|
7-9-09
WSGA SENIOR MATCH PLAY
 Stu Grendahl
It looked even more dire for Welton when Grendahl won two of the first three holes of the championship match to go 2-up.
But match play can get strange at times, and this was one of those moments. Welton, a member and employee at the The Bog in Saukville, won Nos. 7-9 to to take a 1-up lead at the turn. Grendahl evened the match with a birdie on the par-5 11th, then Welton won three more holes in a row on Nos. 12-14 to turn the match in his favor once and for all.
After losing the Par-5 15th hole thanks to some trouble in the trees, Welton closed out Grendahl with pars on the 16th and 17th holes. Welton was dormie on the 17th tee, but he missed the green with his tee shot on the 175-yard par-3. Grendahl hit the middle of the green with his tee shot and two-putted. After blasting out to about 13 feet, Welton rolled in his par putt for the win.
“It feels great,” Welton said afterward. “There’s a lot of great players here, but you just play one shot at a time the best you can. I’m not totally surprised (to win), but I’m happy.”
Welton, 59, has won previous WSGA titles in team play with his buddy at The Bog Gary Menzel, but this was his first WSGA title in an individual event.
By his own admission, Welton is not a long-hitter, but he’s good with his fairway woods and his putter came through in the final match.
“It’s a tough course because it’s so narrow,” Welton said of tree-lined Cherokee. “You put the ball in play, put it on the green and take your chances – that’s what I tried to do. I tried to hit it in the middle of the green and make a putt.”
Grendahl, on the other hand, struggled in the championship match, and he was visibly frustrated at times.
“I didn’t hit it very well,” Grendahl said of the final. “He started playing well and made some putts. He was just better. He beat me.”
The medalist in the 18-hole qualifier was Mike Hilton of Rivermoor CC in Waterford. Hilton shot 70 to finish ahead of runner-up Jim Rollefson of Tuckaway CC, who shot 71. Hilton eventually was eliminated by Dan Wubbels of Odana Hills GC in Madison in the quarterfinals, 2-up.
Welton shot 75 in qualifying to enter match play as the sixth seed. Grendahl was seeded fifth after shooting 73 in qualifying. But Grendahl wasn’t alone, as he was one of seven Cherokee players to make the 32-player match play field.
In Super-Senior competition, for players 65 and older, Wisconsin amateur legend Archie Dadian of Oakwood Park GC in Franklin won the title with a final-match win over Ron Brischke of Bridges GC in Madison by the score of 4 and 3. Dadian, 75, almost shot his age with a round of 77 to lead qualifying for the 16-player match play bracket. The winner of dozens of state golf titles, Dadian also claimed the Super-Seniors division in 2007. Brischke won the Super-Seniors in 2003 and 2005.
|
