Dan Serie (middle) won his fourth club tournament championship during the Men’s Club Tournament played at the Luverne Country Club over the weekend. Joe Dorhout (left) placed third. Chris Nowatzki (right) finished second.By John RittenhouseDan Serie left little doubt that he’s the best golfer the Luverne Country Club has to offer during the 65th Men’s Club Tournament played Saturday and Sunday.Serie led the championship flight after all four rounds during the two-day, 36-hole tournament, winning his fourth club championship since 1991.Serie, who has won three of the last four club tournaments, met all the challenges that confronted him during the 2003 version of the event.He withstood windy conditions and lightning-fast greens to shoot a five-over-par 72 on Saturday. On Sunday, Serie survived humid, 90-degree temperatures and a late challenge by runner-up Chris Nowatzki to shoot a one-over-par 73 and win the championship flight by four strokes."I played pretty well," Serie said, at tournament’s end. "I actually think I played better Saturday than I did on Sunday. I got a few lucky breaks on Sunday to stay ahead of Chris, who is due to win won of these tournaments."The problem for Nowatzki and the rest of the 11 players in the championship flight on Sunday was Serie’s not giving mood.He doubled his first-day lead of two strokes to four during Sunday’s opening round. Serie did leave the door open for Nowatzki to trim the difference to two strokes during the final round, but he made par five times and recorded one birdie over the final six holes to close the door on the competition.After a miserable performance during the 2002 version of the event, Serie served notice that things would be different this year with his play in Saturday’s first round.Serie fired a one-over-par 37 during the opening round to sport a two-shot lead over Darwin Elbers and Jon Jarchow, who shot 79s. Steve Smedsrud and Joe Dorhout were three strokes back with 40s.The eventual champion was unable to match his early success during Saturday’s second round, when Serie shot a four-over-par 40. It proved to be the highest score for a nine-hole round during the tournament.The competition, however, was unable to cut into the two-shot lead Serie brought into the second round.Nowatzki, who carded a 44 during the first round, shot an impressive one-under-par 35 during the second round to climb within two shots of Serie (77-79). Smedsrud was three shots back after shooting his second 40 of the day, and Jarchow (81) trailed by four shots after shooting a 41."The course was tough to play Saturday," Serie said. "The wind was blowing 30 to 35 miles-per-hour, and that made it hard on all of us. Winds like that made what were fast greens in the first place even faster."The humidity helped slow down the greens on Sunday, but the heat was a factor everyone had to endure.Serie and Nowatzki were paired with Smedsrud and Elbers in Sunday’s final group, but the title-chase turned into a showdown between Serie and Nowatzki as Elbers and Smedsrud carded 43- and 46-stroke opening rounds to slip out of contention.Dorhout, a member of the second-to-the-last group, played well by shooting a 75 Sunday. He climbed to within four strokes of Serie at one point in the final round, but he ended up finishing third with 157, seven strokes behind the champion.Like Saturday, Serie got off to a good start by shooting his second 37 of the tournament.Nowatzki countered with a 39, leaving him with a four-shot deficit (114-118) to make up.Nowatzki climbed within three shots of the lead when he made par on the first hole of the fourth round, while Serie took a bogey.It looked like Nowatzki would pick up some more strokes when he reached the green on the par-5 second hole with his second shot before two-putting for birdie.Serie, however, came up with a birdie of his own on the same hole.After both his drive and second shots found the right rough, Serie faced a 110-yard approach with trees and a sand trap in the line to the green. Serie met the challenge by striking a shot that eluded the obstacles and came to rest six inches away from the cup."I was thinking bogey," Serie admitted after the event. "I thought if I could get a bogey, I still would be ahead of Chris. I took a 5-iron and punched it. It was a good shot, but it was a very lucky shot."Serie proceeded to miss the green with his tee shot on the par-3 third hole, which led to his last bogey of the tournament. Nowatzki made par to cut Serie’s lead to two strokes with six holes left to play.The players proceeded to par the fourth and fifth holes before another defining moment fell in Serie’s favor on the sixth green.Serie faced a 15-foot putt for birdie with a four-foot break from right to left. To the amazement of the crowd, Serie sank the putt to increase his lead to three shots after Nowatzki made par."It definitely was the putt of the tournament for me," Serie offered. "The thing is I had a similar putt on the same hole during the first round, so I knew the line. I told my caddie that it was about time I made a putt. Making that putt made the situation a lot more comfortable for me."Both players made par on the seventh hole before Serie iced the championship by making par on the eighth hole. Nowatzki, who had to chip the ball onto the fairway after his drive rolled under an evergreen in the right rough, made bogey on the same hole to slip four shots off the pace.Both players made par on the ninth hole, which ended with Serie sporting a 150-154 lead over the challenger. Both players shot 36s during the final round.Serie said having a four-shot lead to play with heading into the final round was crucial."It was a lot better to be ahead by four strokes than being down by four. I was just trying to hit fairways and greens and make par," he said. "I knew Chris would make some birdies the way he was playing. I think Chris and Joe (Dorhout) are two of the better golfers out here who have never won a club tournament. But I was comfortable with my swing heading into the final round, and I knew wouldn’t make too many mistakes."The champion credits caddie Paul Ebert (Elk River), a long-time friend and Luverne High School classmate, as being a calming influence on him during the two-day event."This is the 10th year Paul has been my caddie, and this was the third time I’ve won the tournament with him. He does a great job," Serie said. Here is look at the final results of all players in the championship flight.Dan Serie 37-40-37-36-150, Chris Nowatzki 44-35-39-36-154, Joe Dorhout 40-42-38-37-157, Tim Connell 41-42-40-36-159, Darwin Elbers 39-40-43-39-161, Victor Van Dyk 45-39-39-42-165, Jon Jarchow 39-41-41-45-166, Steve Smedsrud 40-40-46-42-168, Cory Stratton 44-40-43-42-169, Micky Sehr 43-39-45-42-169, Craig Hohn 42-42-42-46-172.
