The First Tee Quad-Cities Amateur Tour: Newsroom

Flaherty, Jump share Palmer Hills Amateur title with Mother Nature
By Tom Johnston, The Rock Island Argus/ Moline Dispatch
Monday, May 5, 2003

Tim Flaherty and Mike Jump may have shared the top prize of the Palmer Hills Amateur golf tournament, but Mother Nature definitely came out the winner in Sunday's final round.

Jump got what he wished for Saturday when he hoped for nasty weather, figuring his steady game would hold up in the first event of the 2003 First Tee of the Quad Cities Amateur Tour series.

Flaherty, on the other hand, learned a whole lot about himself this weekend as he held his composure through an average Saturday and a rough Sunday start.

As it turned out, the conditions -- which called for winter stocking caps, GORE-TEX outerwear and even rain gloves -- on a dreary, wet, windy and cold day at the Bettendorf course dictated play. When thunderstorms finally joined the day's weather buffet, play was halted at 5 p.m. The final 15 players were not able to complete their rounds, forcing tournament officials to revert back to 9-hole scores for Sunday and cutting Championship flight play to 27 holes.

Flaherty didn't let a bogey on the first hole ruin Sunday's round. He played the next eight in even par for a 37, That was good enough to tie Jump, who started the day tied for the lead with Jonas DeWitte after Saturday's 1-under 69. Jump was sailing along at 1-under through five after a birdie on No. 2, but then caught the bogey train with mistakes on the final four holes that left him at 3-over 39.

They tied at 108, one shot ahead of Chris Wilkins.

Wilkins, a three-time champ on the local amateur circuit, easily could have walked off with the trophy and first-place points. He was working on an even-par front side through eight holes. But a double-bogey on the par-4 9th -- when he sailed an approach shot over the green and into shrubs -- cost him. A par and the tourney would have been his.

Flaherty was 1-over through 16 holes and Jump 3-over through 14 when play was halted.

"I normally play pretty well in bad weather," said Jump. "I think my patience is pretty good and I can grind out a lot of pars; I don't get too frustrated with a bad shot because I know everybody is going to hit them. You just try to hit the least amount of bad shots."

Like Saturday, most of Jump's problems came on the greens.

"A couple of three-putts and a couple of bad shots," said Jump of his string of bogeys ending the front 9 that included two three-putts. "I just couldn't get the ball to the hole."

While it would have been easy to lose focus with the weather conditions, Flaherty did just the opposite. He didn't erupt after a topped tee shot in No. 1 rolled into the creek, leading to a bogey.

"I've learned how to be a little more patient and just realize it's going to be a long day," said Flaherty, who two years ago won the Byron Hills Am with a great Sunday after nearly walking off the course during a troublesome first round. "I've learned not to put so much pressure on myself thinking you have to go ou t there and never make bogeys. We are going to do that; we are amateurs."

Good amateurs, though, who showed that despite less than ideal conditions they could still play the game.

"It's nice to tie with a good guy like TIm," said Jump, who is back on the Tour working toward the John Deere Classis exemption that goes to the First Tee Tour's season-long points champ.

Other flights:

Ron Rode added another 75 to keep his position atop the Seniors Division and win that flight of play by three strokes over Barry Black (76-77 --153). With the earliest tee times, the seniors were able to play a 36-hole event with all the golfers finishing. Bill Brewster shot a Sunday 80 (157) for third.

In the Championship B Flight that was also shortened to 27 holes, Dean Pearson and Derek Sandknop tied for teh title with 39s for a 119 total. Tim Johansen (82-40 -- 122) was third.