Wold Golf Championship

July 17, 2010

Heron Lakes - Great Blue Golf Course (Portland, OR)

Format:  stroke play

Portland, OR --  Heron Lakes' Great Blue Course was once again the home for the 2010 Wold Golf Championships.   A beautiful July day greeted the players as they arrived for what promised to be a most exciting event. 

Group number one made things interesting right from the start.  Buckwold posted a sizzling four birdies in his first seven holes.  Andy Clark had it going through eight holes, but a triple on nine set him back a bit.   Sean Ealy seemed to be in control of his game on this day as he cruised through the front nine with great consistency.  Jim “Rain Delay” Rader posted a 10 on the second hole that sent him straight to the bottle. 

The second group had the Albrights paired with T. Wold and Miller Style.   Miller shook off a 6, 6, 6 start to play the next four holes even and post a 45.   Jeff Albright took an unlikely nine on the first hole and never recovered.  His first nine looked more like a LaCenter poker room, as he posted the dreaded 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 straight.  Bob Albright showed his usual workman like skills but this course may be too long for this Madras legend.  Tal Wold seemed to be enjoying the round until the final hole.  His group had to use an abacus to retrace the 16 shots he hit on the final hole. 

Group three was full of jovial characters and errant golf balls.  Dave “Dick Points” Charbonneau posted 20 strokes through three holes.  He managed to rally a bit but it would not be in the cards for Charbs on this day.  Jake Panowicz made two pars to start his day but three consecutive doubles derailed him.  Tim Tyvand and Dann Sonne rounded out the group.  Dann got off to a double-digit start (10) on one and couldn’t survive a front nine 63.  T-bone posted a very solid front nine score and net 76 to take low scores honors of group three.

The fourth group saw Rich Wold even after three holes but he quickly faltered playing the next six in nine over par.  Bryan Norris played solidly throughout the round and posted a net 72 that left him hoping he had done enough.  Seth Harris returned to the tour in fine fashion with a workmanlike 43-42.  Tour rookie Scott Matulich made his debut on this day shooting a 104.  It is often difficult for rookies to handle the extreme pressure of playing in tournament conditions.   Scott seemed to enjoy himself though and has already committed to the Rinker Rodeo this August.

Group five was a screenplay in the making.  Broadfoot and Carlson had terrible hangovers and the ringing of racecars making laps at nearby Portland Speedway did not help their cause as both were out of contention early.  Meyerink and McKenna both put up 110s and bickered their way around the course.  McKenna’s net 74 was much more respectable then Rinker’s net 88. 

The final group saw tournament host Jason Wold put up a 35 on the front nine but pre-tourney Bloody Marys and course beers kicked in on the back as he posted a 43.  Dave Adelman returned to the tour and got off to a hot start, but an 11 on hole number five put the full court press on his scorecard for the rest of the day.  Tour rookie Bob Raser enjoyed his first ever TGS event with a solid net 73, while Brett Hamel grinded his way around for a net 76.  Brett has never met an eight-footer he didn’t like.  

As the players gathered in the clubhouse they waited on the final results.  Fifth place went to Andy Clark (73), fourth place to Bob Raser (73), third to Bryan Norris and second to Mark Buckwold (71).  All ties were settled by scoring on the toughest handicap holes.  TGS tour points will be awarded equal points.   That brings us to 2010 WGC Champion Sean Ealy.  Congratulations Sean and thanks to everyone for making this year’s event a memorable one.