It all came together last week for San Juan Island’s Darren Black.
The 29-year-old pro at San Juan Golf & Country Club shot an even 200 at the Rosauers Open Invitational to claim a share of a three-way tie for sixth place at the three-day tournament at Indian Canyon Golf Course in Spokane.
Tim Feenstra of Broadmoor and Bob Rannow of Sandpines each shot 200 as well.
Black saved his best for last, notching a 65 on the final day to finish at 13-under par and eight strokes behind the winner, Corey Prugh of Spokane, who tallied a blistering 192 and set a record for the 22-year-old tournament.
Prugh, who last year claimed the Oregon Open Invitational and the Pacific Northwest Assistant Championship, pocketed a $11,000 check along with the Rosauers 2009 title.
With an even 200, Black joined Feenstra and Rannow in finishing sixth among 93 of the Northwest’s top golfers. Proceeds from this year’s Rosauers Open benefit the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery and $125,000 was raised during the week-long event, which has raised $1.8 million for charity over 22 years.
Black’s no stranger to Indian Canyon, an 18-hole, golf course (par is 71) designed by E. Chandler Egan, designer of the famed golf course at Pebble Beach as well. He’d played the Canyon numerous times while in high school and in college at nearby Lewis & Clark College in Lewiston, Idaho, and had competed at the Rosauers Open twice before.
The third time proved to be the charm.
“It’s a short, tree-lined course and the fairways are pretty narrow,” Black said. “It’s pretty difficult, but I hit a lot of nice, straight shots.”
He also shrugged off three days of 90-plus degree temperatures to finish the tournament with a personal best. Unfortunately, several others, including Prugh, were burning up the course as well. Everyone had to raise their game as Prugh shot a pair of 63s — 8 under par — on the tournament’s first two days.
“I was sort of surprised at how well everybody else was playing,” said Black, who earned $3,500.
“I was looking at the trophy, the tournament’s around 22 years, and noticed with my score that I would’ve won it 12 times.”
Still, Black said that his performance at Rosauers should help to boost his confidence for the upcoming Pacific Northwest Championship, a three-day tournament and, like Rosauers, one of the five majors in the Northwest region.
Hosted at Burlington’s Avalon Golf Course Aug. 18-20, the Pacific Northwest Championship is a PGA-qualifier event with the winner earning a slot in next year’s PGA Professional National Championship.
