The final round of last week’s PING Southwest Section Championship took a bizarre twist before a fantastic finish by “the boss’’ proved  best.  
       “Actually, I felt kind of bad in a way,’’ confessed Paul Trittler, the director of instruction at the Kostis & McCord Learning Center at Grayhawk Golf Club, who defeated Jeff Yurkiewicz, the head instructor at Kostis & McCord, on the very last hole at Pinnacle Peak Country Club in Scottsdale.
      “I was standing near the 18th green – the last hole – when Jeff’s ball went into the water. But that’s how it goes sometimes, especially when I forced his hand.’’
       In a big way, as Yurkiewicz held a three-shot lead with four holes to play only to watch from the group behind as Trittler rolled in four straight birdies to end his round and grab the lead. Needing a birdie of his own to force a playoff, Yurkiewicz’s second shot on the 588-yard closer came up all wet.
       “It’s no big deal, mainly because Jeff and I are such good friends,’’ Trittler said of the outcome. “I hired Jeff 10 years ago, and he’s been with me ever since. In fact, we still play as partners in all the Section’s team events.’’
       Still, you can’t help but think that Yurkiewicz, who won the SWPGA Championship in 2004, was perhaps kicking himself after Trittler took the $6,000 first-place check, as well as exemptions into next month’s Frys.com Open in Las Vegas and the FBR Open in late January.
        “The FBR Open will be a lot of fun,’’ said the 48-year-old Trittler, who saved his best for last – a final-round 67 – to win by two shots over Yurkiewicz with a 54-hole total of 10-under-par 206.
       “So instead of the other exemption being in Tucson, which now has the (WGC) Match Play, I get to go to Vegas, which also will be fun.’’
        Even though he is a nationally ranked instructor, Trittler obviously still has game. In fact, he played on the PGA Tour from 1988-92 with his best outing being a 10 th-place finish in the 1990 Hartford Open.
       “I always rated no better than 180 th on Tour in putting, and that really killed me,’’ Trittler recalled. “Like at Hartford, where I was one shot off the lead and ended up bogeying the last three holes.’’
        It was just the opposite this time around, as Trittler looked more like putting guru Stan Utley, who Trittler also works with at Grayhawk. Trittler’s string started at the 15th hole with a 12-foot birdie, and he never stopped, rolling in birdie putts from eight feet at both No. 16 and 17 before a two-putt birdie from 15 feet iced it at the 18 th.
       “You had to drive it straight to get any kind of a good score, and I did that,’’ noted Trittler, who opened with a 71 and was one shot behind Yurkiewicz after a second-round 68. “I only missed seven greens all week, which was pretty good, too.’’
       Despite his later-in-life success, Trittler said he’s not necessarily looking forward to the Champions Tour. That’s because the Cave Creek resident has six kids that range from 11 to 29 in age, “So I’m still pretty busy supporting them.’’
          “We’ll see how my body is a year or so from now,’’ said Trittler, who had a hip replacement two years ago. “Maybe instead of playing in section events during the summer, I’ll play in Monday qualifiers (on the Champions Tour).
          “But whatever it is, let’s just say I won’t be giving up my real job.’’