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Monday-Saturday, July 22-27, 2002 | |
| Bemidji Town & Country Club, Bemidji, Minnesota | ||
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| Birchmont Home | Bemidji Town & CC Home | The Vandersluis | ||
| 2001 Senior Men's Championship | ||
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| Wernick Wins Senior Men's Championship | ||||
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BY JOHN J. McRAE The Pioneer of Bemidji BEMIDJI, Minn. Bob Wernick of Rancho Mirage, Calif., might just have found a new home course - Bemidji Town and Country Club. Playing in two Birchmont Senior Division tournaments, Wernick is yet to be defeated. He first won the title in 1996 and returned this year to become champion again.
"I had pars all the way through," said Wernick. "It was a steady round. I only missed four greens in regulation and three of them were narrow misses. I was able to get up and down for pretty routine pars the whole day." The rare exception was the 12th hole when Wernick hit his drive into the trees on the left side of the fairway and was forced to hit a punch shot out. His third shot ended 30 feet from the hole, but Wernick canned the putt to retain his 3-up lead. Wernick and Barnes played evenly in the early going, with Wernick taking an early 1-up lead. Barnes, normally a magician around the green, failed to get up and down on the ninth hole for par and fell to 2-down. "I just couldn't get anything going out there today," said Barnes, a longtime Birchmont competitor. "Against a player like Bob you have to do a lot better than not make any major mistakes if you expect to win." On the way to the title, Wernick defeated Bill Olson of Grand Forks, N.D., Jim Twetten of Phoenix, Ariz., and Glen Hasselberg of Staples. Barnes opened with a win over Jeff Nelson of Bemidji and followed up with victories over Jack Seiberlich and two time defending senior champ Gerry Douglas of Bemidji. Wernick said he'll continue playing the resort tournament circuit this summer and plans to play in both the Resorters in Alexandria and the Detroit lakes Pine to Palm. One thing is certain, it'll take a topnotch effort to beat him. Wernick plays extensively on the major amateur tournament circuit each year. He is a two time qualifier for the U.S. Senior Amateur and was the medalist in qualifying in 1996. He said he very much enjoys playing in The Birchmont and it's easy to see why - two tournaments and two titles. "It's just a lot of fun," Wernick said of the Birchmont. "I've gotten to know several people here and they're very enjoyable to play with. It's a relaxing week." Wernick also had a rave review for the Bemidji Town and Country Club course. "The course is in fantastic shape," he said. "The greens are fairly quick, but extremely consistent from hole to hole. Once you get the feel, there's no one to blame if you miss a putt. "I'm going to try very hard to come back next year." View 2001 Senior Men's Championship Brackets |
