Combs Plays Winning Part Keeps Poise Under Pressure, Firing 68 To Take Rosauers Open At The Canyon

Michael Combs has some options here.

When he wakes up this morning, he can reflect on winning the Rosauers Open Invitational, posting an unwavering 68 on Sunday at Indian Canyon Golf Course to finish 12 under, two strokes in front of Jeff Coston.

Combs also could celebrate the one-month anniversary of his marriage to wife Corrie.

Or he could start looking forward to this week’s Lilac Invitational at The Fairways, which he won last year.

Where to start?

“Well, first I’m gonna get my dog out of the hotel room,” said Combs, $12,000 richer for his 54 holes of work at the Canyon. “We had to stay an extra day because it was too hot to put her in the car.”

Hot as it was on Sunday, Combs remained poised under pressure as opponents fired and fell back during the final round.

The Kennewick native now living in Richland, who began the day tied for first with Jeff Freeman, was busy turning the Rosauers Open into the Combs Classic with birdies on 10 and 11.

But then he stumbled on No. 12, of all holes.

A short par-5 that the pros and amateurs had birdied with regularity, Combs butchered his approach shot and bogeyed, giving him a three-day total of 1 over on No. 12.

To make matters worse, Mark Wurtz birdied to trim a four-shot deficit in half. Two groups ahead, Mark Rohde reached 10 under, just one stroke behind Combs.

On the 178-yard 13th, Wurtz turned up the heat by lobbing within 14 feet of the hole. Next up was Combs, who went through his exhaustive pre-shot routine - one primary glance at the target and a dozen more quick peeks - before plopping his shot 5 feet from the cup.

Wurtz missed, Combs connected and Rohde proceeded to bogey 14 and 15.

“Definitely, that was somewhat of a turning point, because you want to get right back on track,” Combs said.

Combs, who birdied three of the first four holes on the back nine, faced only one more obstacle: himself.

He was warned for slow play on the 16th tee box. Golfers have 45 seconds to play a shot and Combs twice flunked on the stopwatches of PGA Pacific Northwest Section officials.

Another violation would have resulted in a two-stroke penalty.

Combs responded by driving into the right rough on 16. His approach was even worse - clipping two trees before kicking, favorably, back toward the fairway. He eventually salvaged bogey.

“I’d like to say I stepped up and it didn’t affect me, but I hit two of the poorest shots I hit all day,” said Combs, who developed the pre-shot routine after working with Senior Tour player Rick Acton and a sports psychologist. “But that’s nobody’s fault but my own.

“That’s one of the largest things I work on; getting that routine, and getting it quicker.”

Combs quickly regained his poise. He parred 17 and birdied 18.

“He kept the pressure on us all day and he made the putts when he had to,” said Wurtz, who mustered little momentum after missing several short birdie putts early on.

Wurtz, after an opening-day 63, had 72 on Sunday, 71 on Saturday and finished at 206, tied for fifth. Fellow Californian Freeman also shot 72 to place fourth (205).

Coston, playing one group ahead of Combs, birdied 14 and 18 to take second at 203. Todd Erwin’s closing 66 moved him into third at 204.

“I just tried to birdie every hole. I had opportunities, big time, on almost every hole,” said Coston, from Blaine, Wash. “My putting wasn’t an asset, but I’ve got that figured out, too. … Funny, I came over to the putting green and started making every one.”

About 40 feet away on the practice green, Rohde was dropping putt after putt, too.

“If I could have putted halfway decent, I would have run away with it,” said Rohde, the top local finisher, who tied for fifth at 206. “Tee to green, until the last six holes, I would guess I beat everybody by a bunch.”

Indian Canyon assistant Dave Christenson (70) and Sun Dance’s Chris Mitchell (69) tied for eighth at 5 under (208). Mead High graduate Jared Jeffries shot 208 for low amateur honors.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: ROSAUERS OPEN Michael Combs $12,000 66-67-68-201 Jeff Coston $8,500 69-67-67-203 Todd Erwin $6,000 70-68-66-204 Jeff Freeman $5,000 65-68-72-205 Chuck Milne $3,800 69-67-70-206 Mark Wurtz $3,800 63-71-72-206 Mark Rohde $3,800 70-67-69-206