EVERETT — On a day of intermittent rain and almost constant wind, Jacob Rohde pulled off something no one else in the championship division could match during the opening round of the Snohomish County Amateur golf tournament. The 38-year-old Rohde, who lives in north Everett, slipped under par at Legion Memorial Golf Course, posting a 1-under 71 for the first-round lead of the 86th annual County Am. None of the other 49 golfers in the first-division field (handicaps of 5.0 or better) could equal that feat.
Indeed, a sub-par round was looking unlikely for Rohde as well. He was 1 over through 16 holes, but then closed with birdie putts on the 17th and 18th holes, which was about the time the sun was at last breaking through the morning’s gray cloud cover.
“When I started off on the first tee, it was raining with a constant wind and a little bit of gusts,” Rohde said. “Right off the bat it was difficult … and it became survival with the wind and the rain.”
Given the weather, he added, “I thought even-par would be a good score. But then I got lucky enough to get away with a couple of birdies (at the end).”
Rohde, who is playing in his third County Am (he was runner-up to champion Alex Stamey in 2013) finished with three birdies and two bogeys. Despite the wet, windy conditions — at one point, wind blew over the starter’s tent on the first tee — Rohde missed only three fairways off the tee and only three greens in regulation. His first two birdies came on putts of about 15 feet, and then he capped his round with a tap-in birdie of 3 feet on No. 18.
“It wasn’t super-excellent, but I kept it in play,” he said. “And I tried not to make too many mistakes with the wind and the rain the way it was.”
Rohde has a one-stroke lead over Brandon Agnew and Trevor Frisby heading into today’s second round at Mukilteo’s Harbour Pointe Golf Club. Five other golfers, including defending champion Kevin Beavers, are at 1-over 73.
“There was a brief stretch where it was pouring and it was tough,” said Beavers, who had a round of three birdies and four bogeys. “You’re trying to keep yourself dry, your clubs dry, your grips dry, your glove dry, and you’re also trying to hit a shot. So (the weather) definitely added a couple of shots to the round, I think.”
A year ago, Beavers moved in front with a strong second round at Harbour Pointe, his home course. He would like to repeat that scenario, though “there’s no question, I’ve got to play better than this,” he said. “But I’m hoping the weather was the reason.”
Stamey, a five-time winner who is tied with the late Bob Whisman for the most career County Am titles, is one of three players tied for ninth at 2-over 74. Stamey’s round included two birdies and four bogeys.
Saturday’s round “was one of the hardest days I can remember in a while,” Stamey said. “You can play through rain, but it’s the wind that makes it hard. … It just makes club selection very difficult, and that makes it hard to get it close to the hole to make birdies.”
There is the possibility of more wind and rain Sunday, which should make Harbour Pointe — a difficult golf course even in sunshine — even more challenging.
“Harbour Pointe has (the potential for) big numbers on every hole, especially on the front nine,” Stamey said. “The back nine is not as dangerous, but there are still holes that can bite you.”
In the second division, for players with handicaps of 5.1-9.8, Tanner Parot is the low-net leader with a 10-under 62, two strokes better than Daniel Kim. Raj Naicker leads the third division, for players with handicaps of 9.9 and up, after an 8-under low-net 64, one stroke ahead of Ian Johnson.
2016 Snohomish County Amateur
Saturday
at Legion Memorial GC
Flight 1 (+2.8 to 5.0)
Gross Scores, Par 72 (6600 yards)
Jacob Rohde, LM 71
Brandon Agnew, HP 72
Trevor Frisby, EGCC 72
Chris Hatch, HP 73
Dereck Boll, LM 73
Kevin Beavers, HP 73
Robert Harrison Jr., Jor 73
Todd Tibke, Sno 73
Alex Stamey, EGCC 74
Ed Lee, HP 74
Kris Jackson, EF 74
Jason Calamaro, LM 75
Michael Burlison, Sno 75
Scott Leonard, EF 75
Tyler Stocker, Sno 75
Dominic VanDaveer, Sno 76
Mark Strickland, HP 76
Michael Martinez, HP 76
Rudy Caparas, Jor 76
Chris Bae, LM 77
Josef Koznek, LM 77
Michael Ostergaard, LM 77
Parker Berry 77
Patrick Boag, EGCC 77
Adam Brisben, Glen 78
Chris Scott, Jor 78
Damon Parot, Ken 78
John Riley, Sno 78
Mark Johnson, Jor 78
Mick Stocker, EGCC 78
Thomas Choe, HP 78
Daniel Lesnett, MC 79
Devin Kim, HP 79
Jeff Strickland, Sno 79
John McDonald, LM 79
Martin Seguin, WH 79
Rowan Foxley, EGCC 79
Alvin Kwak, HP 80
Andrew Martin, LM 80
Duane Diede, EGCC 80
Ace Younggren, EF 81
Andrew Austin, MC 81
Bill Steward 81
Tucker Keyes, Jor 81
Quinton Borseth, EGCC 82
Brian Barhanovich, EGCC 84
Jeff Jordal, HP 84
Jerry Slind, Ken 85
Steve Laue, LM 85
Alex Toth, HP 86
John Burke, LM 87
Flight 2 (5.1 to 9.8)
Net Scores, Par 72 (6100 yards)
Tanner Parot, Ken 62
Daniel Kim, HP 64
Jeff Olsen, LM 68
Daren Darden, WH 70
Nick Newman, WH 70
Ryan Kerr, HP 71
Doug Barlow, EF 72
Brian Wimer, WH 73
Peter Kasselman, LM 73
Austin Duffy, LM 74
Brett Engstrom, WH 74
Chris Davis, SR 74
Stan Strickland, Sno 74
Andrew Kephart, WH 75
Mason Harvey, EGCC 76
Will Robbins, WH 76
Ajinder Handa, GUB 77
Dan Frost, Jor 77
Jerry Rizzuto, WH 77
David Hood, SR 78
Jay Young, LM 79
Steven Howell, Sno 79
Eric Haechrel, Sno 80
Hyung Park, MC 80
Alex Pynsky, WH 81
Ben Headland, LM 82
Jerry Browning, WH 82
Flight 3 (9.9 to 20.8)
Net Scores, Par 72 (6100 yards)
Raj Naicker, HP 64
Ian Johnson, WH 65
Bob Wallin, BC 67
Mark Kaczorowski, Ken 67
Matthew Harper, WH 67
Richard Thamsen, WH 67
Tom Douglas, EGCC 67
Rick Lamoureux, Sno 68
Van Luu, LM 70
Brendan Doheny, WH 71
Kevin Spalti, WH 71
Michael Kim, HP 71
Nick Dammann 71
Randall Parot, Ken 73
Byron Krogstadt, WH 74
Kalvin Holler, BC 74
Christian Kim 75
Darrell Stubblefield, Sno 75
Glenn Niemela, LM 76
Jerry Wabey, HP 76
James Goldade, HP 77
Charles Solarek, WH 78
Silas Puetz, HP 78
Dick Ludwig, LM 79
Key: BC—Battle Creek; EF—Echo Falls; EGCC—Everett G&CC; Glen—Gleneagle; HP—Harbour Pointe; Jor—Jorgensen; KP— Kayak Point; Ken—Kenwanda; LM—Legion Memorial; Lynn—Lynnwood; MC—Mill Creek CC; PGD—Pro Golf Discount (Lynnwod); Sno—Snohomish; SR—SuperRange; WH—Walter Hall
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
