The Farmington Open

Paul C. Gomez, Farmington, AR (March 28, 2014)

Even though the calendar says it's spring, "old man winter" has held on for as long as possible in Northwest Arkansas.  The final group of the morning teed off at 40º with a 35º real feel.  The course was wet from a morning rain, and the blowing wind made the bones brittle.  Still, players from across the state came to compete at the Golf Club of Valley View.

The Palmer Flight (tour index ranging from 4.0 to 7.9): Allen Huffman of Holiday Island, AR had a 3 footer to win on the final  

hole, but it just wouldn't drop.  So, Huffman and Wayne Baldwin of Russellville, AR went off for a playoff on the treacherous 18th hole.  And then they had to do it again.  Finally, Baldwin's persistence paid off and he prevailed on the second playoff hole. Even with "ball in hand" it was a good test of golf for all skill levels.  

The Hogan Flight (tour index ranging from 8.0-12.9): Three new players to the Arkansas tour, one Texan, and one 

Coloradan filled out the Hogan flight.  Sometimes playing without preparation pays off.  Doyle Wofford of Montgomery, TX ran to the first tee and left all the stress in the parking lot.  It was a good thing, because he was trailing Tony Ambrose of Aurora, CO and Marvin Light of Farmington, AR with three holes  left to play.  The entire flight was very close to the end with only 5 strokes separating first and last place.  In the end, Wofford finished with three pars while his competitors stumbled coming in.  Wofford earned his first championship since 2013 with this victory and he won with a Srixon ball earning him a free box of golf balls.

The Jones Flight (tour index ranging from 8.0-12.9): Six players who are no strangers to competing together went at it

again on the soggy Farmington terrain.  Early on it looked like Derek Middlebrooks was going to run away with it turning a stellar front nine, but a challenging back nine took him out of the competition.  Bobby Deaton of Holiday Island, AR and Jeff Thompson of Farmington, AR made a great run with low back nines, but just couldn't overcome the front nines.  Craig Merrill of Roland, AR held on to win another Jones flight event by a hair.  Merrill also won with a Srixon golf ball.