Whittaker to Face Kokesh in Senior Players' Final

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MORTON -- Leif Carlson won his second Minnesota Senior Amateur title at The Minikahda Club in 2010. He finished one stroke ahead of both David Kokesh and Rick Sandretto. 

For Kokesh, the crucial hole was the 17th on the final day. Playing in a threesome with Carlson and Sandretto, he hit the best tee shot of the group, but it landed on the left side of the fairway and kicked hard left into the rough, ending up in a lie that looked like a vulture's nest. Carlson and Sandretto both pulled their tee shots; both landed in the left fairway bunker; and both bounced out of the bunker into the rough just beyond, a few feet left of where Kokesh had ended up, and about 100 yards from the green. 

Carlson and Sandretto both had lies that were fairly benign. They were able to hit their wedge shots onto the green and make pars. Kokesh, having barely missed the fairway, found his ball almost hidden from view in a tangle of long, extremely possessive grass. Maybe Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy could have gotten it onto the green from there, but no one in Minnesota's 55-and-over set was going to do it. Kokesh swung as hard as he could, but managed only to dump it into the front bunker. From there, he made a bogey, which ultimately cost him a chance to play off for the championship.

On Tuesday, Kokesh and Carlson went down to the wire in another MGA tournament, with another chance for a title at stake.

This time it was in the quarterfinals of the Senior Players' Championship at Dacotah Ridge GC, and it was Kokesh who prevailed, 1 up. Once again, the 17th hole played a critical part in the drama. The match was all square after Carlson birdied the 15th hole, but Kokesh regained the lead with a par at the par-3 16th.

Carlson then birdied the short (310-yard), par-4 17th, but Kokesh matched it. Both players parred the par-5 18th, and Kokesh went on to the afternoon semifinals.

There, he won again, 7&6 over Richard Blooston. The 69-year-old Blooston, playing his fourth match in less than 30 hours, got off to a shaky start, making bogeys on two of the first three holes, and Kokesh took it from there. After the fourth and fifth holes were halved with pars, he birdied three of the next seven holes and closed out the match with a birdie at the 12th. 

So now Kokesh will play Steve Whittaker, the reigning Senior Amateur champ, on Wednesday morning in the Senior Players' final.

Walter Hagen, probably golf's all-time greatest showman, liked to bolster his image as someone who loved a party (his partying was, in fact, much more image than reality) by occasionally arriving for his matches in a limosine, wearing a tuxedo and brandishing a glass of champagne in his hand.

Given what Whittaker has been through in the last eight months (his second knee replacement in October and major back surgery in January), plus what he's going to go through in the near future (rotator cuff surgery on Friday), you might almost expect him to be arriving for his matches this week at Dacotah Ridge in an ambulance. Nevertheless, once he sets foot on the course, Whittaker shows no weakness.

His quarterfinal opponent, Jon Empanger, the 2011 State Senior Publinx champ, played the first 11 holes against Whittaker on Tuesday in 1 under, only to find himself 1 down. Whittaker birdied the 12th to go 2 up and won the 14th with a par on his way to a 3&1 victory.

He then played Kevin Treacy in the semis, and Treacy probably never knew what hit him. Whittaker built a 3 up lead through 10 holes mainly by making pars, and he finished with a flourish, closing Treacy out 6&5 with three consecutive birdies at the 11th, 12th and 13th.   

13th MGA Senior Players' Championship

At Dacotah Ridge Golf Club

Par 72, 6,217 yards

Morton

First-round results 

Robert Leaf def. Randy Garber 26 holes

Charles Kost def. Brent Chozen 2&1

Richard Blooston def. Jeff Wiltse 1 up

James Price def. Don Howe 3&2

David Kokesh def. David Rehfeldt 6&4

Timothy Connell def. Craig Hanson 2&1

Leif Carlson def. Tom Nortstrom 1 up

Bob Patrick def. Bill Tadewald 2&1

Steve Whittaker def. Hank Wilkinson 6&5

Gret Mattson def. Steve Herzog 4&2

Jon Empanger def. Bill Anderson 1 up

Terry O'Donnell def. Michael Frascone 2&1

Patrick Vincelli def. Rick Ehrmanntraut 2&1

Kevin Treacy def. Peter Rocheford 7&6

Alan Henningsgaard def. Larry Barnacle 1 up

Terry Moores III def. Brian Love 2&1

Round of 16

Kost def. Leaf 2&1

Blooston def. Price 2&1

Kokesh def. Connell 1 up

Carlson def. Patrick 2&1

Whittaker def. Mattson 2&1

Empanger def. O'Donnell 1 up

Treacy def. Vincelli 1 up

Moores def. Henningsgaard 2&1

Quarterfinals

Blooston def. Kost 5&4

Kokesh def. Carlson 1 up

Whittaker def. Empanger 3&1

Treacy def. Moores 1 up

Semifinals

Kokesh def. Blooston 7&6

Whittaker def. Treacy 6&5