Krause, Ray and McConnell strong at July 4th tournament
Matt Baldwin / Whitefish Pilot Carroll Lilly, of Whitefish, tees off on the ninth hole of the south course at Whitefish Lake Golf Course during the Fourth of July tournament on Saturday. Lilly opened the tournament with a 71, the fourth-best score posted on the day, and closed with a 76. He finished the tourney tied for 17th with a three-day total of 228.
The annual Fourth of July tournament was completed last Saturday with new champions recognized for their excellent play. University of Montana standout Rose Stepanek claimed the ladies title by a six-shot margin, while University of Washington team member Jens Braght finish four ahead of his nearest competitor.
Chelsea Ray, former Whitefish High golfer and current Bobcat team member, roared back into contention with final low round of 75 to place second overall in the women's division.
Sam Krause, also a former Bulldog and currently at Spokane Community College, rebounded from a tough start on Thursday with a 69-71 finish to claim fourth place in the men's championship flight. Krause finished one shot better than newly recruited University of Washington player Larry Iverson III, of Kalispell.
Kiley McConnell, current standout player for the Whitefish High School Bulldogs, easily won her flight and finished near the top-10 in the women's side of the field. McConnell shot consistent rounds of 85-82-87 over the three-day event.
Chris Conners, also of Whitefish, and a current player for the Montana Tech, finished in the top-10 as well with three good rounds.
The course was playing extraordinarily long for the lower handicap flights, with the players using the very back tees for all three days of the tournament. By stretching the course out, it was even more impressive to see Jens Braght, the champion, shoot such outstanding scores and end the tournament 7-under par.
Buffalo Hills reigning club champion, Dave Morberg may have been the only 30-plus competitor in the top-20 of the tournament for men. Had it not been for a slight stumble on the finishing holes, Morberg could have easily finished as high as tied for ninth.
Shout-outs go out to the staff at Whitefish Lake for doing such a great job of organizing and running the Fourth of July Tournament. Tim Olson and all of his staff, Dick Collins and the maintenance staff and all the volunteers did an outstanding job.
Large tournaments take large efforts and great planning to run smoothly, and we are fortunate to have the staff to pull this off at Whitefish Lake Golf Club. The course was in excellent condition throughout, with good green speeds and great fairways. (My guess is the green speeds were around 11, compared to the U.S. Open speeds of 13-plus.)
We also thank our board and members for giving up three days of golf so we can host this mostly non-member event. The tournament is good for the town and generates excitement about the game of golf. It is also a great time for our local members to use their tour cards and visit the other local courses in the valley.
Junior Fun Day
The culmination of this year's fantastic junior golf program at Whitefish Lake Golf Club will feature a fun day on Wednesday, July 22, with a mini-tournament and other fun activities for juniors and parents. The junior program plants the seeds for the next crop of great golfers coming from Whitefish.
Couple's Event
Registration for the next couple's event will begin on Sunday, July 12, with the event scheduled for July 26. As always, these popular events fill early, so make sure to get your team registered if you want to play.
Rules of the game
An unplayable ball, or at least determined by the player to be unplayable, presents some interesting options, a couple smarter than others.
In the Fourth of July tournament, the situation occurred twice in my group where this rule came into play. In both cases, the players involved chose to try to play the ball as it lies rather than invoke the options available. (I would add that both incidents that was the wrong choice, and I was one of those players.)
The rules allow the player to return to the spot where the ball was originally played, take relief of two-club lengths no closer to the hole, or go back on a line as far as the player would like directly away from the pin.
All of the options carry a one-stroke penalty for the choice to replay or drop the ball.
Trying to play from a clearly impossible lie should be left to Tiger or Phil. As Momma always said, "Take your medicine and get over it."