Robbins keeps other Lilac contenders close

Give Conner Robbins some credit. The young man understands his limitations.

And that generally overlooked attribute probably helped keep him from going insane Saturday afternoon as he threw away one chance after another to turn the 45th-annual Lilac Invitational golf tournament into his own personal showcase.

Robbins, a 24-year-old professional from Bremerton, Wash., drove the ball spectacularly well during the third round of the region’s only 72-hole golf event, but missed several short putts, including one from only 18 inches, that prevented him from putting the rest of the competitors well back in his rearview mirror – and not one bit closer than they seemed.

“That’s just what I do,” said the easygoing former University of Washington standout, who fought through a ton of adversity to shoot a third-round 67 that let him maintain a share of the lead heading into today’s final round of the tournament. “I always miss about two or three 3-footers each round, so I’ve just learned to live with it.

“It can get frustrating, but making a couple of birdies coming in today sure helped out.”

Robbins, after making a messy double-bogey at the difficult par-3 13th and coughing up a two-shot lead, birdied two of the final four holes to finish the day tied with playing partner Chris Ming for the 54-hole lead at 15-under-par 201.

Robbins and Ming started the day tied for the lead with former Coeur d’Alene resident John Cook at 10-under-par 134. And each had their third-round moments en route to posting impressive totals of 5-under 67s over The Fairway’s par-72, 6,459-yard layout.

Cook finished with a 68 and will be alone in third place heading into today’s final round, which promises to be a wildly entertaining battle for the $5,000 check that will go to the winner.

And he admitted he feels fortunate to still be hanging around after watching Robbins blast his ball off the tees and then struggle on the greens.

“He had a chance to run away from us, big-time,” Cook said of Robbins. “But on this course, it usually comes down to putting.”

Ten players – including Gig Harbor’s Troy Kelly, who turned in the low round of the tournament on Saturday by burning up The Fairways with a 9-under 63 – are within six strokes of the lead heading into today’s final 18 holes. And every one is capable of putting up a ridiculously low number.

Robbins, Ming, Cook and Brandon Smith, who fired a third-round 65, will be in today’s final foursome, which tees off at 1 p.m.

“It should be interesting,” said Ming, who earned his share of the lead by taking advantage of huge break on the 493-yard, par-5 14th and making an unlikely birdie. “But you can’t let yourself get into a one-on-one mentality in the final group, because there are a couple of guys behind us who are really starting to pick it up.”

Kelly, another former UW star, is the most intriguing of those in close pursuit of the leaders. He opened the tournament with pedestrian-like rounds of 70 and 71, but torched the course on Saturday with 10 birdies.

“You can never count out Troy Kelly,” Ming said. “And Brandon Smith is starting to play really well.”

Which means Robbins and Ming will have to pay much closer attention to their nearest pursuers than seemed necessary earlier in Saturday’s third round.

Robbins, after driving the green and making birdies on the par-4 sixth, eighth and ninth holes, found himself 15 strokes under par and two shots clear of the field walking up to the 13th tee. But he promptly blew a 6-iron over the green and up against a small tree on the difficult 172-yard par-3 that was playing dead into the prevailing wind.

From there, Robbins was forced to turn his putter around and play the shot left-handed. His putt from 15 feet off the green rolled about 12 feet past the pin and he three-putted from there, missing an 18-incher for bogey.

“I thought I had hit a great tee shot,” Robbins said. “But it bulleted right through the wind and, unfortunately, ended up next to that tree.”

Robbins’ misfortune dropped him back into a tie for the lead with Ming at 13-under, and the two each made two more birdies coming home.

Ming, from Puyallup, Wash., caught a huge break on the par-5 14th when his drive landed on the front side of the newly constructed dirt berm running between the 14th fairway and 13th green and lodged in front of rock that prevented his ball from rolling backward and out of bounds.

With the berm being played as ground under repair, Ming was awarded a free drop from the other side of the snake-like mound and knocked his second shot on the green and two-putted for birdie.

“Someone was looking out for me,” Ming said, after picking up his “lucky rock” and putting it in his pocket.

Heading into today’s final round, two-time defending champion Tom Storey, at 210, holds a four-stroke lead over Jerry Zink in the Senior Pro division, and Cheney’s defending champion Peter Sisich, at 211, is two ahead of Mike McPherson in the race for low amateur.

The final round of the Lilac Invitational is open to the public free of charge.