Final results of the Whisper Rock National Invitational

The third and final day at the “rock” was yet another perfect day that started with an incredible breakfast, followed by an amazing stretching massage from Samantha Cohon in the massage room (for those of you that don’t believe in stretching before you play golf are REALLY missing out). This was my second massage over 3 days by Sam, and all I can tell you is that I made 20 birdies over 54 holes after these great massages. Then a quick trip the jacuzzi, a shower and off I went to warm up on perhaps the best driving range I’ve ever seen!

I was there practicing some putts when I realized that it would be hard to create a better place to play, practice and hang out!! I hadn’t tee a shot yet and I already was quite pleased with the perfect start to a day! The perfect 85 degree weather wasn’t so bad either.

I’d like to take a moment and describe how a comfortable 5 shot lead can quickly evaporate. I won’t go into great detail here but after my partner dropped a 40 foot bomb on #1 for birdie to go to 16 under par and now a 6 shot lead, they we were three holes later clutching to a mere 2 shot lead and it was game on. The Stellar team of Mr. Atkinson and Mr. Fred went birdie, birdie, birdie on 2-4 while we went bogey (I missed a short 2.5 ft par putt) par, par. As you all know a 2 shot lead on the 5th hole is not a comfortable lead, especially when you have just seen the other team rattle off three straight birdies. The good news for us was that we then birdies 5 of the next six holes to (5, 6, 7, 8, 10) to re-establish our 5 shot lead.

It was one of those great days where the putts were again rolling in, and our friends Bert Atkinson and Stuart Fred played great and shot a wonderful 64. Fortunately we matched their 64 with the help of our KEEN CADDY Mr. Ryan Conn. Ryan is an accomplished mini tour player and we wish him the best of luck in his upcoming events. The pictures below from left to right are the winning senior team of Balatti & Haag and the Mid Am champs Brian Kreps & Jonathan Marsico. The next picture is of the final senior pairing of Balatti/Haag and Atkinson/Fred. The next photo is of Stuart Fred hitting a great 2nd shot to #18 (he made birdie), my 2nd shot to #18 I flew it on the green and made birdie, the next photo is Bert Atkinson showing his great balance at the finish of his swing while striking his second shot to 18. And the final picture is of three members of the golf staff that along with the other staff members took incredible care to every detail of this wonderful event. If you ever get the privilege to visit the “rock” and hang out for some great food and golf, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT. Full results below and my next posting will be Tuesday evening after enjoying a day at Pine Valley. Until then, thanks for staying tuned!!      Randy Haag

The champions of the 2010 National Invitational have been crowned!

Congratulations to our Mid-Am Champions, BRIAN KREPS (Denver, CO) and JONATHAN MARSICO (Denver, CO) and our Senior Champions, PAUL BALATTI (Santa Rosa, CA) and RANDY HAAG (Burlingame, CA)!

In the Mid-Am Division, Brian Kreps rolled in a 28-footer on the 54^th hole to break out of a four-way tie for first at 10-under par.  Kreps and Marsico shot 68 on the day, tying them for low round.  ED CUFF JR and MIKE ROWLEY were playing with Kreps and Marsico and had a slightly shorter birdie putt that just missed and finished at 10-under par.  In the group right behind, JIM STRICKLAND and JOE BENDETTI had a chance to tie for the lead, but failed when Strickland’s chip shot lipped out for birdie.  And the final bullet was dodged when overnight co-leaders, JEB BLACKETER and COOPER JOHNSON missed an 18-footer for birdie on their final hole.

In the Senior Division, it was a two-horse race between past champions.  2008 Champions BERT ATKINSON and STUART FRED birdied Nos. 2, 3, and 4 to cut the five-shot overnight lead to two.  But, defending champions Balatti and Haag birdied five of the next six holes to extend the lead back to six and never looked back, capturing their second straight title.  Both teams shot 64, the low round of the day.  Balatti and Haag’s three-round total of 23-under par (193) set a new tournament record, breaking Atkinson and Fred’s previous mark of 18-under par.

MID-AM DIVISION

FINAL RESULTS

Round 1 – Lower Course – 7,203 yards

Round 2 – Upper Course – 7,288 yards

Round 3 – Lower Course – 7,253 yards

(Jonathan Marsico and Brian Kreps)

SENIOR DIVISION

FINAL RESULTS

Round 1 – Upper Course – 6,921 yards

Round 2 – Lower Course – 6,783 yards

Round 3 – Lower Course – 6,772 yards

(Randy Haag and Paul Balatti)