Stamey grabs first-round lead

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, May 30, 2004

MILL CREEK – From the tee and from the fairway, Jack Kelly matched playing partner Alex Stamey almost stroke for stroke during Sunday’s first round of the 74th-annual Snohomish County Amateur golf tournament.

Once on the green, though, it was Stamey all the way.

With a new putter to replace the one he tossed after a disappointing tournament last week, Stamey conquered lush Mill Creek Country Club, needing just 24 putts on his way to a 4-under-par 68 and a cozy four-shot lead.

“His putter was so hot,” said Kelly, the two-time defending champion who opened with a 1-over 73.

Four times Stamey dropped in putts from about 20 feet. He ended the day with six birdies and two bogeys, and was the only one of 80 golfers in the first division (for golfers with handicaps of 6.4 and under) to break par.

“It was just an awesome round for Alex,” Kelly said. “Almost flawless, really. As far as getting everything out of a round, that was it. It was fun to watch.”

Stamey, the 2000 County Am winner, played well two weeks ago at the Washington Open, finishing in a five-way tie for 10th place and sharing low-amateur honors in a field largely comprised of pros. But at last week’s Washington State Men’s Best-Ball Amateur Championship, Stamey struggled with his putting – “I hit it close all day long, but never made one putt,” he groused – and the result was a switch of putters.

Gone was the Calloway two-ball blade he had been using, and in its place was a Never Compromise mallet putter “that I had kicking around.”

“I had never actually used it in a tournament,” Stamey added, “but I figured it couldn’t be any worse than what I had in my bag.”

It was better all right and in a big way. On 11 of the 18 greens, Stamey had the ball in the cup after just one putt.

The rest of Stamey’s game, meanwhile, was more steady than superb. One of his few poor shots came at No. 9, where a mis-hit chip shot led to a bogey, but he nonetheless closed the front side with a 1-under 35. He was even better on the second nine, posting birdies on the 10th, 12th, 14th and 15th holes, and narrowly missing another on No. 17. With a back-side bogey on No. 13, he finished with a 3-under 33.

It was a satisfying effort for the 40-year-old Stamey, who missed last year’s County Am with a back injury suffered just a few days before at the Washington Open. Stamey, who lives in Mill Creek but is a member at Everett Golf and Country Club, called Sunday’s round “a great start on a good golf course. To shoot 68 was beyond my expectations.”

Kelly, who is trying to become just the second golfer to win three straight County Ams, completed his day with one birdie and two bogeys. It was a “solid” round, he said, though his putter taunted him throughout the day. Kelly, who represents EG&CC, missed several birdie chances, including an agonizing 2-footer on the third hole.

“The ball just wouldn’t go in. It was one of those days,” sighed Kelly, who shares third place with Mill Creek’s Jeff Strickland and EG&CC’s Kirk Smith.

Second place belongs to four-time County Am winner Todd Tibke of Snohomish, who posted an even-par 72 with three birdies and three bogeys.

Though the skies were mostly fair on Sunday – there were broken clouds that mixed sunshine with intermittent rain – the biggest weather factor was wind. There were occasional gusts close to 20-25 mph, making it difficult for golfers to play their shots precisely.

“The trees are tall here,” Kelly said, “and the wind really tumbles over the trees and causes lots of trouble. If you mis-hit an iron and it was into the wind, it was way off line.”

“The wind,” Tibke said, “made it really hard out there.”

One of the most difficult holes was the par-3 16th, which measured around 225 yards from the tee to the flag, which was set near the rear of the green. Playing uphill and into the wind, “it was about as hard a hole as you could find,” Kelly said.

Taking into account the wind, some very tricky pin placements and a generally challenging design, picturesque Mill Creek “was just a tough golf course today,” he added.

Today, the first division moves to Marysville’s Cedarcrest Golf Course for the second round with the final round scheduled for June 6 at EG&CC.

“With 36 holes left,” Stamey said, “anyone can go out and win this tournament. “If somebody can shoot 65 (today at Cedarcrest), they can get right back in the tournament.”

Though certainly no one is waving the white flag just yet, closing the gap on Stamey will be difficult, Kelly conceded.

“You don’t want to be five (strokes) back of Alex ever because he’s really solid,” he said. “He’s not going to make a lot of mistakes. And if he plays good the rest of the way, he’s going to win. But he’s an amateur and he can make bogeys, so you just have to play your own game.”

The second division (for players with handicaps from 6.5 to 10.8) held its opening round at EG&CC. Cedarcrest’s Bob Peters was the low-net leader after a 64, three shots better than Jim Oliphant of Marysville’s Battle Creek Golf Course.

The third division (for handicaps of 10.9 and up) also opened at EG&CC. Dick Ludwig of Everett’s Walter Hall Golf Course had a 63 for a three-stroke lead over Alan Laroche of Arlington’s Gleneagle Golf Course.