The putt seemed to pause for an instant on the edge of the cup, like a skydiver staring out the side of the plane, contemplating whether to jump.

Parker Eshelman photos

Above, David McDonald reacts after missing a putt on the 18th hole of the Francis Hagan Match Play tournament at Lake of the Woods Golf Course. Below, D.J. Chung, left, embraces his father, Byungchul, after sinking a birdie putt on the 18th green to win the Francis Hagan Match Play tournament yesterday at Lake of the Woods.

It’s doubtful that any of the 15 or so people who watched D.J. Chung’s duel with David McDonald yesterday in the final round of the Francis Hagan Match Play Championship at Lake of the Woods Golf Course would have been surprised if his ball had remained atop of the 18th green.

Maybe that would have been fitting, forcing the two grinders to go to 19 holes to decide the champion - or even 21, as tournament chairman Andrew Baier had predicted when they halved their eighth hole in a row on No. 17.

But McDonald already knew it was not to be. The four-time Hagan champion had already reached to take off his hat, ready to congratulate his young opponent, before Chung’s birdie did its nosedive.

"He did a great job," said McDonald, who had narrowly missed his own birdie attempt. "He putted well today. I had my chance, thought I made mine, but it didn’t go in. That’s the way it goes."

With a 1-up victory suddenly secure, Chung dropped his putter and threw his arms in the air. Then he got a bear hug from his father, Byungchul, who caddied for him throughout the weekend, as he became only the second player - along with McDonald - to win the tournament more than once in its 14-year history.

"It feels great to win," said Chung, who also captured the trophy as a 16-year-old in 2003. "I’m just glad that my dad was here on Father’s Day. … I’m just very happy and very blessed that my dad could share it with me. It’s a great Father’s Day present. This is one of our favorite tournaments, and it’s just good to win again."

Beating McDonald had to feel like even more of an accomplishment because of the way he’s dominated the tournament, winning four times since 2000.

Both players were known for finishing and, in fact, had combined for seven birdies on the back nine during their semifinal victories.

Chung made three birdies in a 2-and-1 win against his former Hickman teammate, Nick Wilson. McDonald played his last eight holes at 4-under-par in a 2-and-1 victory over Dan Frost.

It took Chung playing 2-under-par on the back nine to defeat the 40-year-old tactician.

Chung, who recently completed his sophomore year at Duke, started the back nine with a little momentum after making birdie on the par-5 ninth to level the match. But it was hardly enough to give him an edge against McDonald, who quickly brushed aside his own struggles on No. 9, which included a skulled chip shot through the green and a sand shot left in the bunker.

It didn’t seem to matter how the two players approached each hole. If they followed their own individual design - as on the par-5 11th when Chung laid up short of the gap with an iron while McDonald blasted a driver over it - or executed similar game plans - as on 13, when they both drove it down the right side, came up short of the green with their seconds and got up and down for par - each hole ended with identical scores.

Par on 10, par on 11, par on 12, par on 13.

Things threatened to get interesting starting on the par-4 14th, when both men hammered tee shots to inside 80 yards of the green.

"Those little holes - 14, 15 and 16 - they’re what I call anything-can-happen holes just because you’ve got some short holes, got that par-5," said Chung, who wound up halving the 14th with a birdie.

He made things difficult on himself on No. 15, when his tee shot came up 40 yards short of its intended landing zone, forcing him to hit a blind second over trees. He still managed to find the green and secure a two-putt par to remain all square.

It looked like Chung might not be so fortunate after flying his ball almost onto the 14th fairway at the par-5 16th. He said he’d never been that far right during the dozens of rounds he’d played on the course over the years. But he managed over a row of trees and back into play with a 6-iron that ran into the rough left of the fairway.

McDonald, sensing a chance to finally grab an advantage, tried to hit his second shot onto the green from a few feet into the right rough.

"I thought it was a pretty good lie," he said. "When I hit it, it just came out absolutely dead, didn’t jump at all. It hit the trees and knocked it down."

Both Chung and McDonald got out of trouble and onto the green with their third shots and two-putted to remain tied.

Their tee shots landed almost equal distance from the hole on the par-3 17th. Even though McDonald’s first putt ran about 2½ feet past the cup, Chung didn’t force him to hit the come-backer.

"I knew he’d make it, and I just wanted to go to the next hole," he said. "I didn’t want to end like that."

So they marched onto the 18th tee.

Chung smacked his drive down the center of the fairway. McDonald sailed his into the right rough. But both men managed to hit their approaches to the back left portion of the green, within 16 feet of the hole. McDonald’s putt rolled less than 2 inches off the left edge. Chung’s caught it with just enough speed and fell in.

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