Fairways • March 2011
Through Rain, Sleet and Snow

by Jim Rayburn

When Darrin Overson and Dan Horner woke up the third Sunday morning of February in a condo on the northwest side of St. George they believed bad weather had ended their weekend of golf.

Nearly a half-inch of snow covered Horner's car as the two prepared to drive over to Hurricane, Utah for the final round of the Utah Golf Association's Two-Man Team Championship at Sand Hollow Resort.

Overson and Horner opened the 36-hole event a day earlier with a 3-under 69 in the scramble format and were not pleased with the number of putts they missed. In fact, they three-putted two of the first three holes and struggled in from there.

Still, they sat in third place, five shots behind first-round leaders Robert Smart and Ryan Brinkman, who opened with a 7-under 64 in nothing short of brutal playing conditions. Cold temperatures and steady rain from start to finish, and strong winds over the final four holes made for an agonizing round for most.

"You want it to be an enjoyable experience and a fair competition for everyone, but the golf course was impeccable in handling all the bad weather that we had and that enabled us to keep playing," said UGA Executive Director Bill Walker.

Overson and Horner felt strongly that they could catch those in front of them in the second-round's best-ball format, if only given the chance.

"We really wanted a chance to play, because we felt the best-ball format was our chance to make up some ground," Overson said. "In a scramble one guy can get a hot putter and carry a team, but a best-ball requires that both players hit a lot of good shots. After that first day we just wanted a chance to redeem ourselves."
Horner was especially anxious for the chance to play his own ball from tee to green.

"We're both used to playing our own game, and in the scramble format we were talking too much, and I think that just messed us up. When we play our own ball we kind of focus more on what we do. The best-ball format gives us a better chance of separating us from the rest of the field," Horner said.

Without some cooperation from Mother Nature, however, they were headed home early. Fortunately there was no snow on the other side of the valley. But it was just as cold and wet, if not colder and wetter, than the day earlier. Still, Round 2 was a go. Overson and Horner were happy.

"We didn't drive all the way down here just to play one day in crappy weather. We wanted a chance to win. We've played in this kind of stuff before, so we knew if we could just keep going that we'd have a chance," Horner said.

Even though Overson and Horner both lipped out birdie putts on No. 1, Round 2 still started with a better feel. They quickly got under par with a birdie on the par-5 second hole. On the par-3 third, Horner knocked it to about 5 feet from 210 yards for another birdie.

They played the rest of the front nine at even par, but got word that Smart and Brinkman were struggling in the bitter cold conditions. When it wasn't raining or snowing, the temperature would quickly sink into the 30s.

"We knew we were right there," Overson said.

A critical point in their round came on the par-3 11th, when Overson's tee shot came up short right and plugged in the greenside bunker. But Horner came through and stiffed another iron shot. His birdie put the team at 3-under. Both birdied the short par-4 No. 13 before Horner added another birdie on the picturesque par-3 15th – his third birdie of the day on a par three.

They put a seal on their final-round 6-under 66 when Overson made birdie on the par-5 No. 17.

"We hit some shots close and got a few more putts to fall. We just gave ourselves a lot more chances," Horner said.

Overson added, "I think we played some pretty solid golf considering the conditions."

The two finished with a two-day total of 9-under 135, four shots clear of Smart and Brinkman, who closed with a 3-over 75. Nick Smart and Andrew Paulson, who shot 70 both rounds, took third at 4-under.

The senior championship flight trophy went to Steve Brinton and Kurt Bernhisel with rounds of 68 and 70. Bernhisel had final-round birdies on holes one and seven, while Brinton birdied No. 17. Their only bogey came on the difficult uphill par-4 12th. They finished three shots ahead of Richard Cropper and Dick Peacock, who shot 69 and 72.

The women's championship flight had some drama to its ending. Karen White two-putted from 20 feet on the first playoff hole to help her and teammate Susan Simkins defeat Melissa Stockton and Rina Slade for the first-place trophy. Both teams shot rounds of 73 and 82.

Monica Vigil and Deeann Stout-Nowell shot 2-under 70 in Round 1 and held a three-shot margin in the women's championship competition, but were disqualified for arriving late for their Round 2 tee time. The trophy in the women's first flight went to Mary Hatch and Georgine Bills, with rounds of 74-91.

Chris Dahlberg and Tom Bashford won the men's first flight with rounds of 66-73. Jason Celaya and Ken Foody took the men's second flight with rounds of 63-74. Jose Lopez and Doug Bennion, with rounds of 66-81, won the senior first flight. The senior second flight trophy went to Stephen Allred and Rick McGuire, who shot 75-81.

The men's championship flight played the black tees, while all other men's and senior divisions played the blue tees. The women hit from the reds.

The tournament was the first managed by Walker, who took over the duties of the UGA only a couple of weeks earlier. Fifty-nine teams entered the event and 48 teams persisted through the tough conditions.

"It was a cold experience but I think everyone had fun battling through it," Walker said. "I think everyone kind of felt a sense of accomplishment in just getting it in. So overall it was a great event, a good inaugural event for myself. I really learned how passionate the golfers in Utah are to come down here and be chomping at the bit to play some golf and compete."

Jim Rayburn is a frequent contributor to Fairways.