Nate Adams (right) shakes the head of Ben Welle after winning the 2021 Pine To Palm Championship on the first playoff hole
Detroit Lakes, MN (KDLM)-
Things looked bleak for Nate Adams on the back nine of the 2021 Pine To Palm Golf Tournament. Adams and Ben Welle were all-square through nine holes in the match play championship, but things quickly turned in Welle’s favor.
Adams was 1-up on Welle through eight holes. Welle evened things up for the back after taking the ninth hole that saw Adams concede after having trouble in the bunker on the right side of the fairway. Welle also won holes 11 and 12 to take a 2-up lead. Adams had a chance to steal the 13th hole but left his birdie putt a couple of inches short of the cup. Welle made his par to halve the hole.
“Things got pretty rough midway through the back nine,” Adams told KDLM’s Andy Lia after the match. “I just tried to stay patient.”
The Par 3 14th hole is when things turned around. Adams hit the green and would two-putt for a par, but Welle’s tee shot landed six feet from the cup, and he was in prime position to take a 3-hole lead with four holes to play.
“When (Welle) was lining up that birdie putt on 14, I didn’t think he’d miss it. Ben is solid. He doesn’t miss much. But when he missed that putt, that gave me some hope.”
Welle missed the six-foot putt, halved the hole, and went to the 15th tee box with a two-hole lead.
Welle put the pressure on Adams with a great second shot on Hole 15, sticking his ball on the green within 10 feet of the cup. Adams, who was hitting from the rough on the left side of the fairway, answered with an amazing shot of his own that landed within three feet of the pin. Both players birdied, but it appeared that Adams was starting to play with some hope.
Adams pulled out his four-iron to tee off the Par 4, 288 yard Hole 16, needing to win the hole. His drive hit the green and he two-putted for birdie. Welle missed his birdie putt to give up the hole.
Adams hit the green again on the Par 3 17th hole, while Welle’s tee shot went over the green and rolled down the back of the hill of the elevated green. Welle also missed the green deep on Hole 6. His ball was ruled out of bounds and he had to rehit from the tee box with the penalty stroke (Adams won Hole 6 to take a 1-up lead at that point). Faced with a difficult uphill shot, Welle’s chip hit the middle of the green, but rolled down to the fringe on the far side. Welle’s long putt would miss left by a couple of inches. Adams two-putted to win the hole and head to the 18th hole all-square.
“My one thought on the 18th tee box was ‘hit the fairway.’ I played the same line that I did in my match earlier today.” said Adams. “Hitting into the wind helped me quite a bit. Hitting with the wind and I hit that ball way too far and that leads to trouble.”
Both players had putts on the 18th hole to win the championship outright, but both putts were short.
The 2021 Pine to Palm was headed to extra holes.
“18 is such a tough green to read,” admitted Adams. “I’m glad I got a better look on Hole 1.”
The first playoff hole headed back to Hole 1, a hole that Welle had won to take a 1-up lead early in the match. Both players had 10-foot birdie putts from either side of the hole. Adams put the pressure on Welle by sinking his birdie putt, meaning Welle would have to sink his long put to force a second playoff hole.
The putt that won it: Nate Adams of @NDSUgolf comes storming back to force a playoff hole and win the 2021 Pine To Palm championship. pic.twitter.com/a80JbcuRom
—
Zeke Fuhrman
Welle missed.
“After seeing (Welle’s) second shot on One, I was a little shaken,” said Adams. “I thought ‘wow, I outdrove him by so much, but he still stuck it on the green in front of me anyways’. I knew I had to give myself a look. I gave myself a chance with a makable distance and it went in.”
2021 was the second time that Adams advanced to the championship. He was the Pine to Palm runner-up in 2019 after losing to Staples native and former NDSU teammate Andrew Israelson.
“I like to tell my friends that if it weren’t for Andrew I’d have a Pine to Palm and a Birchmont title already,” Adams joked. “It was fun to be back and I’m excited to defend my title next year.”
Adams will have an opportunity to become the first back-to-back Pine to Palm winner in 45 years at the 90th Annual Pine to Palm Golf Tournament, which will be held August 8th thru the 14th at the Detroit Country Club.
LISTEN: Andy Lia and Bob Gordon sit down with 2021 Pine To Palm winner Nate Adams after winning the championship on the first playoff hole over Ben Welle:
