If Ben Portie was looking to make a statement early in Sunday’s final round of the HealthOne Colorado Open, the message came through loud and clear.
Six consecutive birdies to start the day tends to resonate with fellow competitors.
The left-hander from Westminster rode that birdie train straight to the biggest victory of his career. He never lost the lead after his run and he subsequently won a tournament for the second straight weekend. Seven days after claiming the South Dakota Open title, he earned $23,000 for his Colorado Open victory — his biggest payday ever.
Portie is the second Colorado resident in the last three years to win the Open, joining Derek Tolan (2009).
“I’ve always dreamed of this,” the 34-year-old former University of Colorado golfer said.
Portie’s dream start to his final round proved to be a nightmare for his opponents.
“Shooting 4 under par on the front, I thought I was going to be in good shape — and I lost ground,” said Aurora’s Gunner Wiebe. “I was four back starting the day and I was six back going into the back nine. It’s hard when you see someone scoring that low.”
Defending champion Nathan Lashley — the only serious challenger to Portie down the stretch — managed a 5-under-par 31 on the front nine, but still couldn’t keep up with his playing partner.
“He just played great,” Lashley said of Portie. “I’ve never seen a putting round quite like that, to be honest with you. So there was nothing I could do. He just played better.”
With a 6-under-par 30 on the front nine — and a 6-under 65 overall Sunday — Portie posted a 16-under 268 total to win by three over Lashley, who closed with a 68.
A year after tying for second in the Colorado Open, Wiebe shared third place Sunday at 272 with Clay Ogden of Farmington, Utah. Wiebe carded a 66 on Sunday and Ogden a 69.
Wiebe had a very strong final three rounds — 67-67-66 and still lost considerable ground to Portie, who went 64-67-65.
Portie went into the final day one out of the lead, but promptly chipped in for birdie on No. 1, then sank five straight birdie putts: a 20-footer on No. 2, a 6-incher on No. 3, 8-footers on Nos. 4 and 5, and a 30-footer on No. 6.
That’s a nice way to start the tournament that Portie calls his “major”.
“I’ve had six birdies in a row, but never starting out,” he said. “It never felt like I was having that many in a row because Nate (Lashley) was right up there with me too. He birdies four of the first six (No. 2 through 5). It felt like I had to keep doing it to keep pace. And even though I made a lot of birdies, it didn’t feel easy to me. But, yeah, that was a great start.”
Though Lashley added a birdie on No. 8 to get within one — and missed an 8-foot birdie attempt on 9 — he could never catch Portie. Lashley didn’t make another birdie, and he bogeyed No. 15 and went into the last hole two behind.
Portie (pictured left), who made his only Sunday bogey on No. 17, put his approach on No. 18 into the front bunker as the wind howled. But he hit a long sand shot to 4 feet from the hole and sank the par putt, while Lashley three-putted for bogey to leave the margin at three.
In addition to Sunday’s win earning Portie $23,000, it landed him an exemption in the Canadian Professional Golf Tour’s Desert Dunes Classic, which will be played Nov. 3-6 in Desert Hot Springs, Calif.
Portie, a former CU assistant golf coach, has been looking to get back into college coaching full time, either as a head coach or as an assistant again. But he has certainly had a stellar July as a player, finishing second in a playoff at the Wyoming Open, and winning the South Dakota Open and the Colorado Open.
“It’s hard to give it up,” he said about playing tournament golf. “I always keep coming back to it. I’ve been playing really good this summer. Just when you think you’re ready to quit and get a job, this is what happens.”
Nevertheless, he hopes that any coaching job he might land would give him time to still play a few tournaments each summer. There is an opening for a men’s assistant coach at CU, and Portie said he very well may apply for that job. He’s also applied for some head coaching positions.
Portie becomes the sixth former CU golfer to win the Colorado Open since 1996, joining Jonathan Kaye (1996), Bill Riddle (1999), Scott Petersen (2000), John Douma (2007) and Tolan (2009).
Blair Low Amateur After Schovee Penalized: Ogden Utah’s Zac Blair, son of two-time Colorado Open champion Jim Blair, claimed low amateur honors at 279 on Sunday.
Matt Schovee of Cherry Hills Village was in line to become low amateur, but a two-stroke penalty incurred mid-round Sunday left him one behind Blair. Schovee was assessed the penalty after his caddie/father rode on a golf cart to try to locate Matt’s rangefinder. Except for designated spots between some greens and tees, neither the player nor his caddie is allowed to ride in a cart during the round.
For Blair, it was his second straight week of collecting a trophy. He was coming off a victory in the Pacific Northwest Amateur.
“Obviously, I wish I would have done better overall (than 18th), but it was fun,” the 20-year-old from Brigham Young University said of the Colorado Open. “The course was good and it was a good field.”
Meanwhile, Jim Blair finished 58th in the Open. That earned him just $380, but that was just enough to move him into first place on the all-time Colorado Open money list. Blair has earned $112,859, about $15 more than second-place Bill Loeffler.
Top-10s for New Pros Wiebe, Ziegler: Gunner Wiebe and Steve Ziegler were Colorado high school seniors the same year and they both turned professional just last month. And on Sunday, they shared another distinction: They were both top-10 finishers at the Colorado Open.
Wiebe, who placed second last year as an amateur, finished third this time, while Ziegler ended up sixth. Wiebe shot 67-67-66 the last three rounds, while Ziegler went 69-66-66.
“I thought the course was playing harder than last year,” Wiebe said. “If someone would have told me you’re going to shoot 12 under, I would have thought I would have had a pretty good chance to win.”
As for Ziegler, the two-time state high school champion said, “There’s a lot of good signs from this week. I feel like I’m making some strides forward.”
Both players plan to take a crack at PGA Tour qualifying in the fall.
Notable: After four days of jockeying back and forth on the Colorado Open scoreboard, brothers Zen and Zahkai Brown finished tied for 32nd. Zen, a pro, went 68-70-67-78–283, while Zahkai, an amateur, posted 69-70-74-70–283. … Jeff Dorsey, a high-ranking executive with Colorado Open title sponsor HealthOne, was presented the Robert M. Kirchner Award, which is given to a person who has contributed greatly to golf in the state of Colorado.
