Matt Mankin chewed on his 36-hole lead during the final round of the Roanoke Valley Golf Hall of Fame men's championship on Sunday.

After 4 1/2 hours at Hidden Valley Country Club, Mankin was left with the oh so sweet taste of victory.

Finally erasing his name from the list of top players who haven't won the valley's most prestigious crown, Mankin posted a workmanlike 1-over 72 and coasted to a four-shot victory over Cam Young.

"This means a whole lot to me," said Mankin, who finished with a 54-hole total of 4-under 211. "I've been playing in this thing since I was 13. I'm 36 now, so it took me 23 years to win it. Yeah, I'm 1-for-23, but I've got it now."

Mankin's triumph capped a big day for himself and Blue Hills, his new club affiliation. Led by 1983 winner David Tolley's 69, two-time defending champion Scott Wise's 71 and Mankin's 72, the northeast Roanoke club captured the team crown by seven shots over 11-time champion Roanoke Country Club.

"We had to go down eventually," said RCC's Miller Baber, who shot a 75 and wound up third individually, six shots behind Mankin. "Blue Hills was going to show up for one of the three days. And they did and they wiped us out."

The day's big story, though, was Mankin and his pursuit of a title that had eluded him for so long. The redhead entered the day with a three-shot lead and came out firing early, sinking a 45-foot chip shot for birdie on the first hole. That put him five shots up on Baber, who bogeyed the hole, and eight ahead of Young.

While Young valiantly tried to make a run on his home course, rock-solid Mankin refused to lend the help his pressures desperately needed to challenge.

"I didn't play very well today," said Mankin, who made his big move Saturday with a 5-under 68 at Ashley Plantation. "I struggled with it, but I got the job done and that's all that counts."

Perhaps best of all, the triumph will end the constant ribbing Mankin has received from some of his golfing partners about not being able to win the HOF.

"I know he's definitely relieved he's got the schneid off his back because he's been getting some major abuse for not winning this. Now, he's put that deal to rest," said Mankin's older brother, David, a runner-up himself in the HOF "about 20 years ago."

Young, who missed 4-footers for birdie at Nos.4 and 6 that could have put a little more heat on the leader, said there couldn't be a more popular winner than Mankin.

"Matt's as good a person there is who plays golf and I'm happy for him because he's put in a lot of years and he's a great player," Young said. "He should win this tournament. He's the best player in Roanoke."

Reprinted with permission from The Roanoke Times.