Malby heats up with 68 to take title

WORLEY, Idaho – The strong and persistent winds that had raked Circling Raven Golf Club the previous two days calmed down dramatically on Thursday, but Ryan Malby didn’t.

Instead, the 34-year-old head professional at Village Greens Golf Course in Kalispell, Mont., kept his golf game blowing hot and breezed to a two-stroke win in the Pacific Northwest PGA Professional Championship.

Malby, who was born and raised in Spokane, where he attended University High School until his senior year, took advantage of the nearly benign weather conditions to tame the 7,100-yard, par-72 Circling Raven layout with a final-round 68 and claim his first victory in a major sectional tournament.

The win was worth $5,000 and earned Malby, who entered the final round with a one-stroke lead over Ritzville native Ryan Benzel, one of the seven sectional spots available for next June’s National PGA Professional Championship that will play out at the Crosswater Club in Sunriver, Ore.

The winner of that event will earn a berth in the PGA Championship next August.

“I’ve been close a lot of times,” said Malby, who finished the 54-hole section championship at 203 – 13 strokes under par and two shots clear of Benzel, an assistant pro at Seattle Golf Club, who claimed the $3,500 runner-up check after shooting a final-round 69 to finish at 205. “I guess it was just finally my time.”

Malby found himself tied with Benzel heading into the back nine, but he used birdies on the 10th and 14th holes and some wonderfully controlled play down the stretch to turn back last year’s Rosauers Open Invitational champion.

“I drove the ball well, I hit good shots, and when I had chances to make putts, I did,” he said in summing up his three days, which included a terrific wind-ravaged 65 on Wednesday. “It was just solid. My lag putting was awesome, and my speed was a factor, for sure.”

Malby’s putting speed was exceptional on the 397-yard, par-4 14th, when he rolled in a 22-foot birdie putt from the back fringe to bump his lead over Benzel to two strokes, and then played mistake-free golf the rest of the way.

“It was big,” Malby said of his birdie at 14, “because I knew Benzel was probably going to make a pretty good run, and I had no idea what Chris Mitchell (playing in the group ahead) was doing.”

Benzel, who turned in 2-under 33 but shot an even-par 36 on the back, said he sensed he was in big trouble after watching Malby run his putt on 14 into the center of the hole.

“It was tough,” he said. “I had already three-putted 11 to go one down, and I had missed another (6-foot) opportunity on the 13th to square it up again.

“When he made that, it wasn’t necessarily over, but it wasn’t something you wanted to see when you’re already one back.”

Mitchell, another Spokane native who is the head professional at Portland Golf Club, shot a final-round 70 and tied for third at 207 with Scott Rath, from Tualatin (Ore.) Country Club.