Chris Whittington had seen this movie before.

A final-hole showdown at the Warren County Championship. A tough chip shot to give himself a chance. A missed putt. And, finally, another trophy to add to his collection.

Whittington won his fourth consecutive Warren County Championship on Sunday by clinching the title on the last hole for the third time in a row. He hit a chip to within eight feet and made par, then won the title when Nick Mekus’ short birdie putt lipped out.

Whittington shot 74 in Sunday’s final round to finish with a two-day total of 145 and a one-shot victory over Mekus.

“It means a lot. I had more of my family out here than last year,” Whittington said. “My grandmother was out here. I wanted to do it for her.”

Whittington and Mekus had taken similar, and unusual, routes to their showdown. Whittington was the three-time defending champion, but hadn’t played much golf this year because of a new job. He worked late Friday night, then shot a first-round 71 on Saturday on only a few hours sleep.

Mekus won the MHSAA Class 1A state tournament in 2011 and 2012, but had only played about a dozen rounds this year. He shot an 81 in the first round at the Clear Creek Club Championship in June, then withdrew from the tournament.

Despite that, they were the only two in serious contention coming down the stretch.

Parker Rutherford shot the lowest round of the day Sunday, a 72, but started six shots off the lead. He wound up third, three shots back, for his fifth consecutive top-three finish in the County Championship.

Channing Curtis started three shots back of Mekus, but shot 78 on Sunday to fall out of contention. The same thing happened to the rest of the championship flight. Mekus, Whittington and Rutherford were the only ones to shoot under 78 in the final round.

Mekus entered the final round with a one-shot lead over Whittington, but gave it away with three bogeys and a double bogey within the first 10 holes.

Whittington’s steadier play — he made 15 pars out of 18 holes — gave him a two-shot lead by the 15th hole. Mekus, though, birdied the 16th to get back within one.

“I struggled all day,” Mekus said. “I played good the last two holes and gave myself a chance. That’s all I could do.”

On the 18th, Mekus made it onto the green in two while Whittington faced a tough 20-yard chip. It was a similar situation to last year’s tournament, when Whittington chipped in for birdie on the final hole to win.

Whittington said he approached this scenario the same way.

“I got to that chip and couldn’t help but think about last year. And that chip was a little bit harder than last year’s,” Whittington said. “I tried to make sure I got it to the hole. I didn’t think I was going to hit it that far back.”

Whittington’s chip didn’t fall this time, but it came close enough. He left himself a short par putt that he sank to ensure he’d at least get into a playoff.

Then, with nearly 50 people watching from a fleet of 20 golf carts nearby, all eyes turned toward Mekus.

He lined up his putt and rolled it toward the cup. It got there and did a 90-degree turn to the right, spinning around the edge of the hole and out.

Mekus tapped in for par and a runner-up finish.

“It kind of fit the day, honestly,” Mekus said. “It stung a little bit for a second. But I don’t mind losing to Chris.”

Whittington said there was mutual respect between he and Mekus.

“I was happy, but at the same time I hated it for him because he played such good golf the last two holes. He threw darts the last two holes,” Whittington said.

Whittington, 24, walked off the green and hugged family members, then waited patiently for another celebration.

Coming up the fairway just behind his group was his sister, Karley, who was putting the finishing touches on a dominating win in the women’s division.

Karley Whittington shot 73 for the second consecutive day to win her second straight County Championship. She beat Laura Phillips by a whopping 25 strokes.

“I played outstanding. I’ve never shot that good in a tournament,” said Karley. “I just wanted to put two solid scores together. I wasn’t really worried about winning it. I just wanted to beat my own rounds. That’s what I try to do every tournament.”

As Karley walked off the green, she hugged her older brother and then gave him some light-hearted ribbing about shooting a lower score.

The two have an ongoing bet that Karley will win a tiger-striped club head cover if she beats Chris from the men’s tees. Since Karley played the County Championship from the women’s tees, she’ll have to wait a bit longer to collect.

“I’ve always wanted to beat my brother. It’s just a sibling rivalry we have,” Karley said. “I don’t want to take his head from him because it’s been his the whole time. I’m going to let him keep it. But if I beat him from the men’s tees, I’m going to take it.”

In the senior men’s division, Rodney McHann shot a 78 for the second consecutive day to claim a six-shot victory over John Ferguson.

Brad Heisler, the first-round co-leader, shot an 85 on Sunday and finished third.