Brett McCauley ended a 12-year drought Friday in the Ozark Shootout at a wet Westwood Hills Country Club.
McCauley sank a short birdie putt on the 18th green to edge Chance Holden of Dexter and win the nine-hole event.
No club member had won the Shootout since Ben Brumitt in 2005 but McCauley and Brumitt were teeing off together with two holes to play.
"We've played a lot of golf together over the years so we kind of feed off each other, which is kind of fun," McCauley said. "We said it on 10 tee, 'lets try to get the two of us on 18 tee box together.' So that was kind of fun."
Holden knocked Brumitt out in a chip-off on 17 and also survived a four-player chip-off on 15 in which all the shots ended up within 22 inches of the hole.
"I thought there was no way I'll get there," Holden said of following a well-placed chip by Don Bills, who won the 2003 Shootout.
"I hit a great chip there and hit another good chip on 17 on my regular ball and again in the chip-off."
A chip onto the green in the final hole tripped up Holden, who was playing his first Shootout after placing ninth last year in the 70th Tom Hoover Ozark Invitational.
McCauley and Holden both found the left rough with their tee shots on the 485-yard, par-5 18th. With just over 200 yards left, both came up short of the green with their second shots --Holden closer to the hole on the right side and McCauley on the left.
"I just hit a shot thinking leave it short, leave myself with a chip," McCauley said. "It was one of those I couldn't really go at it from where I was but give myself a chip to get up there and try to make birdie."
He did just that with a chip that ran 4 feet past the hole for birdie.
"He hit a great shot, put some pressure on me," Holden said. "I had to execute and I just didn't."
Holden's chip from the front of the green didn't run up the hill enough, rolling back and leaving a 30 footer for birdie.
"I had to fly it halfway up the slope, at least, and I just hit a little behind it and came up short," Holden said. "Had to try and make a long putt."
He gave it a run, missing to the right by inches for a tap-in par, opening the door for McCauley.
"Didn't break at all. I thought it would break a little left, my caddie had a better read on than I did and thought it was a little straight," Holden said. "I hit it a cup and a half out to the right."
Playing in his second Shootout, McCauley had three straight birdies starting on 13. His round started with a chip within inches of the hole on No. 10 to advance. He avoided all five chip-offs.
Brumitt, meanwhile, survived three. He won the first one on 10 after his tee shot found the sand, knocking out Patrick Britt, of St. Louis. A three-player chip-off on 13 knocked out defending Invitational champion Joshua Rhodes, of Paducah, Kentucky, while only McCauley wasn't involved in the chipping clinic on 15.
Bliss forced the chip-off with a long putt then went first, chipping from the uphill slope on the right side of the green. The defending senior champion in the Invitational rolled his ball within 22 inches of the hole but didn't make it to the 16th tee.
Griffin Locke, of Joplin, Holden and Brumitt were all closer but Locke's tee shot on the par-3 16th was short and he missed a chance to get up-and-down for a chip-off.
Brumitt forced a chip-off on 17 after his tee shot landed in the right rough. His approach landed pin-high to the right while McCauley's gap wedge from 65 yards landed within inches for a birdie.
Holden's putt caught the right edge and Brumitt matched it after his birdie putt slipped past the hole to the left.
"He hit a great shot to get on the green, had a good look at birdie," McCauley said of Brumitt.
McCauley got a spot in the Shootout as runner-up in the club match play event when Carr Vernon turned professional. McCauley was also part of the SEMO Cup championship team for Westwood Hills.
"We miss Carr with him turning pro, he's always fun to get out here and battle," McCauley said. "... we have a really good group of great golfers that can go out and compete every day of the week."
Westwood Hills member Jake Robertson was knocked out on the second hole.
Ryne Fisher, the 2014 Shootout and 2013 Invitational winner from Overland Park, Kansas, was knocked out by Bliss, of Chesterfield, Missouri, in a chip-off on 15.
Trent Jones, of Jonesboro, Arkansas, was out after 12 when all eight tee shots landed on the green at the 142-yard hole.
Following the event, Chris Shrum from sponsor Luecke Distributing honored longtime tournament director Tom Hoover for his 34 years of service.