Sports

Sunday, Nov. 16, 2008

Familiar faces in the hunt at Straight Down

Atascadero native Roger Tambellini and partner Mike Rowley are near the top at the 12th annual golf pro-am event going into today’s final round

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Like they have been the past two years, Roger Tambellini and Mike Rowley are in contention near the top of the leaderboard after the first day of the Straight Down Fall Classic Golf Tournament.

The back-to-back champions finished two strokes behind the teams of Tim Fleming/Alan Bratton and Don Hurter/Tom Krystyn after the first day of the best-ball tournament at San Luis Obispo Country Club on Saturday.

“We always start out relatively good and then hopefully make a charge (today),” said Tambellini, an Atascadero High graduate. “That’s usually the plan. You always want to shoot as low as possible every day but that’s kind of what has happened in the past. We’ve played a really good round on Sunday so that’s what we’re hoping for (today).”

Heading into today’s final round, it remains anybody’s tournament.

Bunched ahead of Tambellini and Rowley, who shot 7-under 65, are four teams at 8-under. Included in that group is PGA Tour pro Jason Gore and partner Kevin Marsh, and PGA Tour pro Ricky Barnes and partner Don Woodward.

Gore was in position to put his team at 9-under but his 8-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole circled completely around the cup before lipping out.

“I thought I made it right in the middle. It just didn’t go in,” Gore said. “It looked like it was perfect. I guess that’s why the hole is round.”

Gore and Marsh, who were roommates at Pepperdine and on the golf team there together, were out in front most of the day with Fleming and Bratton close behind.

Fleming and Bratton, finishing on hole No. 9, jumped ahead on their back 9 and were helped when Gore/Marsh bogeyed No. 16 to fall to 8-under.

Hurter and Krystyn were 3-under on the back 9 and were inches from dropping another stroke, but Krystyn missed about an 8-foot birdie putt on No. 18. The putt came with Fleming and Bratton already in the clubhouse.

The missed putts by both Gore and Krystyn on the 18th hole were just one example of the day’s tricky pin placements. Teams shot consistently low scores despite being forced to shoot at pins tucked to the side of the green or near sharp breaks.

“That’s the entire tournament,” Fleming said about the pin placements. “It’s great, that’s what it needs to be. You have to know where the pin is and where you need to be to have a reasonable putt. Every hole, you can put yourself in a bad spot.”

Another noticeable element to the tournament is the atmosphere. With no ropes keeping the gallery off the course, fans are free to walk and talk with the golfers.

For Tambellini, the laid-back atmosphere of The Straight Down Fall Classic will give way to the final round of the hectic and pressure-packed PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, which starts in two weeks. He must compete in the tournament for his PGA Tour card after finishing 33rd on the Nationwide Tour money list.

“That’s a pressure-packed week, but I’ve gotten through it before,” Tambellini said. “I know what to expect and how to prepare for it.” Only the top 25 players on the Nationwide Tour money list received their PGA Tour card.

Because of his finish in the top 40 of the money list, Tambellini earned an exemption into the final round of the qualifying tournament. He will compete at the Jack Nicholas Tournament Course from Dec. 3-8.

Tambellini’s finish in the Nationwide Tour secured him a full exemption on the Nationwide Tour next year.