Local Golf Report: Natalie Patrick champs crowned

The tournament scene is now in full swing around the Hi-Line, and this past weekend saw the annual Natalie Patrick Foundation Scramble take place at Prairie Farms Golf Course.

The tournament is an outstanding fund raiser for a number of great causes, and it's also one of the most well-attended tournaments each summer. Last Saturday's tourney was no exception as a full field of 4-person scramble teams battled it out in tough conditions at Prairie Farms.

And, the winning team that emerged was G and G Farms. The team, composed of Dan Wagner, Billy Wagner, Julie Reesor and Roger Freier were victorious in the tournament, and that squad has now won multiple Natalie Patrick titles. So, congrats to those four, as well as everybody who made the tournament the great success that it is.

Next up on the tourney schedule at Prairie Farms is the annual NALSF Scramble this Saturday.

Meanwhile, in men's league action last Tuesday, Korb Construction earned high-team honors with 22 points. The team is composed of Pat Foster, Kyle Miller, Patch Wirtzberger and Scott Miller. Kyle Miller, Kyle Sheppard and Roman Surber all shared low gross with rounds of 38, while Foster was low net with a 32.

Last Wednesday night saw Havre Ford (my team playing without me) rack up 22.5 points for high-team honors. Kevin Harada, Dave Boles, Brett Gilman and Steve Steinmetz made up the squad. A host of players shot 39 for low gross, including Jeff Jensen, Jim Kato, Matt Hedstrom, Hoover Peterson, Jim Kirkpatrick and Harada. Ryan Mapes was low net with a 31.

In ladies league last Thursday night, Havre Heating & AC finished as the high team with 23.5 points. Kelsey Ward, Kim Evans, Kim Purkett and Jill Reber made up the team. Ali Ward was low gross with a 39, while Mel Gilman was low net with a 30.5.

And finally, I talked about whining in last week's column in regards to the U.S. Open. I'll admit, the whining was kept to a minimum about the course during this past weekend's tournament … that is until the USGA absolutely tried to train wreck Dustin Johnson's bid for his first major title. As all of you saw, the one-stroke penalty Johnson incurred for his ball moving on the green, and, the USGA's horrible decision to tell Johnson and other players that there wouldn't be a ruling until after the round, didn't end up costing Johnson the championship, but it did strike a chord with a lot of players. Players like Rory McIlroy and Jordan Speith took to Twitter to voice their displeasure with the USGA on the matter, and for once, I totally agreed with the complaining.

And speaking of someone who doesn't complain, how fun it was for me to watch Johnson finish the job on Sunday. It was especially interesting for me, because a year ago, I stood a mere 15 feet away from the 18th green at Chambers Bay as Johnson three-putted his way to losing the 2015 U.S. Open. It was something I never thought I'd see live, so, to watch him completely redeem himself, in the face of a ridiculous amount of controversy, that was a fitting and exciting end to a pretty interesting U.S. Open at Oakmont.

Prairie Farms Golf Leagues Standings

Tuesday Night Men

1. Bing n Bobs- 42.5

2. Tilleman Motor CO- 39.5

3. Dan Wagner Plumbing- 39

4. Hole 19- 39

5. Korb Construction- 38.5

6. Havre Ford- 37.5

7. Milk River Engineering (Misfits)- 37

8. Cowan & Son- 35

9. Vic's Place- 34.5

10. BKD Law- 34

11. Patrick Construction- 33

12. Stockman Bank- 32.5

13. Rock Solid- 31.5

14. Northern Edge- 30.5

Wednesday Night Men

1. Gallery Lounge- 40.5

2. Havre Ford- 39.5

3. Valley Furniture – 39

4. Master Sports -38

5. DA Davidson- 37

6. Mariani Insurance- 36.5

7. Michelob Light- 36.5

8. Aarons- 36

9. Koefod Agency- 34.5

10. S&M Construction- 33.5

11. Independence Bank- 32.5

12. Bear Paw Credit Union- 28.5

Ladies League

DA Davidson- 133.5

Scharfe, Kato & Co.- 113

Northern Montana Hospital- 109.5 (Bye Week)

Independence Bank- 109.5

Patrick Construction- 98

Makin Waves- 97.5

Havre Heating & A/C- 96

Schubert Agency- 88

Prairie Farms- 80

Western Drug- 78

Rock Solid- 66.5