With two holes to go, Gary Kirkpatrick Jr. didn't believe victory was possible - a view shared by those gathered at the Moila Country Club for the final round of the 2009 Club Championship on Sunday.

Kirkpatrick trailed leader Greg Diederich Jr. by four strokes heading into No. 17.

"(Diederich) is an excellent, outstanding player. I didn't think I could do it, to be honest with you," Kirkpatrick said. "But I did the best I could, and where the chips fell, they fell."

Where Diederich's shot on the par-3 17th fell was in a hazard, leading to a triple bogey. That trimmed his lead to one stroke with just the 18th hole to play.

Kirkpatrick's tee shot on the par-4 18th landed in the rough to the right of the green, with plenty of trees around to make a tough shot even more difficult. But a favorable line allowed Kirkpatrick to hit a lob wedge over a tree and onto the green, 15 feet from the pin.

"I drew a good line in the rough; I got lucky," Kirkpatrick said, downplaying the quality of his shot.

Kirkpatrick then sank the putt, allowing for a quick fist pump before attention turned to Diederich, who had a 10-foot par putt to force a playoff. But Diederich's attempt stopped a tantalizing couple of inches short of the cup, giving Diederich and bogey and Kirkpatrick a long-awaited win in this competition.

"I've always wanted to win this," said Kirkpatrick after declaring that last putt his biggest at Moila. "I've won a lot of tournaments out here, and this is the one I've wanted to win for while. I've got a lot of second (places)."

Kirkpatrick shot a 72 for the day, finishing at 1-over 143 for the two-round competition. Diederich led by three stokes at the start of the day, thanks to a 68 on Saturday, but carded a 76 on Sunday, placing second at 144.

After Diederich tapped in for bogey on 18, he picked his ball out of the cup and then flung it toward a shed down the hill. After shaking everyone's hand in his group, congratulating Kirkpatrick and apologizing for his temper, Diederich snapped his putter over his knee to complete a frustrating end to his first Club Championship at Moila after switching over from Fairview.

Kirkpatrick spent all of Sunday chasing the leader, trimming Diederich's lead to one stoke after 10 and two through 13. Kirkpatrick still sat two shots back before bogeying the par-5 16th to fall four strokes behind, setting up an improbable finish.

"It turned out I got lucky," Kirkpatrick said. "It worked out great. I'm very happy. This means a lot to me."

Erin Hatcher shot a 69 Sunday to finish third with a two-round score of 147. Terry Hochenauer and Gary Diederich Sr. tied for fourth at 152.

Sports reporter R.J. Cooper can be reached at rjcooper@npgco.com