Brad Nurski’s putt sat on the outside of the cup on the 10th green before gracefully disappearing for a birdie.

The clutch putt on the first playoff hole at the Fairview Club Championship shifted the pressure back to defending champion Mark Korell, who sank three birdie putts on the final four regulation holes.

Korell’s birdie try was always left, and the miss gave Nurski his seventh club championship — first since 2005.

“I told him to knock it in, and we’d go to the next hole, I figured,” said Nurski, who shot 70-65 to finish 9-under. “Because he hadn’t missed one all day.”

Korell made Sunday interesting, locking Nurski into a battle during the final nine holes.

With the course reversed and players starting at No. 10 and finishing at 9, Korell took a one-shot lead into the second nine in front of Nurski and first-round leader Greg Diederich, Jr.

But an uncharacteristic bogey on the par-5 first gave the lead back to Nurski and Diederich, who each made birdie. Nurski took a one-shot lead of his own after a birdie at No. 3, an advantage that grew to two when Diederich bogeyed No. 5.

Nurski parred five straight on the second nine, and Korell needed clutch birdie putts on 6 and 7 to tie Nurski up.

“I expected it, for him to make a charge,” Nurski said.

The friends and frequent playing partners went into the 18th hole — the 508-yard par 5 ninth — all square.

Nurski reached the green in two but missed his eagle putt from 17 feet. Korell’s second landed in the fairway short of the green, and his chip left him with 13 feet for birdie.

After Nurski’s tap-in birdie, Korell put a little extra speed on his uphill putt to ensure it reached the hole. It made it and dropped in to force the playoff.

“Obviously, I was thinking about what it meant to make it,” Korell said. “But overall, I was pretty calm. I just stood over it and said, ‘It’s uphill. Make sure you get it there. Knock it in.’

“When it took off, I knew it had a chance, but then I thought maybe it’s going a little too hard. But it dropped, and obviously, that was my goal.”

Korell played the better tee shot on the par-5 10th, the first playoff hole which he and Nurski eagled to open their rounds Sunday.

But playing a short iron from the fairway, Korell landed over the green and allowed Nurski a chance.

“It was probably the perfect club,” Korell said. “But when I hit it, I came across it and hooked it a little bit. It just sailed over.

“I knew all along that no matter where he was, I had to make 3 to win it. On that shot, I wasn’t trying to make birdie. I was firing at the pin.”

Nurski owned the longer birdie putt, but gently dropped it into the left side. Korell’s attempt couldn’t match his earlier heroics.

“I hit it right where I thought I needed to hit it with just the right amount of speed,” Nurski said. “Luckily, it fell in.”

Brian Haskell wound up third at 7-under after carding a 67 on Sunday to go with his first-round 70. Playing from the second-to-last group, Haskell came close but didn’t have enough to force a playoff.

Diederich, who shot a first-round 68 to grab the lead, came undone on his final four holes.

After lipping out an eagle putt on No. 1, Diederich’s birdie tied him with Nurski. Diederich was only one back going into No. 5.

But bogey-par-bogey-bogey on his next four holes dropped him out of contention. On the final hole, he hit two drives out of bounds and wound up with a pentuple bogey 10, dropping him into a tie for fifth with Dan Crawford, two shots behind fourth-place Caleb Carter.

The weekend’s activities started on Friday with legendary St. Joseph golfer Jim Colman earning induction into the Fairview Golf Course Hall of Fame. The three-time city champion — titles coming over a span of 20 years — played at Fairview from 1958-1978.

The induction came as a surprise to Colman but clearly humbled him.

“I grew up here at Fairview but have been gone for a long time,” said Colman, who shot 82-74 in the championship flight of the club

championship.

“I’ve had limited success playing golf, and this is the nicest thing that has ever happened to me,” he said. “And I’ll remember it more than anything I’ve ever done playing golf. I felt so honored that the golfers at Fairview would remember me.”

Assistant sports editor Ross Martin can be reached at rossmartin@npgco.com