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Howard Clendenin is hard to beat off the tee. His length and accuracy have made him a powerful player in senior amateur golf – an area of the game he has taken to well over the past year. Clendenin turned 55 last June, immediately won the North & South Senior and the Senior Porter Cup in his first three months competing, and just keeps adding lines to his resume.
On Wednesday, Clendenin claimed the Golfweek Pacific Northwest Senior title in a close battle against Jack Larkin, a veteran player from Atlanta. Clendenin, of Akron, Ohio, led all week but played nearly flawless golf to maintain that top spot on the leaderboard at Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla, Washington. Rounds of 67-66-67 left him at 16 under, one ahead of Larkin for the week.
“Ballstriking was really good – about as good as I could hit the ball and the putting was good enough,” Clendenin said in describing his play. “I missed some putts, but I made enough birdies to keep myself relatively comfortable for the three days. I never really fell behind, and I just kept grinding out there.”
Wine Valley is a links-style golf course that’s relatively open off the tee, but with sloping firm, fast fairways and large bunkers scattered around the golf course, placement is important. Clendenin noted the greens firmed up well as the rounds went on, making iron play important too.
“You had to be pretty precise with where you wanted to land the ball and kind of use some of the slopes in the greens to work it toward the hole. I was able to do that for the most part,” he said. “I avoided big numbers.”
Clendenin made only one bogey each of the first two days, in fact, and two bogeys in his final round. Three of the four came off of three putts.
For his part, Larkin’s play was even cleaner for the week. The senior from Atlanta, who reached the Round of 16 of the U.S. Senior Amateur last year, made his sole bogey of the week Wednesday one the first hole. He missed a short putt for birdie on the final hole to tie Clendenin and force a playoff.
Scoring was low across the board in the senior division even though Clendenin and Larkin set themselves apart. Clendenin’s 16-under total was only two shots short of the Golfweek senior scoring record of 18 under, which Steve Hudson set in January of 2015 at the Golfweek Player of the Year Classic.
Kevin VandenBerg, the defending champion, was third at 8 under and John Brellenthin of Dallas was fourth at 6 under.
Clendenin, a former college baseball player who also did a short stint in the golf industry as an assistant club pro, does not rest from here. He was on his way back to the Midwest shortly after his victory and was set to tee it up in the Ohio Open at his home golf course, Firestone Country Club, next week. He’ll play the U.S. Senior Amateur for the first time later this summer.
Scoring was also low in the Super Senior division, where well-known Idaho golf legend Scott Masingill (for whom the Idaho Amateur trophy is named) and Wine Valley owner Jim Pliska traded the lead the first two days. Ultimately, Masingill took the title with a final-round 6-under 66. That left him at 6 under for the tournament and four shots ahead of Pliska, who had surged with a second-round 69.
George Struthers of Richland, Washington, maintained his hold on the top spot in the Legend division, finishing at 9 over and 13 shots ahead of Bill Hood from Beaverton, Oregon.
Mike Jacobsen of Bellevue, Washington, won the Super Legend title at 11 over.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Golfweek Pacific Northwest Senior Amateur scores, winners
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On Wednesday, Clendenin claimed the Golfweek Pacific Northwest Senior title in a close battle against Jack Larkin, a veteran player from Atlanta. Clendenin, of Akron, Ohio, led all week but played nearly flawless golf to maintain that top spot on the leaderboard at Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla, Washington. Rounds of 67-66-67 left him at 16 under, one ahead of Larkin for the week.
“Ballstriking was really good – about as good as I could hit the ball and the putting was good enough,” Clendenin said in describing his play. “I missed some putts, but I made enough birdies to keep myself relatively comfortable for the three days. I never really fell behind, and I just kept grinding out there.”
Wine Valley is a links-style golf course that’s relatively open off the tee, but with sloping firm, fast fairways and large bunkers scattered around the golf course, placement is important. Clendenin noted the greens firmed up well as the rounds went on, making iron play important too.
“You had to be pretty precise with where you wanted to land the ball and kind of use some of the slopes in the greens to work it toward the hole. I was able to do that for the most part,” he said. “I avoided big numbers.”
Clendenin made only one bogey each of the first two days, in fact, and two bogeys in his final round. Three of the four came off of three putts.
For his part, Larkin’s play was even cleaner for the week. The senior from Atlanta, who reached the Round of 16 of the U.S. Senior Amateur last year, made his sole bogey of the week Wednesday one the first hole. He missed a short putt for birdie on the final hole to tie Clendenin and force a playoff.
Scoring was low across the board in the senior division even though Clendenin and Larkin set themselves apart. Clendenin’s 16-under total was only two shots short of the Golfweek senior scoring record of 18 under, which Steve Hudson set in January of 2015 at the Golfweek Player of the Year Classic.
Kevin VandenBerg, the defending champion, was third at 8 under and John Brellenthin of Dallas was fourth at 6 under.
Clendenin, a former college baseball player who also did a short stint in the golf industry as an assistant club pro, does not rest from here. He was on his way back to the Midwest shortly after his victory and was set to tee it up in the Ohio Open at his home golf course, Firestone Country Club, next week. He’ll play the U.S. Senior Amateur for the first time later this summer.
Scoring was also low in the Super Senior division, where well-known Idaho golf legend Scott Masingill (for whom the Idaho Amateur trophy is named) and Wine Valley owner Jim Pliska traded the lead the first two days. Ultimately, Masingill took the title with a final-round 6-under 66. That left him at 6 under for the tournament and four shots ahead of Pliska, who had surged with a second-round 69.
George Struthers of Richland, Washington, maintained his hold on the top spot in the Legend division, finishing at 9 over and 13 shots ahead of Bill Hood from Beaverton, Oregon.
Mike Jacobsen of Bellevue, Washington, won the Super Legend title at 11 over.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Golfweek Pacific Northwest Senior Amateur scores, winners
Continue reading...
