double-bogeyed No . 13 when he chunked a chip shot and had a putt lip out . On the plus side , Cooper chipped in for birdies at Nos . 8 and 14 and birdied the 18th hole for his seventh of the day and a closing 71 . The low amateur in the tourney , the Blue Valley North grad plans to turn pro after finishing his career at KU this coming season .
( Above ) Joseph Winslow ’ s last hope of overtaking Robert Russell ended when this bunker shot came up short on the 18th hole . Winslow tied for second two shots back .
for the first time because of surgery on his wrist following a go-kart accident last November . Watson said Russell passed his biggest test on the 231-yard par-3 17th hole . “ Playing into the wind to a tough pin placement , he took out an iron but then went to a 3-wood and knocked it on the fringe . A great par .”
Putting from the fringe , he barely missed . “ I thought I made it ,” said Russell . However , it was plenty to withstand a bogey on the final hole when he was just over the green and missed a long putt to save par . “ All I wanted was to hit it in the middle of the green , but my second was a little long . I just wanted to make bogey .”
The win was worth $ 10,000 and an exemption to next year ’ s AdventHealth Corn Ferry event to Russell , 49 . “ I ’ m really excited about that ; I ’ ve tried to get in but have never made it .” His first order of business — secure Reisner as his caddy . Despite their inauspicious start , there are no closer friends . Not only teammates at KCKCC and UMKC , but Russell also started his teaching career at Shamrock Hills , where Reisner is the general manager . They ’ ve also been business partners , and Reisner is Russell ’ s long-time caddy .
“ I ’ ve probably carried Robert ’ s bag more than my own ,” says Reisner . “ No question , he has more talent than anyone I ’ ve ever been around . If he were on the Tour today , I think he ’ d be in the Top 10 in putting . You can teach anyone how to swing a golf club , but you can ’ t teach someone how to get the ball in the hole under pressure . Robert can do that better than anyone . He has that kind of ability — ice water in his veins .”
Russell ’ s near-flawless finish left his many pursuers battling for second , eventually shared by Davis Cooper and Joe Winslow . Three errant tee shots and two lost balls ended Cooper ’ s bid for a second straight championship . At 5 ’ 8 ” and 160 pounds , Cooper consistently outdrove his playing partners , but a drive that just caught deep rough on the third hole cost him a bogey , and he lost two strokes on No . 6 when his tee shot was lost in a large stand of pine trees . He miraculously saved par on the 501-yard par-5 10th hole after he lost a ball in deep rough near a creek but then
Winslow ’ s 5-under 67 was the low round of the final day but not quite enough to overcome a pair of 71s that left him four shots back entering the final 18 holes . Playing in the group in front of Russell , Winslow birdied four straight holes on the front nine and added two more on Nos . 15 and 16 to get within two shots of the lead before a bogey on No . 18 . “ Just too sloppy the first two days ,” said Winslow . However , he rallied past his younger brother , Michael , who shared the first-round lead ( 68 ) and was just two shots back entering the final round before disastrous back-to-back double bogeys at Nos . 8 and 9 . A junior at Wichita State , he was matched against Russell in the final round . “ Robert really played well , hit great wedge shots , and putted great .”
Two tourney veterans with a fistful of second-place finishes , Michael Letzig ( 210 ) and Sean Daugherty ( 212 ) finished fourth and fifth . Despite only playing two rounds coming into the tourney , Letzig was under par all three rounds ; Daugherty was just two back entering the final nine holes , only to fall back with a double bogey at No . 11 . Jarchow , who had a two-shot lead entering the final nine holes , fell back under an avalanche of five bogeys and a double to tie for 12th with a pair of former champs , Alex Springer and Andy Spencer .
The lone female in the field , Julie Misemer ( on left ), age 19 , finished with a par 72 and tied for 26th . Just days earlier , Misemer qualified for the U . S . Women ’ s Open at Gainey Ranch Golf Club , Scottsdale , AZ , after stellar rounds of 66 and 70 , taking first place and earning her playing spot in the 78th U . S . Women ’ s Open Championship held at Pebble Beach Golf Links , July 6-9 .
Alan Hoskins , Golf Writer Lead Feature Writer since 2007 TEE TIMES GOLF GUIDE ™ Magazine
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