Robbie Ziegler realized as he turned in his entry fee for the Royal Oaks Invitational Tournament his official golf handicap number had expired at Willamette Valley Country Club, so he tossed a curveball on his entry form.
Name: Robbie Ziegler.
Home course: Wilsonville Family Fun Center Mini Golf.
Well, mark that down as the first ROIT title for Bullwinkles.
Ziegler separated himself from the field with a 4-under 68 to coast to a four stroke win on Sunday at Royal Oaks County Club, claiming the title for the second year in a row.
This time it was a runaway.
The former University of Oregon golfer, Canby native and now Adidas golf employee admittedly doesn’t play as much as he did in his college days, but that didn’t stop him from piecing together one of his best tournament rounds in memory.
“I surprised myself a little bit,” Ziegler said. “One of my best friends is on the bag, we just had a blast all week.
“It’s tough to get it going that low in tournaments. Especially now when I’m not playing a whole lot anymore. I just had some putts drop early and confidence throughout the rest of the round.”
It helped, too, that many of the tournament leaders have played together for years and keep the mood light throughout.
When the announcer read off Ziegler’s name at the first tee box, followed by the course he was representing, “Wilsonville Family Fun Center Mini Golf,” the gallery shared a laugh.
He was one of four golfers to finish under par in a weekend where the region’s top amateurs were met with lots of rain. Recent Seattle U grad Joe Harvie, who played golf for the Redhawks, finished tied for second at 2-under with Royal Oaks member Jake O’Neal and course scholarship winner, former 4A state title winner from Camas and current Boise State golfer Brian Humphreys.
O’Neal’s 2-under 70 was his best round of the weekend.
Royal Oaks member Jonathan Romano finished in fifth place at even par. The top five placers amass points for their respective amateur world rankings, and the top eight spots in every flight received a pro shop gift card.
Ziegler walked away with a $750 pro shop credit, the max amount of award money an amateur tournament can award.
Former Fort Vancouver standout Spencer Tibbits, now Oregon State’s No. 1 golfer, was one shot out of the lead at 2-under going into the final day but finished tied for sixth at 1-over. That was still good enough to earn him $350 in pro shop credit for placing fourth in the championship flight.
Shot of the day
Romano, who finished fifth, faced a second shot in the bunker on par three hole 12 that hugged the left side of the green, with the pin placed close to the edge.
With limited green to work with between the edge of the bunker and the pin, Romano opted not to buck the conventional sand shot. He took a putter and firmly sent the ball rolling across the trap, up over the lip, onto the green, where it broke perfectly in line and dropped into the cup.
The daring birdie putt elicited loud cheers.
