Thrilling. It’s just one of the words we use too often when covering sport though it was a legitimate descriptor for the finish at the AVJennings NSW Open.
Heartwarming is another too easily thrown about though it, too, was fitting when Josh Younger lifted the Kel Nagle Cup at Twin Creeks Golf and Country Club.
In the bigger scheme of things we all know golf isn’t important, but that doesn’t diminish its ability to entertain or stir the soul.
It did both in Greater Western Sydney on a blustery, hot afternoon today and, along the way, pushed the buttons of plenty of other emotions as well.
There was heartbreak for Justin Warren, the super impressive rookie who shot a pair of 64’s during the course of the week but endured a disastrous snap-hook at the most inopportune moment on the 72nd hole.
As his ball splashed into the hazard – sorry, penalty area – left of the 18th green he sank to his knees in the stark knowledge his week had abruptly ended in the most undignified fashion imaginable.
There was disappointment and frustration for Min Woo Lee, the uber-talented West Australian who seemed in prime position to claim a maiden title but never managed to find second gear on Sunday.
As seems to be the way with those of his superior ability he hit some extraordinary shots during the course of the day but overall played poorly by his own high standards.
For all that, he had a putt at the 72nd green to join a play-off and while it missed (as they all seemed to on Sunday) it remains testament to his potential that he was there at all.
And then there was the mixed set of emotions felt by Travis Smyth, the second-year professional who eventually succumbed to Younger’s brilliance on the second extra hole.
A product of the Golf NSW amateur high-performance programme, Smyth desperately wanted to get his name engraved on the Kel Nagle Cup and could barely have gone closer.
He was proud and disappointed in equal measure, the narrow miss no doubt filed away to be recalled as motivational fuel for a future tilt at the title.
All those who teed up will have their tales of triumph and tragedy though it is only the top finishers we focus on.
It’s the same every tournament week and to a player, golfers know some weeks you’re the champ and some weeks the chump.
The important thing isn’t which hat you wear on any given week but that there is another tournament to play the next week.
Because in the end, professional golf is merely entertainment and the players the actors on the stage.
And at the AVJennings NSW Open, they definitely earned their money.