Lightning fast greens only will intensify over the course of three days at Hillcrest Golf Club, and that is just the way professional golfers like it.
The 53rd Coca-Cola of Durango Navajo Trail Open will tee off Friday morning at the par-71, 6,838-yard Hillcest Golf Club in Durango. A full field of 40 professionals and 180 amateurs are set to compete in the three-day tournament that will conclude Sunday afternoon.
“We have a strong field of professionals and amateurs, and we’ve got some players who have been here quite a few years and won a few times,” said John Vickers, the head golf professional at Hillcrest and the tournament’s director. “We are excited about the professional side and expect a great weekend.”
Defending champion Jimmy Gunn of Scotland won’t be among the professional players this weekend. After a stellar summer in 2013 in which he also won the San Juan Open in Farmington, Gunn passed the PGA’s qualifying school to qualify for the Web.com Tour.
However, players such as three-time champion Micah Rudosky, who is the PGA course professional at Conquistador Golf Course in Cortez, are back in the field. He is joined by another three-time champion in Tom Kalinowski and 2006 winner Bobby Kalinowski, both Durango natives. Another Durango High School alum, Keenan Holt, the 2010 champion, also is in the field.
Former Fort Lewis College golfers turned pro such as Charlie Laudermilk and Justin Spray also are among the professionals Vickers expects to contend.
“We have a great field of young professionals and guys who have been here a lot and won before,” Vickers said. “We had a wait list for both the professional and amateur fields, and we look forward to good competition.”
The pros will compete for a first-place cash prize of $5,500. There also are five amateur flights, with the top amateur winning a $750 purse, but history has shown even amateurs can post the lowest score through three days at the Navajo Trail Open.
Holt was the second amateur ever to win the event in 2010, just one year after FLC alum Luke Tanner of Farmington became the first amateur to win the tournament.
“We do always have great amateurs. In the Championship Flight, we have some scratch players and guys with solid handicaps,” Vickers said. “Maybe a current Fort Lewis College player could be playing very well and compete for the overall championship.
“We will see Saturday evening where everyone is through 36 holes. If an amateur is low enough, they can be matched up with the pros, too.”
Gunn shot a 7-under-par 206 to win the tournament in 2013. With characteristically fast greens at Hillcrest, it is tough for any player to break par by double digits. The same should hold true this year, and keeping approach shots below the hole is imperative to avoid fast downhills or big breaking putts.
“It is going to be the usual Hillcrest: fast greens that will firm a bit throughout the weekend,” Vickers said. “The course is in great shape. We could use some rain, just like we could every summer, but it looks great out there, and everyone who participates will enjoy it.”
Vickers said the grounds crew mowed the rough earlier last week and touched it up earlier in the week before letting it grow out. Tee shots that miss the fairway will give players problems with a bit longer rough to contend with.
“Saturday and Sunday, it is going to be thick around the greens, too,” Vickers said.
Weather over the weekend is expected to be dry and warm, only adding to the firmness of the golf course.
Professionals will begin teeing off at 1 p.m. Friday, with the amateurs starting in the morning. Saturday, the pros will begin play at 8 a.m., with amateurs playing an afternoon round. The leaders will finish play Sunday afternoon.
Vickers hopes fans will come and support the players from the gallery. Though the U.S. Open will provide great golf on television, Vickers said plenty of good golf can be seen at Hillcrest, too.
“The public is encouraged to come out and spectate. We have really great young pros and good amateurs playing that will be fun to watch,” he said.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
