He’s no drama major

Scott Johnson aced his ball-striking exam during Sunday’s final round of the $120,000 Rosauers Open Invitation, but bombed big time in the drama department.

The 30-year-old head professional at Horn Rapids Golf Club in Richland played 13 near-flawless holes at Indian Canyon Golf Course to take all the suspense out of the 17th annual Rosauers tournament and then coasted to a final-round 67 that gave him a comfortable four-stroke victory in the nation’s richest PGA sectional event.

Johnson’s 4-under-par finish on the 6,255-yard, par-71 Canyon layout, coupled with the back-to-back 63s he shot during the first two days of the Rosauers, gave him a tournament-record 54-hole total of 20-under 193 – the lowest number ever posted in a Pacific Northwest PGA sectional event.

“I was definitely playing well and thinking right,” said the Arizona State graduate, who is in only his second year as the head pro at Horn Rapids. “But I did lose a little focus coming in.”

And why not?

After starting the final round with a two-stroke lead over defending champion Michael Combs, Johnson breezed through the front nine in 4-under 31 and then birdied two of the first three holes on the back to get to six under and take a commanding seven-stroke lead over Combs with just six holes to play.

The wheels wobbled a bit down the stretch, but never enough to shake Johnson, who made his first Rosauers appearance quite profitable by pocketing the $11,000 winner’s check.

Combs, who finished alone in second place at 197, said he felt like “Carl Lewis chasing Secretariat” after he watched Johnson birdie four of the first seven holes on Sunday.

“And what I really hate to admit is that I started thinking about that line on the 14th or 15th hole,” said the two-time Rosauers champion from Canyon Lakes Golf Course in Pasco. “I just feel fortunate to birdie that last hole and get out of that logjam at 198.”

Spokane Country Club assistant Kyle Kelly, who started the day five strokes off the lead and paired in Sunday’s final threesome with Johnson and Combs, did Combs one better by eagling the par-5 18th. But he had to settle for a share of third with three others golfers – including low amateur Peter Sisich, who closed with a 63 that matched the low round of the day and the tournament.

Combs picked up $7,350 for his runner-up finish, while Kelly, Bob Rannow and past champion Jeff Coston each earned $4,568.33 after tying for third with Sisich.

Matt Bunn, the head professional at The Highlands Golf & Country Club, fired a final-round 67 that left him alone in eighth place at 200 and one stroke ahead of former local pro and two-time Rosauers champion Chris Mitchell, who equaled Sisich’s final-round 63 to finish ninth.

Combs, despite Johnson’s quick start, felt like he was still in contention until the par-4 10th, when he drove his ball into the right rough, hit a tree with his second shot, left his third in the bunker right of the green and failed to get up and down.

“From that point on, I was playing for second,” Comb said.

“That was huge,” admitted Johnson, who rolled in a birdie putt on top of Combs’ messy double bogey to create a decisive three-shot swing. “That gave me a chance to focus on my round, rather than just winning the tournament. That’s when I starting thinking, ‘Let’s go make some more birdies and shoot something really low.’ “

Johnson said he was even thinking about 62 until his aggressive long-iron approach to the difficult 438-yard, par-4 14th failed to turn over and ended up plugged in the bunker just right of the green. From there, Johnson blasted out about 20 feet past the pin and missed the putt for his first bogey of the day.

“And from then on, it was just ‘Let’s go out and win the golf tournament,’ ” added Johnson, who also made bogeys at No. 16 and No. 18.

Kelly, another former standout at EWU, started horrible for the second straight day and turned in a 1-over 36. But he eagled both par-5s on the back nine, knocking his second shot on the 18th to within 2 inches of the cup, and finished with a back-nine 31.

“I felt pretty good out there all day today,” said Kelly, who bogied the first hole and then made a disappointing par 5 at the easy 469-yard second. “I was pressing a little bit, probably, on the front nine, trying to make something happen. But for the most part, it was just a case of the ball not going where I wanted.

“Still, nobody was going to catch Scotty today. He was just awesome.”

Johnson said he has hit the ball as well as he did during this year’s Rosauers before.

“But my wedge game and my putting have really improved,” he added. “And this was the best I’ve hit my wedges – bar none – for three straight days.”

Trevor Fox, yet another former EWU player, pulled off the shot of the day on Sunday when he knocked his tee shot into the hole on the 135-yard, par-3 11th. The hole-in-one, the second of the tournament, helped Fox, an assistant pro at Indian Canyon, to a final-round 65 and a tie for 10th place at 203.

This year’s tournament earned $102,000 for its primary beneficiary, the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery.