Koesters Wins Sunriver Oregon Open
Dan Koesters started quickly, then held on Friday to claim a two-stroke victory in the $74,000 Sunriver Oregon Open golf tournament.
“I’ve had a lot of top-10 finishes in the Northwest, but I didn’t seem to be able to win one,” said Koesters, the University of Idaho golf coach. “This feels as if I’ve lifted a weight off my shoulders.”
Koesters, who began the final round at the 7,227-yard Crosswater Golf Club in Sunriver with a four-stroke lead, increased it to six by making four birdies on the first 10 holes on a mostly sunny day.
He faltered with four late bogeys for a closing 72 and 211 total to earn $10,500.
Dan Hixson of Portland used a 69 to claim second place at 213, his highest finish in a major Northwest tournament. Spokane amateur Darin Vaughn shared third at 215.
Vaughn, golfing out of Wandermere, closed with a tourney-best 68.
Todd Pence of The Fairways and Mark Gardner of The Creek at Qualchan tied for 18th at 221.
John Cook of Coeur d’Alene put together rounds of 67 and 68 for a 36-hole total of 7-under-par 135 at Indian Canyon Golf Course and earned a spot in the finals of the United States Golf Association Public Links tournament, July 15-20 in Lihue, Hawaii. Cook bested 30 other competitors for the only sectional berth.
Spokane’s Scott Carroll shot 73-66-139 to finish as the first alternate, followed by Colville’s Kent Brown (68-74-142) and Spokane’s Gary Holt (73-73-143) and Kyle Kelly (71-72-143).
The Creek at Qualchan, Downriver, Esmeralda and Indian Canyon begin taking tee times this morning for July 4-7.
American Legion baseball
Eric Hayden had a two-run home run and Ryan Corigliano went 2 for 2 with four RBIs as the Blue Devils routed the Royals 12-3 at Jackson Field. George Petticrew went the distance for the Blue Devils, allowing four hits.
Al Bevacqua’s bases-loaded single broke open a close game in the seventh inning as Post Falls beat the North Stars 8-2 at the Yakima Firecracker tournament. Brad Medlock went the distance for Post Falls, scattering seven hits.
Football
Riverside’s Joel Schurtz threw a touchdown pass as the East defeated the West 35-14 in the annual East-West prep all-star game in Everett.
, DataTimes MEMO: Changed from the Idaho edition.