Northwest Open/2006

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By Jordan Bury, PGA

What a format! The Northwest Open Invitational, one of the Pacific Northwest Section PGA’s most historical events was a blast this year with the Modified Stableford Format. The Running Y Ranch Resort was a fantastic venue to house this format. Players found themselves questioning their style of play after the first day. Why not go for the birdie or eagle which gives you 3 points or 5 points, because if you par or bogey you only receive 1 or 0 points. This event also got everyone ready for winter with morning temperatures near freezing.

The first round was low amateur day. Last year’s champion and former Husky golfer Derek Berg came in one point behind amateur Jason Wood who plays at Eastmoreland Golf Club. Wood had a blistering 22 points on the back side including 2 eagles. Berg lit up the front with 21 points with four birdies and an eagle. If one were to combine Berg and Woods’ front and back nine scores they would have shot 60 and had 43 points! The low professional after the first day was Mark Keating from Eugene with 32 points. After the first day, there was only a one point spread between each player down to the 13th place competitor, rendering the championship wide open.

The morning of the second round was about 30 degrees with winds at about 20 miles per hour, and even Jeff Ellison was bundled up. This didn’t stop Derek Berg from matching his first round points by making six birdies and an eagle. Chuck Milne from Vanco Driving range made his move in round two sitting in second place seven shots behind Berg.

The course looked like a winter wonderland on the morning of the final round. Frost caused the PNW PGA staff to move from a one tee start to a two tee and a two hour delay. The final group was an outstanding one consisting of the following players: amateur Derek Berg, professional Chuck Milne, and professional Mark Keating at 66; 59; and 57 points respectively.

Mark Keating managed to catch Berg on the 10th hole after a 21 point run through 10 holes. Milne caught Berg on about the 13th hole and all three on them ended up paring the 18th hole for a three way tie at 86 points! After a solid showing all week, Mark Keating was eliminated on the second hole of the playoff. On the next hole of the playoff, Milne striped one down the middle and Berg hit his ball into the weeds on the left. Derek then proceeded to knock it to about 10 feet out of the cabbage for a good look at birdie. Both players missed their birdie putts and we moved to the par-five 17th hole. Each player had a putt for eagle and neither one went in the hole. So we moved on to the fifth hole of the playoff! Both players were on in two on the par-four 18th hole. Milne missed his par putt a hair outside the cup and Berg tapped his in to defend his title!

This was an incredibly fun event to run and to watch thanks to all the sponsors and players. We had several outstanding sponsors including: Northwest Cable News, KLAD Radio, News Channel 2 and 5, Vantage Apparel, Herald and News, South Valley Bank, Lithia Toyota, Titleist, Sterling Savings Bank, and West One Auto. We would also like to thank Head PGA Professional Jim Skaugstad, Superintendent Chad Morris, and all the Running Y Ranch Resort staff for a great tournament.