Charles Lights Up Lilac Field Bogey-Free Round Of 7-Under-Par 65 Stakes Portlander To One-Shot Lead

Kris Kallem’s best shot of the day was actually two down the heart of the 18th fairway.

Long after he scraped out a 79 in the biting wind Thursday afternoon, Kallem was on the course at The Fairways, shining his headlights so the last wet and cold golfers could finish the first round of the 38th annual Downtown Holiday Inn Express Lilac Invitational.

“We don’t like to turn people away,” said Kallem, an assistant pro at The Fairways. “We’re going to accommodate them, even if it means bringing them in with headlights.”

Long before that, Michael Charles of Portland beat the winds to take a one-stroke lead with a bogey-free, 7-under 65. He was one shot ahead of Californian Mike Booth, with Spokane golfer Mark Rohde, a two-time champion, and Storm Gleim of Gilbert, Ariz., two back.

Booth, in the first group off, finished six holes ahead of the second group and took off to Seattle for a business meeting. Rohde, who won in 1991 and ‘92, had one bogey but birdied the tough 18th.

Eight golfers were at 68, including Michael Combs of Richland, the 1995 champion, and Indian Canyon pro Gary Lindeblad, who won the year before.

Lindeblad was using his 15-year-old son Adam to read his putts again, a combination that worked three years ago when Adam debuted as a caddy.

Lindeblad made three tough birdies into the wind, turning his back while Adam read the putts.

He hit a 5-iron to 5 feet on No. 9, hit another 5-iron 15 feet above the hole on No. 15 and made a 12-footer on No. 16 after a 6-iron.

“That’s the range I need to make. I could be somebody,” he joked. When you’re not hitting the putt, you can read it with more confidence. It’s good to have Adam. I tend to get over putts and outthink myself. I need to listen to him all the time instead of most of the time.”

“I did pretty well,” Adam said. “I’d say three or four times, if he would have listened to me, he would have put the putt right in the heart, and I probably missed one or two. He knew it after he hit (the bad ones) and said, ‘Don’t even say it.’ “

Adam said he was confident in his game “very much so” and his dad’s.

“If my dad keeps swinging the clubs like he has been, we’ll do all right,” he said.

As usual, though, dad was talking about his bad holes.

“I wasn’t unhappy, but because I barfed a couple … unfortunately you look at the ones you gave away,” he said. “About 6 (Thursday night) when I’m giving a lesson, I’ll realize I actually hit some good shots. The frustrating part is to play the really tough holes well and on what I consider some of the easier holes, give shots up.”

He took a double bogey on No. 13, a 172-yard par 3, with a “real stupid shot.” He sent a 3-iron right at the flag and the wind blew the ball right into the water.

Low scores traditionally highlight the Lilac - if the wind isn’t blowing. Only 35 of the 99 pros were under par, with three 69s, six 70s and 14 71s

The low amateur was Dick Bingham of Spokane with a 69. Tim Wyer of Whidbey Island had a 71.

Among those happy to escape with a 71 was 1990 Mead graduate Matt Bunn, who took a break from the Hooters Tour in the southeast to come home.

“I teed off at 7:02,” Bunn said. “It was really cold and windy. Being patient is the key to this golf course. I do feel pretty good, but it’s the same story. It could have been a lot better but it could have been worse.”

Bunn, who played at Fresno State for two years but finished at Eastern Washington, left a job at Spokane Country Club to chase a dream.

“I’m doing OK,” he said. “I’m making some cuts, making a little money, $1,600, not good, staying ahead - barely. I miss being (at the country club), it’s nice to have a steady paycheck, but this is something I always wanted to do.”

Like most young pros, Bunn, 25, wants to take a stab at the PGA Tour qualifying school this fall but will return to the Hooters Tour. He’s close to being exempt for next year, which would guarantee him a place to play.

Also at 71 was six-time champion Chris Mitchell, formerly of Spokane, and defending champion Bob Rannow of Moscow, Idaho.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: LEADERBOARD Professional leaders after one round of the Lilac Invitational: Michael Charles 65 Mike Booth 66 Storm Gleim 67 Mark Rohde 67