Greg Hansen's top 10 rounds of golf in Tucson history
- Updated
Star sports columnist Greg Hansen counts down the top 10 rounds of golf in Tucson history.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
Editor’s note: This summer, Star columnist Greg Hansen is counting down the top 10 of just about everything related to Tucson sports.
Today’s list: The top 10 rounds of golf in Tucson history.
Willie Kane shot rounds of 60, 61, 62 and 63 at Randolph South (now Dell Urich Golf Course) in the 1980s. It intensified his will to break 60.
He desperately wanted to shoot 58 — not 59 — because every time he got a drink at the Randolph golf complex, the 1979 scorecard of Armen Dirtadian was on display above the water fountain.
Dirtadian shot 59 in 1977 and was the only Tucsonan to break 60 until Aug. 29, 1989. That’s the day Kane’s dream came true.
He eagled the No. 3 and No. 6 holes to start, and soon eagled No. 12. The race was on. When Kane, then 26, a former UA golfer from Salpointe Catholic High, reached the 17th tee he sensed that out of thousands of rounds of golf, this would be the one for posterity.
“I was saying to myself, ‘I’m 11-under par,” he told me in 2003. “A few minutes later I was running around screaming.”
Kane drained a 15-foot birdie putt on 18 to shoot 58. It was 12-under par. It was the lowest round in Tucson history — including all of the PGA and LPGA touring pros — matched 14 years later Arizona All-American Chris Nallen.
Tucson has six members of the 59 (or 58) club, which is unusually high for any city. Here’s our list of the Top 10 rounds of golf in Tucson history:
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
Twice a first-team All-American at Arizona, Nallen began a routine round of golf with UA coaches Rick LaRose and John Knauer on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 3, 2003. They started at the No. 6 hole. By the time they reached their finishing hole, No. 5 — a 520-yard downhill par 5 with water on the right — Nallen was 11-under par.
“I’d been playing really well; I’d just won the All-American tournament in El Paso the week before,” remembers Nallen, now the assistant UA men’s golf coach. “I was like, ‘Let’s go play.’”
Nallen’s second shot at the final hole stopped on the fringe, about 20 feet from the pin. A two-putt would give him a birdie and a 59. An eagle would give him 58.
“I was a little nervous, yeah, but I kinda knew what was at stake,” he says. “Knauer was all amped up, he said, ‘Go, dawg, you gotta make it.’” And he did. It was 13-under par; Kane’s 58 was 12-under par at Randolph.
“I didn’t go nuts or anything,” says Nallen. “But it was pretty cool.”
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
Sadly, Kane, the head pro at the Randolph Golf Complex, died in 2006 after running in a half-marathon in Florida. He was 43.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
Four years before he became a PGA Tour regular, Barcelo, a Sahuaro High grad who played at Nevada, broke Jim Furyk’s course record of 63. “Coming down the 18th fairway I felt like I was in the U.S. Open,” Barcelo said. He shot 28-31—59, with eight birdies and two eagles.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
The top amateur golfer in state history, Updegraff once had scorecards on display showing his finest rounds at TCC — 61, 62, 63, 64 and so on. In fact, at 95, Updegraff recently shot 91 at his home course. “Ed had the ability that once he got to 2-under, he could take it to 5- or 6-under,” said Fred Hickle, a frequent player partner at TCC and long-time USGA official.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
At the 17th tee, Russell, the Stone Canyon director of golf, knew he needed an eagle and a birdie to shoot 59. He hit his drive at No. 17 — a tricky, short par-4 — to within 5 feet. Eagle. At 18, he needed a 16-foot birdie putt to drop. Bingo. He shot 31-28—59.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
The SCC pro, Dompier had the most unlikely 59. He got a double-eagle 2 at the No. 16 hole from 195 yards out. He needed to eagle the 18th hole, but hit his drive under a tree and had to punch out to the fairway. He then hit the shot of his life: Chipping in from 50 feet.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
The many-time city amateur champion’s 30-29—59 was groundbreaking in Tucson golf.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
The 1959 Tucson High state champion shot 29-33 but it wasn’t a by-the-book round. He birdied No. 7 after hitting a tree and bouncing on the green; he birdied No. 8 by sinking a long blast from a front bunker, and he birdied No. 18 after hitting the trees off the tee and playing an adjacent fairway on his second shot. “I had a lot of 63s and 64s, but the 62 was my lowest ever,” he said.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
The Santa Rita High grad, who played at Washington State, reached the 18th hole of the oft-unfriendly, desert course at 8-under par. He hit his second shot on the par-5 finishing hole to 35 feet. “I knew I had to make it for the record,” he said. And he did. Witz’s 32-30—62 remains a record at the east-side facility.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
A lefty from Amphitheater High School, now the director of the Crooked Tree Golf Course, Mueller has shot 62 at Arizona National, 63 at Starr Pass and 63 at Tucson National, but his 9-under 61 at El Rio when he was at Amphi is his career low. “I birdied 18, but had to get up-and-down and didn’t have a shot at an eagle,” he remembers.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
Willie Wood and David Yarnes, 61s, Forty-Niners Country Club. Wood is probably the top junior golfer in Tucson history; he shot his 61 (11-under) in 1979 as a Sabino High senior, the same year he won the U.S. Junior Amateur championship. Yarnes, also a Sabino grad, who played at Oregon State, shot his 61 three years ago.
More like this...
- Greg Hansen
Editor’s note: This summer, Star columnist Greg Hansen is counting down the top 10 of just about everything related to Tucson sports.
Today’s list: The top 10 rounds of golf in Tucson history.
Willie Kane shot rounds of 60, 61, 62 and 63 at Randolph South (now Dell Urich Golf Course) in the 1980s. It intensified his will to break 60.
He desperately wanted to shoot 58 — not 59 — because every time he got a drink at the Randolph golf complex, the 1979 scorecard of Armen Dirtadian was on display above the water fountain.
Dirtadian shot 59 in 1977 and was the only Tucsonan to break 60 until Aug. 29, 1989. That’s the day Kane’s dream came true.
He eagled the No. 3 and No. 6 holes to start, and soon eagled No. 12. The race was on. When Kane, then 26, a former UA golfer from Salpointe Catholic High, reached the 17th tee he sensed that out of thousands of rounds of golf, this would be the one for posterity.
“I was saying to myself, ‘I’m 11-under par,” he told me in 2003. “A few minutes later I was running around screaming.”
Kane drained a 15-foot birdie putt on 18 to shoot 58. It was 12-under par. It was the lowest round in Tucson history — including all of the PGA and LPGA touring pros — matched 14 years later Arizona All-American Chris Nallen.
Tucson has six members of the 59 (or 58) club, which is unusually high for any city. Here’s our list of the Top 10 rounds of golf in Tucson history:
- Greg Hansen
Twice a first-team All-American at Arizona, Nallen began a routine round of golf with UA coaches Rick LaRose and John Knauer on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 3, 2003. They started at the No. 6 hole. By the time they reached their finishing hole, No. 5 — a 520-yard downhill par 5 with water on the right — Nallen was 11-under par.
“I’d been playing really well; I’d just won the All-American tournament in El Paso the week before,” remembers Nallen, now the assistant UA men’s golf coach. “I was like, ‘Let’s go play.’”
Nallen’s second shot at the final hole stopped on the fringe, about 20 feet from the pin. A two-putt would give him a birdie and a 59. An eagle would give him 58.
“I was a little nervous, yeah, but I kinda knew what was at stake,” he says. “Knauer was all amped up, he said, ‘Go, dawg, you gotta make it.’” And he did. It was 13-under par; Kane’s 58 was 12-under par at Randolph.
“I didn’t go nuts or anything,” says Nallen. “But it was pretty cool.”
- Greg Hansen
Four years before he became a PGA Tour regular, Barcelo, a Sahuaro High grad who played at Nevada, broke Jim Furyk’s course record of 63. “Coming down the 18th fairway I felt like I was in the U.S. Open,” Barcelo said. He shot 28-31—59, with eight birdies and two eagles.
- Greg Hansen
The top amateur golfer in state history, Updegraff once had scorecards on display showing his finest rounds at TCC — 61, 62, 63, 64 and so on. In fact, at 95, Updegraff recently shot 91 at his home course. “Ed had the ability that once he got to 2-under, he could take it to 5- or 6-under,” said Fred Hickle, a frequent player partner at TCC and long-time USGA official.
- Greg Hansen
At the 17th tee, Russell, the Stone Canyon director of golf, knew he needed an eagle and a birdie to shoot 59. He hit his drive at No. 17 — a tricky, short par-4 — to within 5 feet. Eagle. At 18, he needed a 16-foot birdie putt to drop. Bingo. He shot 31-28—59.
- Greg Hansen
The SCC pro, Dompier had the most unlikely 59. He got a double-eagle 2 at the No. 16 hole from 195 yards out. He needed to eagle the 18th hole, but hit his drive under a tree and had to punch out to the fairway. He then hit the shot of his life: Chipping in from 50 feet.
- Greg Hansen
The 1959 Tucson High state champion shot 29-33 but it wasn’t a by-the-book round. He birdied No. 7 after hitting a tree and bouncing on the green; he birdied No. 8 by sinking a long blast from a front bunker, and he birdied No. 18 after hitting the trees off the tee and playing an adjacent fairway on his second shot. “I had a lot of 63s and 64s, but the 62 was my lowest ever,” he said.
- Greg Hansen
The Santa Rita High grad, who played at Washington State, reached the 18th hole of the oft-unfriendly, desert course at 8-under par. He hit his second shot on the par-5 finishing hole to 35 feet. “I knew I had to make it for the record,” he said. And he did. Witz’s 32-30—62 remains a record at the east-side facility.
- Greg Hansen
A lefty from Amphitheater High School, now the director of the Crooked Tree Golf Course, Mueller has shot 62 at Arizona National, 63 at Starr Pass and 63 at Tucson National, but his 9-under 61 at El Rio when he was at Amphi is his career low. “I birdied 18, but had to get up-and-down and didn’t have a shot at an eagle,” he remembers.
- Greg Hansen
Willie Wood and David Yarnes, 61s, Forty-Niners Country Club. Wood is probably the top junior golfer in Tucson history; he shot his 61 (11-under) in 1979 as a Sabino High senior, the same year he won the U.S. Junior Amateur championship. Yarnes, also a Sabino grad, who played at Oregon State, shot his 61 three years ago.
