Sports - Sports News

POSTED: Tuesday, Jun. 30, 2009

GOLF: Coston makes it through tough qualifier to U.S. Senior Open

BELLINGHAM - At 6,561 yards, Bellingham Golf and Country Club is far from a long course by today's standards.

But don't let the cozy dimensions fool you - the course can test even the best golfers.

On Monday, June 29, it did exactly that, holding a group of 76 of the region's top senior pros and amateurs in check, allowing only three players to break par at the U.S. Senior Open sectional qualifier.

"It wasn't your little Bellingham Country Club today," said Blaine's Jeff Coston, who was one of the three players who managed to shoot under par with his 2-under 69. "This place had some teeth today, boy. She put on a real good test for us. And then you throw in a little afternoon breeze, and it was tough at times."

Coston finished second, 1 stroke behind Bellevue's Tom Brandes, who tore up the back nine by shooting 4-under 31. Brandes and Coston are the only two players who will advance from the qualifier to the U.S. Senior Open July 27 through Aug. 2 at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind.

Monroe's Scott Taylor was the only other player to shoot below par, as he finished a stroke behind Coston with his 70. He will be an alternate to the Senior Open, while Coston will prepare to make his third straight appearance in the major championship.

"That's a pretty neat thing to do," Coston said. "There were so many good players out here and so few spots. To get one of them gives me some confidence going in ... Plus, Tom Lehman is a friend of mine. I was playing a practice round for the Senior PGA with him a little while back, and he said that he has a place right near there and if I qualified I could stay with him. So it looks like I have a free place to stay out there now, too."

A trio of Bellingham players - Bill Hager, Fred Urquhart and Rick Weihe - was part of a seven-way tie for 14th place after shooting matching 75s.

"I knew where not to hit it on this course," said Urquhart, who is a member at Bellingham GCC. "But I had to execute, and I didn't execute. I thought I had a pretty good strategy coming in, I just didn't execute it."

Weihe echoed those thoughts, after he said he was hitting it longer than he expected through much of his round.

"It was really unusual for me," Weihe said. "I knew where I needed to hit it on every hole, but it seemed like I kept hitting it too far too many times ... I knew coming in that I was going to have to have to shoot below par to make it (to the Senior Open), and I felt like I could have done that if I hadn't hit it long so many times."

While miscues may have been part of the story, the tougher-than-usual conditions at Bellingham GCC made it even more difficult for players to recover.

The greens got more and more firm as the afternoon wore on, and the pins were placed in brutally challenging positions on many of the greens.

"It was definitely the toughest I've ever seen out here," Weihe said. "It was kind of crazy on some holes."

But those are the type of conditions Brandes and Coston likely will see again next month at Crooked Stick.

"The greens were definitely firm, but they rolled really good," Coston said. "They really wanted to test us, but your putts rolled really true. Mike Montgomery and the staff out here did a great job of getting this course in great shape."

After picking up birdies on Nos. 4 and 7 and a bogey on the ninth, Coston was one of only two players to shoot below par on the front nine. Taylor was the other, as he matched Coston's 35.

Coston picked up a third birdie on the par-5, 521-yard 11th, and that - plus a little luck on No. 18 - proved to be all he needed to hold off Taylor and secure another trip to the Senior Open.

Coston's tee shot on the 195-yard 18th bounced in and out of a sand trap to the right of the green and narrowly missed hitting a rake that might have ricocheted it back into the bunker. With his ball stopping safely outside the bunker in the rough, Coston chipped to within 4 feet, giving him a shot to save par and, ultimately, his 1-stroke lead over Taylor.

"That went in the bunker?" Coston asked about his tee shot. "It must have been my day to have it bounce out like that. I had no idea."

Bellingham's Ted King, who finished tied for 27th with a 77, didn't have things bounce his way quite like Coston, though. Neither did Bellingham's Vince Crocker, who shot an 84 while playing in the first group of the day.

"I felt I had my chances out there today," said King, who is a member at Bellingham GCC. "I let about four birdie putts shoot past the hole. If I made a couple of them, I feel I would have been in the hunt ... I knew where I needed to hit each shot, but I just couldn't execute it today."

Reach David Rasbach at david.rasbach@bellinghamherald.com or 715-2271.

TOURNAMENT RESULTS

U.S. SENIOR OPEN SECTIONAL QUALIFIER

Leaders

1. Tom Brandes 37-31-68

2. Jeff Coston 35-34-69

3. Scott Taylor 35-35-70

T4. Brady Exber 38-35-73

T4. Norm Jarvis 37-36-73

T4. Scott Williams 37-36-73

T4. Steven Bowen 36-37-73

Whatcom County players

T14. Bill Hager 37-38-75

T14. Fred Urquhart 38-37-75

T14. Rick Weihe 39-36-75

T27. Ted King 38-39-77

T62. Vince Crocker 41-43-84