did because I would have played 18 different if I would have had a two-stroke lead. I would have just played to bogey it."

Duren, 41, said the key to his game Sunday was ball placement.

"I was leaving the ball in good position. I hit my iron shots below the holes of the because of where the pins were placed."