Benzel stays on top with another 64

With the risk of the once-unheard-of practice of crowning an amateur champion somehow evolving into a warped Rosauers Open tradition, Mill Creek Country Club head professional Ryan Benzel took a pro-like stand Saturday morning.

Just minutes after Wenatchee amateur Nick Ellis had played himself into contention by shooting an 8-under-par 63 at Indian Canyon Golf Course, Benzel posted his second consecutive round of 7-under 64 and made sure Ellis, who opened with a 69, will have to play lights-out again in today’s final round to become only the second – and second consecutive – amateur to win the Northwest PGA Section’s richest event.

Benzel, who won the Rosauers in 2005, closed his second round of this 54-hole event with three consecutive birdies and an eagle-3 at the par-5 finishing hole on the 6,255-yard, par-71 Canyon layout. His big finish resulted in a 36-hole total of 14-under 128 and forged a three-stroke lead over fellow pro and former champion Rob Gibbons.

Ellis, who will be a sophomore on Washington State University’s golf team this fall, is another stroke back at 132 and tied for third place with two-time champion Jeff Coston, a teaching pro out of Semiahmoo Golf & Country Club in Blaine, Wash.

“I just finished good,” said Benzel, a former standout at Ritzville High School and the University of Idaho. “Other than that, it was just a matter of two other birdies and a whole lot of pars.

“I was never in any big trouble, but I kind of feel like I snuck my way into this one.”

Ellis, who opened with a 2-under 69 in his first Rosauers, torched Indian Canyon’s front nine with a 7-under 28 that included birdies on the last five holes.

“I hit a good shot on No. 1, got (my approach) to within a couple of feet and made birdie to get some confidence,” he said. “After that, I just kept throwing darts and rolled in a lot of putts. I was unconscious.”

Ellis’ unlikely round put him into today’s final threesome, which ranks among the most intriguing in Rosauers history.

The 19-year-old Ellis will be paired with the 29-year-old Benzel, perhaps the hottest player in the Northwest PGA Section, and Gibbons, who considers himself a blast from the past. He won his only Rosauers title in 1991 when the tournament was held at MeadowWood Golf Course because of the poor condition of Indian Canyon’s greens.

None of the three in the final group, which tees off at 11:30 this morning, expects to alter his aggressive approach on Indian Canyon’s tree-lined layout.

“You just have to make a lot birdies,” Benzel said. “I like being in the lead, but you can’t really put anything on cruise control. You still have to go out and fight like everybody else.

“In my case, I just don’t have to make up any strokes, and that’s kind of nice.”

Ellis claimed he will also keep firing his approach shots at every pin, just like he did on Friday.

“When you shoot 7 under on the front nine, you’re thinking, ‘Wow, I could shoot 59 today,’ ” the Eastmont High School graduate said. “But you have to stay in the present, take it shot for shot and see what happens.”

Gibbons, playing out of Arrowhead Golf Course in Molalla, Ore., admitted to not being in contention in a PNWPGA event in several years. He said he expects to be a little nervous heading into today’s final round.

“But that’s normal,” said the father of three daughters – ages 18, 16 and 14 – who are with him and his wife at the Rosauers this week. “I hit the ball good both days here, but I made a few more putts today. I just haven’t been playing as much because I’ve got this little group (nodding at his family) that keeps me pretty busy.”

If there’s a favorite to make a move outside of the final threesome, it is probably Coston, who always seems to finish near the top of the Rosauers leaderboard.

Coston, after opening with a 68 on Friday, managed to stay patient, despite learning of Benzel’s low second round.

“I knew Ryan posted another good score, but I also knew I had to still be patient,” said Coston, who was 1 over after his first nine holes on Friday and started off poorly again. “This is a course where, even though there are a lot of birdie opportunities, you still have to be patient.”

The field in this year’s Rosauers was cut to the low 65 pros, plus ties, and all amateurs within that range. Tee times will start today at 7:11 a.m.