By John Rittenhouse
Experience was served during the 64th Annual Men's Club Tournament played at the Luverne Country Club over the weekend.
While conventional wisdom led many to believe the LCC's two-time defending champion would stroll to victory in the championship flight, a battle-tested, seasoned veteran had other ideas.
At the age of 53, Tim Connell finds himself at what could be described as a crossroads in his golfing life.
He may not be able to send the ball as far as the younger players in the championship flight do, but Connell still possesses an outstanding short game and a burning desire to play competitive golf.
The way things turned out this weekend, Connell's skills and determination proved to be enough to capture his fourth club championship.
"This is great," Connell said Sunday night, while standing in the shade of the scorer's tent after winning the title.
"I'm 53 now, and you can look into it, but I think I'm probably the oldest player to win a club championship out here. This is really great."
Although Connell says he's happy just to be playing competitive golf in his 50s, he played like a true champion Saturday and Sunday. He grabbed the lead with a sensational round to open the tournament Saturday afternoon, and he never gave it up, while his confidence grew over the final 27 holes of play.
Connell found himself playing in the final group of players to start the tournament Saturday. It was a threesome, which included two-time defending champ Dan Serie and Joe Dorhout.
While his playing partners were much younger, it was Connell who dictated play by firing a two-under-par 34 over the first nine holes.
"It was a pretty good round," said Connell. "I had two birdies (on holes No. 6 and 9) and seven pars."
Connell's first-round effort gave him some early breathing room.
Dorhout shot a solid 37 during the same round, which was good for second place at the time. Chris Nowatzki, who was playing in a foursome in front of Connell, was five shots back after carding a 39.
Connell was unable to keep up the blistering pace he set during the opening round, but he did turn in a solid 39 on the back nine while extending his lead in the process.
He ended the day shooting a one-over-par 73, which was four shots better than Dorhout's 77.
Serie, who struggled during the first round by shooting a 42, battled back to card a 37 during the second nine to finish six strokes back at 79. Mike Haakenson shot a 40-39 Saturday to share third place with Serie.
"I just had a good two rounds on Saturday. The big thing was I only had 26 putts during an 18-hole round," Connell said.
With the comfortable lead, the LCC champion in 1993, 1994 and 1997 turned to his past experiences in an attempt to keep the lead.
"I figured all I had to do was stay with the guys (Serie and Dorhout) in my group. They were the two closest guys to me, so I knew I had to shoot about the same as they did," Connell said.
Connell accomplished his goal of staying with the players in the final threesome during Sunday's first round, but it didn't work in his favor.
He outshot (42-43) both Dorhout and Serie to increase his lead to five strokes over Dorhout and seven over Serie, but another player assumed the role of ConnellÕs main challenger at that point.
Nowatzki, who was playing in the group in front of the leaders for the second straight round , made a strong first-round charge.
After starting the day seven strokes behind Connell, Nowatzki put together a two-over-par round of 38 strokes during Sunday's opening round. NowatzkiÕs effort trimmed Connell's lead to three strokes (115-118) and gave him second place heading into the final round.
Connell didnÕt know it at the time, but Nowatzki was knocking at the door.
While the leader was plagued by a pair of double-bogeys (on the third and eighth holes) during his 42-stroke round, he mentally recovered in time to record a birdie on the par-4 ninth hole.
That birdie gave Connell an emotional lift that helped him ice the championship early in the final round.
Still playing in the group in front of Connell, Nowatzki took a bogey on the first hole of the fourth round and made par on the second hole.
They were decent efforts, but they weren't good enough to stay with Connell.
Connell opened the fourth round with a tee shot in the middle of the first fairway. After a 140-yard approach shot came to rest six to eight feet from the hole, Connell used a two-putt par to gain a four shot lead over Nowatzki.
Two well-struck woods left Connell a few yards short of the green on the par-5 second hole, where he chipped to within two feet of the hole before tapping in a birdie putt to make it a five-shot difference.
"That was a big three-hole stretch for me. The birdie on No. 9 to end the third round got me going again. I played both holes well to start the second round. My birdie attempt on No. 1 just lipped the cup and rolled out. I hit two really good shots on No. 2, chipped to within two feet and made birdie," Connell said.
Nowatzki made par on the third hole to gain one stroke on the leader, but he lost a golden opportunity to slice the lead down some more when he three-putted the fifth green for a bogey five. Connell also bogeyed the fourth hole to remain four shots in front.
After both Connell and Nowatzki made par on the 14th hole, Connell extended his lead to six strokes on No. 15.
Nowatzki found sand with his second shot on 15, and it led to a double bogey. Connell, on the other hand, was on the green in regulation and nearly missed another birdie attempt before settling for a par.
Connell found the sand on the right side of the par-3 16th hole, and he ended up taking a double-bogey five. Nowatzki, however, didnÕt gain much ground as he recorded a bogey five on the same hole to trail by five.
Nowatzki did make it a four-stroke difference with a par on the 17th hole, but Connell made birdie on the 18th hole to increase his final margin of victory to five strokes (154-159) over the runner up.
Connell was quick to congratulate Nowatzki and Dorhout, who placed third with a 160. He feels both players will be a factor in the MenÕs Club Tournament for many years to come.
At the same time, Connell shared some of the pain felt by Serie, who lost out on an opportunity to make LCC history by winning a third straight championship.
"Dan Serie is the best player out there (at the LCC) right now. He had an unfortunate couple of days, and I give him a lot of credit for hanging in there like he did," Connell said.
"He had some trouble with his swing, which is something that happens to all of us from time to time. He'll be back, and he still could be the first person to win three championships in a row."
Here is a look at the complete results produced by all 11 players in the championship flight.
Connell 34-39-42-39-154, Nowatzki 39-41-38-41-159, Dorhout 37-40-43-40-160, Dick Iveland 40-42-39-43-161, Haakenson 40-39-43-40-162, Steve Smedsrud 40-42-39-43-164, Gary Golla 42-40-43-39-164, Tim Knoll 44-37-43-40-164, Serie 42-37-43-46-168.