NATCHEZ &045; It was one of the most exciting and dramatic finishes the Duncan Park Golf Course has had in quite some time.

Stephen Hollingsworth and Tommy Geoghegan knew they had to go birdie-birdie on the two toughest holes at that course to win the fourth annual Wharlest Jackson Elks Lodge No. 1675 Two-Person Scramble.

Not only did they birdie Nos. 17 and 18, they overcame a slow start and a two-shot deficit going into Sunday’s final round action by shooting a 13-under 59 to win the championship flight with a two-day total of 122.

&uot;We started real slow. We didn’t know what to think after the first couple of holes,&uot; Hollingsworth said.

The Hollingsworth-Geoghegan duo parred Nos. 1 and 2 and were just 2-under through six holes.

&uot;We then made a few birdies and got the momentum going,&uot; Hollingsworth said. &uot;He (Geoghegan) didn’t miss any putts inside 10 feet.&uot;

Starting on No. 7, however, the championship team shot lights out, going 10-under over their last 12 holes, including an eagle on the par-5 14th hole.

&uot;From about 210 yards out I hit a drive to about eight feet and I made the putt,&uot; Hollingsworth said. &uot;Tommy stepped up and said, ‘I didn’t want to hit this one.’&uot;

Three-time defending champions David Cothren and Gary Farmer finished second after shooting back-to-back 62s to finish at 124.

&uot;We played pretty good,&uot; Cothren said. &uot;We birdied 16 to tie them. Then we watched them birdie 17 and 18 before we could blink. They birdied the two toughest holes out there and they deserved to win.&uot;

&uot;We saw them (Cothren and Farmer) scrambling,&uot; Hollingsworth said. &uot;We knew we had to birdie the last two holes. They’re good players.&uot;

Hollingswoth birdied No. 17 with his ball and Geoghegan birdied 18 with his ball.

Jerry Lambuth and Jeff Trecost finished in third place in the championship flight after shooting a 62 for a two-day score of 125.

&uot;We couldn’t get the putter working,&uot; Lambuth said. &uot;We drove the ball well and hit it on the greens, but we didn’t score real well.&uot;

Only 20 teams participated in this year’s two-person scramble, which tournament director Tom Matthews noted was a dropoff from the first three years of this tournament.

&uot;There were a lot of applications, but some of them didn’t show up,&uot; Matthews said. &uot;I don’t know why, but hopefull we’ll get it back to where it was. The greens had a little trouble, but they are rolling good now.&uot;

&uot;Everybody that’s here is enjoying it and having a good time,&uot; he said while play was going on. &uot;The fairways are in excellent condition. There’s a lot of low scores, so the greens couldn’t be that bad.&uot;