MUKILTEO _ Moments after the worst break of his Sunday round, Kevin Beavers got the best break. And that second break, the good one, is the reason Beavers has the top spot on the leaderboard through two rounds of the Snohomish County Amateur golf tournament.
Beavers, the defending champion, had a terrific tee shot on the 390-yard, par-4 11th hole at Harbour Pointe Golf Club, but he hit the ball so far that it carried a hilltop and came to rest on a severe downslope. Making matters worse, the ball was in a slight depression and it led to Beavers topping his second shot, moving the ball just a short distance down the fairway.
That was bad, but it got worse. When his third shot strayed left of the green, Beavers was looking at a tricky 30-foot chip to a tight pin. At best he was hoping for a bogey 5, and there was a definite chance of a double-bogey 6.
Instead Beavers lofted the ball to the fringe, it bounced onto the green and trickled straight into the cup. The near miraculous shot not only saved par, it perhaps saved his round.
“It was the best par I’ve had in a long, long time,” said the 32-year-old Beavers with a grateful smile. “It was a lucky break. It was completely lucky.”
The chip-in par kept Beavers at 1 under and he stayed there until No. 17, when he suffered “a real dumb bogey.” Still, he finished with an even-par round of 72 that puts him at 1-over 145 heading into today’s final round of the 86th annual County Am.
It was, Beavers said, “a very stressful round of golf. (Harbour Pointe) is so demanding off the tee, especially the front nine. The first eight holes you can’t miss left and you can’t miss right. You have to hit it straight, that’s all there is to it.
“I’m not going to say this was the best round of golf I’ve ever played,” he added, “but it also wasn’t a terrible round of golf. … It was a survival day, for sure.”
Tied for second through two rounds are Brandon Agnew and first-round leader Jacob Rohde, both at 2-over 146. They will join Beavers in today’s final threesome at Snohomish Golf Course, teeing off at 11:42 a.m.
Rohde, who opened with a 1-under 71 at Everett’s Legion Memorial on Saturday, called his Sunday round “terrible. I just didn’t hit it very good at all today. I was fighting everything. … About halfway through the back nine I was (thinking), ‘Just let me survive and get to (today).’”
Rohde made the turn at even par, but suffered bogeys on Nos. 10, 13, 15 and 17. A birdie on the par-5 18th hole helped salvage his round.
Ed Lee and Trevor Frisby are two shots off the lead at 3-over 147, and Chris Hatch is at 4-over 148. Four-time champ Todd Tibke and Michael Burlison are at 6-over 150, and both will play the final round on their home course.
Five-time County Am winner Alex Stamey had a difficult day, following up his first-round 74 with an 8-over 80. With a nine-stroke deficit, he is likely out of contention.
Today’s round is supposed to be played in mostly sunshine, and that is good news for the field of 101 after two days of overcast and intermittent rain.
Beavers, who breezed to a six-stroke victory a year ago, will likely have more challengers this year. He posted a 2-under 70 at Snohomish in 2015, “but that was the first round and not a ton of pressure. (Today) will be a very different ballgame.”
When he steps to the first tee this morning, “I guarantee I’ll be nervous as all hell,” Beavers admitted. “But I’m certainly going to give it my best shot. (Snohomish) is a golf course you can score on, but you’d better drive it in play out there. If you (miss fairways), you’re going to have problems.”
Rohde believes the winner will need to shoot in the 60s today. “But if you’re hitting it decent and keeping it in the right positions, you can go low (at Snohomish),” he said.
The second and third divisions also held their second rounds at Harbour Pointe. In the second division, for handicaps of 5.1-9.8, Daniel Kim retained his first-round lead, shooting a net 70 for a two-day total of 10-under 134, seven strokes better than Austin Duffy.
Leading the third division, for handicaps of 9.9-20.8, is Bob Wallin, who had a net 70 on Saturday for a 7-under total of 137, two strokes better than Raj Naicker.
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