Brent McKee could not have picked a better moment to hit one of the best shots of his golf career.
McKee, 21, a senior at Northwest Christian University in Eugene, was tied for the lead Sunday with defending two-time Capitol City Amateur champion Eric Fiskum heading to the 18th tee at Salem Golf Club.
After hitting the fairway with a 300-yard drive on No. 18, a 497-yard par 5, Fiskum had 194 yards to the green.
"I told myself I was gonna hit a little cut 5-iron and I pulled it off," said McKee, whose ball stopped four feet below the hole.
McKee rolled in the eagle putt — he also eagled the par 5 14th hole — which gave him a 4-under 68 and a 36-hole total of 7-under 137.
The tournament, which has been played at Salem Golf Club since 1929, included $25,000 in prizes paid in pro shop credit.
Fiskum (140), who tied for second with Page Diemer, was in the final foursome with McKee and Chad Johnson (147, tied for 14th).
McKee, Fiskum and Diemer were tied for the lead after shooting 69s in Saturday's first round.
"I've never really played in the highly competitive amateur tournaments," said McKee, who played Salem Golf Club for the first time Friday in a practice round. "I always shoot good scores with my buddies who play in 'em, and I guess it kind of shows me I can compete and win if I play well."
Fiskum had a two-shot lead on McKee at the turn Sunday after shooting 33 on a front nine that included three birdies and no bogeys. He got off to a birdie-birdie start.
Fiskum's first bogey of the round on No. 11 cut the lead to one shot, and McKee surged ahead after rolling in a 15-foot eagle putt on No. 14.
A stretch of four birdies in six holes beginning at No. 11 got Diemer back in the hunt, and he was one behind McKee and Fiskum heading to the home hole.
Fiskum, who heard the applause from the gallery surrounding the 18th green after McKee's second shot, knew he had to come up with something special on his approach shot.
"I wasn't sure if he was four feet or 10 feet, (but) I thought he was pretty close," said Fiskum, whose second shot missed the green to the right.
Diemer hit his approach shot 10 feet beyond the green, and just missed eagle when his chip shot hit the flag and rolled about six feet past the hole.
"I thought it was going in," said Diemer, who plays out of Creekside Golf Club. "I think it just hit the pin too hard and kind of ricocheted off."
Fiskum chipped to 18 feet and three-putted for bogey after rolling a must-birdie attempt seven feet past the hole. He had to make the downhill right to left breaker for birdie to give himself any chance of forcing a playoff.
Diemer missed his birdie putt, setting the stage for McKee's winning eagle putt. McKee actually could have three-putted and still won.
"I was still nervous as could be over the three- or four-footer," McKee said.
Fiskum, who plays out of Illahe Hills Country Club, said "I probably put a little pressure on myself having won two years in a row."
"(McKee) played real solid," Fiskum said.
Especially for a newcomer to Salem Golf Club.
Although Salem is relatively short at 6,300 yards from the back tees, the tree-lined holes make it a challenging test.
"Out here, you can get suckered into thinking it's an easy golf course just because it's short, but it's really not," McKee said. "I felt good about my game management all week."
Chris Heniff (141) finished fourth after closing with a 67, the low round of the tournament. Brian Trombridge, Justin Smith-Heisen and Mark Welter tied for fifth at 142.
ghorowitz@StatesmanJournal.com
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