It’s been an unforgettable three-week stretch for Nathan Lashley.
In the course of 15 days, the professional golfer from Scottsdale Ariz., has won three significant tournaments, played nine rounds in a combined 47 under par, and picked up checks worth a total of $80,000.
The only thing better would be if his parents were here to enjoy the success with him. Six years ago, both of them, along with Nathan’s girlfriend, were killed in the crash of a small plane in Wyoming.
“I’d love to have my parents here to see this,” Lashley said after winning the HealthOne Colorado Open on Sunday. “If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here right now. They did everything for me when I was a junior golfer. I owe everything to them. I wish they were here.”
Nathan has certainly done Rod and Char Lashley proud. In consecutive weeks, he’s claimed titles in the Wyoming Open, the Waterloo Open and the Colorado Open. His latest hit was a two-stroke victory — worth $23,000 — on Sunday at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club. After leading going into the final round, at no point on Sunday did Lashley fall out of the top spot.
In the end, some Coloradans gave serious chase on Sunday, but none put the 27-year-old under major pressure coming down the stretch. Lashley, who grew up in Scottsbluff, Neb., and played golf at the University of Arizona, shot a 3-under-par 68 on Sunday to finish at 16-under-par 268 for four rounds.
Gunner Wiebe of Aurora came in second, the best finish by an amateur in the Open since Brian Guetz was runner-up in 1997. The 21-year-old University of San Diego golfer birdied the final hole to end up two behind Lashley after a 69 on Sunday. Matt Zions of Lakewood and former Colorado Springs resident Tom Glissmeyer shared third place at 272 with Canadian Tour player Brad Fritsch. Glissmeyer, who went 11 under par in the final two days, closed with a 67, while Zions had a 68 and Fritsch a 71.
After being paired with Lashley (pictured at left) on Saturday, Zions didn’t think the Arizonan would waver, and he was right. For the entire tournament, Lashley made 22 birdies and six bogeys.
“After playing with Nate, he’s pretty damn steady,” Zions said. “I was very impressed by how he gets it around.”
And that’s been a common theme this month for Lashley, who also won the 2009 Utah Open.
“I’m just playing really well — solid golf every round,” he said. “I’m hitting it well, putting it well. Am I surprised winning three in a row? Yes. But I always knew I could do it. It’s a lot of fun right now. This kind of stuff doesn’t happen very often. I’ve got to soak it up and enjoy it the next week or so.”
Lashley was tied for the lead briefly at different times early in the round with Fritsch and Wiebe, but he gave himself a nice cushion with three birdies on the stretch of holes 10-13. No one came closer than two strokes the rest of the way.
“Nate played a very nice solid round of golf,” Wiebe said. “He deserves to win. He played the best today and that showed for sure.”
Wiebe (pictured at left) was trying to join his dad, current Champions Tour player Mark Wiebe, as a Colorado Open champion. He also was attempting to become just the third amateur winner in the 46 Colorado Opens.
“I’m really proud of myself,” Wiebe said. “This is a great week for me; it really is. If I have a decent putter today I at least challenge Nate a little more than I did. But I can’t be too disappointed. Second as an amateur in a pro event is a great accomplishment and I’ll take a lot out of it.”
Though he had bigger things in mind, Wiebe won the low-amateur competition by 13 strokes.
“This isn’t a fluke, by any means, in my opinion,” Wiebe said of his second-place finish overall. “I’ve worked hard enough to be able to put myself in positions like this. I’m going to keep working hard, and hopefully next year I can come back and win this. And hopefully there are a lot more wins out there for me this coming year.”
Zions, who plays on the European Challenge Tour, birdied his first four holes on Sunday and stood 14 under par in the middle of the back nine, but he bogeyed 15 and 16 and needed a 60-foot putt to save par on 18.
“It’s nice to keep putting myself in position to win,” Zions said. “More often than not I’m just getting beat by guys playing better. Nate did that today.”
Glissmeyer, perhaps best known for qualifying for the 2003 U.S. Open as a 16-year-old, was 1 under par for the tournament entering the weekend, but made a run with rounds of 64-67 on Saturday and Sunday.
“Obviously, I would have liked to get a few more (under par) going into the weekend,” said Glissmeyer, now a Las Vegas resident. “That would have put me in a little better position where I wouldn’t have to scramble to make up a lot of ground. But this was a good week to get things back on track and finish the year strong.”
“¢CHIP SHOTS: Win his win Sunday, Lashley receives an exemption to play in the Canadian Tour’s Desert Dunes Classic the first week of November in Palm Springs, Calif. “¦ Lashley’s 16-under-par winning total came up six strokes shy of Derek Tolan’s record 262, set last year. “¦ On Sunday, former Colorado Open director Gail Godbey received the Robert M. Kirchner Award, given to a person who has made great contributions to the game of golf in Colorado.
