birdy

This is Harpool’s third time at the Idle Hour Open, placing top three in the previous two years.

Harpool recorded 21 birdies, averaging 1011-rated golf between the two rounds. A 7-under first and an 8-under second was the hot score in both rounds, which was more than enough to take down the top prize of $564.

“He plays a lot of tournaments around here, and he’s a really solid player,” Spencer said. “All the guys who play open all play pretty well and have a similar high skill level.”

Although the weather conditions were perfect for scoring, the 21-hole 6,525-foot course still showed its teeth on numerous holes. Hole nine averaged over par in all six divisions in both rounds, averaging 1.5 strokes over par in the recreational division. The tight gap off of the tee gave players enough trouble to derail any sense of momentum built up to that point.

“We cut about three or four trees out, so it was actually easier to play than in previous years,” Spencer said of the 282-foot par-3. “We call it plinko lane because it’s only about a 5 foot gap to get out to the open.”

In the advanced division, Joshua Bernard of Oronogo, Missouri, took down first place. After an 8-under first round that included a single bogey, Bernard struggled in the afternoon. After leading by five strokes to start the round, Bernard threw a 67 in the second round to win the division by a single stroke.

Michael Boshears of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, shot even-par on the day to finish first in the masters 40+ division.

A 2-under first round put Jay Manly of Chanute in a tie with Boshears, before a 6-over second round dropped him to a tie for second place with Derick Spencer of McCune.

Although he only led by two strokes after the first round, Thomas White of Coffeyville took down the masters 50+ division by seven strokes. White notched eight birdies on the way to his fourth event win since 1999.

“There’s a lot of guys who have been playing for years around here, and they’re starting to get up there in age,” Spencer said of the masters divisions, noting that these veterans have started bringing their children to compete in the tournaments. “It’s nice to see that these guys aren’t quitting, and it makes the tournaments more enjoyable.”

Wyatt Semrad of Galesburg sneaked in under par with a 2-under second round to claim victory in the intermediate division by two strokes. This was Semrad’s second event victory, his first coming earlier this year at the Neosho River Open in Chetopa.

After coming up short of a victory during a playoff for first at the PK Open in March, Jason Brewer of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, took down the recreational division by seven strokes. Brewer, in just his second tournament, shot a 2-over second round, improving by nine strokes from his first round. In a division known for its over-par golf, Brewer dropped five birdies in his second round, missing an even-par score by just a few missed circle-one putts.

Recreational division players were spoiled with their player packs, receiving two premium discs, an Innova-branded Koozie and a Prodigy umbrella. Players’ packs and open division payout was bolstered by the following sponsors:

— Labette County Tourism, $750

— Altamont Recreation Commission, $300

— The Corner Store, $250

— Altamont Disc Golf Club, $200

— City of Altamont, $100

— White’s Tax Service, $100

— Tank Connection, $100

— B.J. Express Lube, $100.

“We don’t have those big businesses that can donate all the time, and we don’t have that big capital like Tulsa or Kansas City,” Spencer said. “We try to bring in new sponsors for each event, and the community around here backs us really well. We highly appreciate all that our sponsors do to help keep the tournaments rolling.”

Spencer and M.D. Disc Golf now look to their next event in the Big Hill Open, set to take place at Big Hill Lake on May 7. The crew will also be hosting a doubles event on the same course the weekend prior. Signups for both tournaments can be found at discgolfscene.com.

Logan Harpool 58 57 (-15)

Justin Robertson 59 58 (-13)

Trevor Hastert 63 59 (-8)

Joshua Bernard 57 67 (-6)

Michael Boshears 63 67 (E)

Derick Spencer 67 67 (+4)

Huntyr Schwegman 77 73 (+20)