Hiccups are nothing new for Zahkai Brown during Navajo Trail Open week.
It’s the sneezes and sniffles that could prove bothersome this time around at the NTO.
“My allergies are the worst part of my game,” the Arvada professional said after Thursday’s NTO Pro-Am. “I don’t know what it is.”
Still, overall, Brown’s game appeared healthy Thursday – at least for 17 of the 18 holes. As was the case during last year’s tournament, Thursday’s hiccup had some volume – he hit three balls out-of-bounds en route to an 11 on the par-5 17th.
But he didn’t appear fazed. After all, for the most part, Thursday was a practice round for the pros. And, when it did count, Brown bounced back from a quadruple-bogey on the front nine of the final round last year for an easy four-shot victory. He also four-putted the first hole of last year’s tourney.
He admitted that, if it were Friday, Saturday or Sunday at the NTO, he probably would have done things differently on No. 17. After hitting his tee shot out of bounds to the right, he bombed his second tee shot to about 190 yards from the green, but behind the tall tree that fronts the green on the right side. His first attempt to skirt the tree went out of bounds-right off a branch of the tree, and as the pro-am has a practice-round feel for the pros and with nothing really to lose, he tried the same approach with his next swing – with the same result. Even with the 11, he managed a casual 4-over-par 75 for the day, meaning he was 2-under on the other 17 holes.
“I’m trying to think better,” Brown said of things he wanted to work on Thursday. “But I took an 11, so ...
“But I took second in my last tournament (the Saltwater Classic in Riverton, Wyoming, in late May). I’m hitting it good, and I like (Hillcrest).”
For Brown – and many other traveling professionals – the NTO essentially is the beginning of what will be a busy summer on the road. After the NTO, Brown will stay in the area for the San Juan Open in Farmington, then attempt to qualify for several events on the Web.com Tour – the primary feeder tour for the PGA Tour. Then it’s on to the Waterloo (Iowa) Open, the Colorado Open and a pair of Dakotas Tour events.
Heavy hearts at Hillcrest
With a 2.8 handicap, Jose Soto earned a place in the top amateur flight for the NTO. But Soto, 56, of Farmington, died Tuesday after the raft he was in flipped in Durango Whitewater Park.
According to John Vickers, head pro at Hillcrest, Soto had played in several tournaments at Hillcrest, including the recent Morehart-Murphy Auto Center Youth Baseball event. With a sub-3 handicap, Soto had earned a spot in the 36-player championship flight for this week’s NTO.
Vickers said the Hillcrest Junior Golf Foundation, of which the NTO benefits, plans to send something to the Soto family.
Let the real games begin
After unofficial practice rounds Wednesday and Thursday’s pro-am, play heats up Friday with the first round of the NTO. Amateurs start teeing off at 7:30 a.m., with Brown getting the pros started at 1:10 p.m. – all off Nos. 1 and 10 to accommodate the 220-player field (40 pros, 180 amateurs).
Then, in the second round Saturday, Brown again will lead the pros off, but this time at 7:54 a.m. For Sunday’s final round, the pros again will take center stage starting at around 1 p.m.
With the tournament, Hillcrest, the only public golf course in Durango, is closed to the public – including the driving range and practice facilities – through Sunday. It marks the only time the course is closed to the public during the season.
bpeterson@durangoherald.com
