Lindeblad Withdraws From Open

Indian Canyon pro Gary Lindeblad has withdrawn from the Rosauers Open following the death of his mother, Twila, from cancer Monday night.

“It was a blessing, really,” Lindeblad said. “The funeral is Friday. There’s lots of golf tournaments, one mother. She was a wonderful woman.”

Lindeblad, one of three area pros who helped form the Rosauers nine years ago, said he’ll miss playing but will try to help out as much as possible.

“I might caddy for someone,” said Lindeblad, who played last year with broken ribs.

He could be a contenda

Sun Dance pro Chris Mitchell called Indian Canyon assistant pro Dave Christenson his sleeper pick in the Rosauers, which begins a threeday run on Friday.

That was before Christenson carded a 63 in Wednesday’s ProAm, posting an eagle on No. 17.

“I guess he’s not a sleeper anymore,” smiled Mitchell, who fired a 64. “He’s a good little player who is coming into his own.”

True to every golfer recalling his/ her round, Christenson was kicking himself over a missed 4-footer on No. 18. Christenson tied the Canyon’s competitive course record held by numerous players, including Lindeblad and Sam Snead. The course record is 62.

“I’m not passing the torch to him, I’m just lending it to him,” said a grinning Lindeblad. “Davey’s got a lot of natural ability and he’s a hard worker. You might get one or the other, but you rarely get both.”

For example, Lindeblad said he hasn’t practiced chipping in roughly 15 years, but he recently witnessed Christenson spend 2 hours on it.

Quartet wins by six

Ken Breer, Dick Wyman, Tom Wright and Tom Harkins combined with pro K.C. Anderson for a six-stroke victory to win Wednesday’s portion of the Pro-Am.

The winning score was 38-under 106 in the two-net, best-ball format.

Chip shots

Mike Lamanna (Desert Canyon) aced the 121-yard 11th with a wedge. … The Canyon’s greens weren’t as quick as they’ll be this weekend. They’ll be double cut, groomed and rolled before Friday’s round.

, DataTimes