WISCONSIN STATE SENIOR OPEN
SUPPORTING PARTNERS
Write-Up provided by Rick Pledl ( pledl@mailbag.com) and Wisconsin.Golf
NEKOOSA – David Roesch and Derek Stendahl had an enjoyable little two-man game going Wednesday afternoon at Wausau Country Club, sharing a cart while they took turns splitting fairways and striking crisp approach shots, despite a howling wind.
They were neck and neck all day on a difficult day for scoring, having separated themselves slightly from the tournament field. Then they got to the par-4 18th hole, where their games diverged wildly, sealing Stendahl’s fate as runner-up and sending Roesch to his first Wisconsin State Senior Open title.
“It was fun – we were having a good time,” Roesch said. “I knew we were tied, but it was more just a battle with the elements. The wind was blowing 30 mph.”
The lopsided final hole began with Roesch and Stendahl tied at the top at 3 under par and both striking it well. But with the tee moved-up for the final round, Stendahl admitted maybe he didn’t need to hit driver on the tight dogleg-right finishing hole.
But Stendahl, a PGA professional from Maple Grove, Minn., went with the long stick and hit it through the fairway on the right-bending hole – an intended cut-shot that didn’t cut. And it got much, much worse from there.
Stendahl’s second shot, from rough so heavy that it turned his clubhead over on impact, only went as far as a grove of trees on the left side of the fairway, a tough spot considering the low branches hanging in the way of his backswing.
“I still thought I had a chance to get it on the green, but there was this one branch hanging down,” Stendahl said. “And I know (Roesch is) up there close, so I have to go for it.”
His punch-out from under the trees on his third shot bounced into a front bunker, and he failed to get up-and-down from the sand after his bogey putt hung on the edge of the hole.
Maybe if his 25-foot birdie putt on No. 17 had gone in, as it surely looked like it would, he’d have selected a different club on the 18th tee. With a one-stroke lead, he might have gone with the 3-wood instead.
“That would have changed the complexion of 18. I think if I’m leading, I play it differently,” Stendahl said. “But I hit driver. We had a good match going down to the end.”
Meantime, Roesch played the 18th hole almost perfectly. He didn’t make his 15-foot birdie putt, but he carved a pretty tee shot around the corner, also with a driver, and hit a beautiful 7-iron into the green before tapping in for his seventh par in a row.
“I saw where Derek’s drive went, but I didn’t know if he had a shot over there,” Roesch said. “I hit a good shot in there, but once I saw he was going to make (at least) bogey, I just lagged that putt down there and tapped it in. It was nice to not have to make that putt.”
Roesch finished the State Senior Open at 3-under 139 on rounds of 70-69. Stendahl finished two strokes back at 1-under 141 after shooting 69-72.
Ryan Helminen of Menasha (70-73) and Kurt Mantyla (71-72) tied for third place at 1-over 143.
Roesch, who lives in Menomonee Falls and teaches out of Storm’s Golf Range, previously won the Wisconsin State Open, in 2004, so adding the senior title this week provided an excellent career bookend. But at just 52 years old, Roesch will have several more years to compete in the event.
His State Senior Open victory also serves as a bit of redemption for Roesch after he missed the cut in two major appearances this season – at the Senior PGA Championship and U.S. Senior Open.
Roesch began Wednesday’s second and final round one stroke behind Stendahl, who shot 69 and shared the first-round lead at 2-under with PGA professional Jim Schuman of Menomonee Falls and amateur Michael Gustafson of Verona.
After Tuesday’s opening round, which was delayed for an hour due to unplayable conditions following a morning downpour in the north woods, 20 players sat within four strokes of the lead.
It tightened further at the top of the leaderboard Wednesday, as five players shared the lead at 2-under early on the back nine. One of those was Roesch, and then he got to 3-under with a birdie on the par-4 11th hole. From there, as it turned out, he just had to par in, but that was no simple matter in these conditions.
“It was tricky,” Stendahl said of the conditions. “Between the wind and the hole locations, it was a lot of thought that went into it. These greens are severe enough where, if you have the wrong club, it can spin back and then you have 40 feet.”
Roesch agreed, saying he also had some issues selecting the proper club on the back nine. On certain shots, like from the fairway on the 16th hole, he stepped away a couple times gauging the breeze – or maybe hoping it would ease up. On the 16th, the choice was between 9-iron or wedge, and he went with the former.
“That’s part of the battle, picking the right clubs in that wind,” Roesch said.
Stendahl, 55, has played the Wisconsin State Senior Open four times now, and this week he finished in the runner-up position for the third time.
“There are a lot of good players here, and you feel you have to step on the gas,” Stendahl added. “But as the day progressed you just had to be patient. Pars were good today, especially on the back nine when the wind really picked up.”
Gustafson tied for fifth place and also for low amateur honors with Chip Summers of Richfield at 2-over 144. Summers shot 74-70 and Gustafson shot 69-75.
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A big thank you to the staff and membership at Wausau Country Club for being a terrific host site and also to our three event partners for their gracious support of the championship, The Suter Ward Group at Morgan Stanley, TaylorMade Golf, and Sentry Insurance.