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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 28, 2019)
GOLF Wednesday, august 28, 2019 HeRMIstOnHeRaLd.COM • A9 Hermiston’s Lerten has a big game and a soft heart By ANNIE FOWLER STAFF WRITER There are two things you should know about Colby Lerten. He’s a heck of a golfer for being just 12 years old, and he has a passion for helping others. Lerten, who started sixth grade at Sandstone Middle School in Hermiston this week, won an Oregon Golf Association junior tour- nament at Wildhorse Golf Course in Pendleton on Aug. 9. The following day, he won another OGA junior event at La Grande. His luck ran out Aug. 13 in The Dalles, finishing third to a pair of golfers a year older. But his performance at the first two events qualified him for the Charlotte Tour- nament of Champions on Sept. 21 at Creekside Golf Club in Salem. It will be his second trip to the event. “If you win one of the qualifiers, you get to go play for a trophy and be the best in the state,” Lerten said. “I won two of three. In The Dalles, the guys who beat me are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the state. They have 3 and 9 handicaps. I’m a 25.” Lerten finished eighth in the Charlotte last year in the 11-year-old division, but he said he has it figured out this year. “If you stay focused, it doesn’t get to you,” he said. “If you let them get in front of your game, you could lose the tournament.” The Charlotte is an 18-hole stroke play compe- tition. Girls 8-11 and boys 8-9 play nine holes. A chip off the old block Lerten, who also plays lacrosse and basketball and runs cross-country, got his first set of clubs when he was about 2 years old. They were made of plastic and they were for right-handed players. No problem. Lerten just turned the club around so he could hit left-handed. His parents, Kris and Stacey, started playing golf when Lerten was a toddler, and he has grown up play- ing Big River Golf Course staff photo by Benjamin Lonergan A bridge crosses between the 11th and 12th holes at the Pendleton Country Club. Wildhorse enhances area’s golfing options with purchase of country club staff photo by Ben Lonergan Colby Lerten, 12, shows off his swing at the Big River Golf Course in Umatilla on Wednesday evening. By ALEX CASTLE STAFF WRITER in Umatilla. “He can beat his mom, but not me — yet,” Kris Lerten said. “His short game might be better than mine. He spends most of his time playing with adults. It’s a fun family thing.” Lerten and his mom tied for fourth gross in the sec- ond flight with a 77 in the Campus Life Golf Tourna- ment on Saturday. “This tournament helps kids,” Lerten said before- hand. “I want to golf, and helping kids is exciting.” Lerten has a big heart for a young man. He has been attending Rotary meetings in Hermiston this summer with his grandma, Jeanne Jewett, and helped the organization with its booth at the Uma- tilla County Fair. He likes that Rotary helps people locally and internationally. An honor student, Ler- ten also was in Leadership Club at Rocky Heights Ele- mentary School in the fifth grade. Lerten would like to take his game to the PGA, but not After purchasing the Pendleton Country Club and completing a number of renovations around its course at Wildhorse Resort & Casino earlier this year, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reser- vation is aiming to provide a premiere golfing experi- ence to the area. “The golf course and facilities are the perfect supplement to the ser- vices Wildhorse Resort & Casino currently pro- vides,” Wildhorse Pub- lic Relations Manager Mary Liberty-Traugh- ber said via email of the newly acquired property. “The golf course provides options for players when the Wildhorse golf course is fully booked or closed for tournament play.” Following the purchase, CTUIR delegated Pendle- ton Country Club opera- tions to Wildhorse, which has operated its current 18-hole golf course on its resort property for the last 25 years. The PCC property totals 248.5 acres in the Birch Creek Valley and is located seven miles south of Inter- state-84. The course sits on the southwest edge of the original land reserved for the Walla Walla, Cayuse and Umatilla tribes in the Treaty of 1855. Along with combining PCC with its previously owned course at Wild- horse, the acquisition was significant to CTUIR in taking control of the con- servation efforts and water rights associated with the land. Amenities at PCC include a pro shop, din- ing room, bar, 120 seat banquet room, an outdoor pool, a fitness center and RV parking. While Liberty-Traugh- ber said long term devel- opment plans are still in the works, so far Wild- to be famous or pocket a lot of money. “I have been watch- ing tournaments on TV,” he said. “I want to donate to St. Jude’s and the American Heart Association. The more kids who are helped have a chance to play golf and be successful in what they want to do.” Love of the game Lerten’s parents have fos- tered his love of golf. They are members at Big River, they take him to tourna- ments, have him work with a swing coach, and recently, they put a bunker and put- ting green in their backyard. “I can practice whenever I want,” Lerten said. Lerten has worked with Chris Issacson at Wine Val- ley Golf Course in Walla Walla on his swing, and he likes to play the differ- ent courses in the area, with Wildhorse being his favorite. “Chris has taught me a lot of stuff,” Lerten said. “Wild- horse has better greens and they are fast. They have a nice clubhouse, a golf simu- lator and a restaurant.” His top course is Las Vegas National. He has played there once, and would like a return trip, before he’s 21. His favorite player is Jor- dan Spieth, but his favorite person to play golf with is recent Hermiston graduate Garrett McClannahan. “I’ve played with some pretty good golfers, but Gar- rett is my favorite to play with,” Lerten said. Lerten has a few years before he can play for Herm- iston High School, which is the first step in his planned golfing future. “I want to get a schol- arship to the University of Oregon and play in the PGA,” he said. “Not a lot of my friends golf, but some have been learning the game. I want to grow the game more.” Editor’s note: Colby Lerten is the grandson of Jeanne Jewett, multimedia consultant for the Hermis- ton Herald. Tournament tees off for Special Olympics HERMISTON HERALD The fourth annual Herm- iston/Pendleton Special Olympics Fundraising Golf Tournament raised $6,351. The winning team, spon- sored by Ensure CBD/Jeff Edmundson, was led by captain Mitch McClanna- han and included his daugh- ter, Madison, his son, Gar- rett, and Carlos Chavez. The foursome shot a blis- tering score of 51 during the 18-hole scramble for- mat contest. They received assistance from mulligans and the popular red rope score enhancement devices, which contributed to the net earnings of the event, said Kristi Smalley, Special Olympics communications manager. The Aug. 10 event was held at Echo Hills Golf Course. Participants were treated to a barbecue ham- burger lunch served by rep- resentatives of Our Lady of Angels Knights of Colum- bus Council #3999 and Doris Boatright, who has supported the local program for more than 40 years as a bowling coach and board member. Although not placing in the tournament, a team of four Special Olympics sup- porters comprised of Union Local Program head golf coach Pam Thompson, Pat Vaughn, Hermiston/Pendle- ton golf coach Cal Harris and John Edmundson, grand- father of Special Olympics athlete Jillian Smalley, shot a 59. The foursome wore horse has made changes to PCC’s kitchen and bar areas to reflect their own facilities for the sake of consistency. Ultimately, the goal is to maintain PCC as an attrac- tion in the area. To meet that goal, Wild- horse and CTUIR will have to address the mem- bership problems that plagued PCC up to its sale. Liberty-Traughber said previous PCC member- ships are being honored by Wildhorse, though the course has been opened to the public. With that change and other improvements to come, Liberty-Traughber said Wildhorse is planning on an increase in players at the course. The purchase and investment into improv- ing the experience at PCC compliments the efforts at Wildhorse to upgrade facilities at its on-site golf course. While a number of other renovations are underway throughout the resort, the golf course was headlined by a brand new clubhouse that’s already been finished. “Renovations are nec- essary as facilities age and business grow,” Lib- erty-Traughber said. “A new, larger clubhouse was needed to accommodate growing numbers of guests and the services they expect and deserve.” The new building stands in the same spot as before and now holds a large ban- quet room, bar and a cov- ered patio to go along with its more spacious pro shop. There’s also a new work room for tournament scor- ing and rules evaluations, along with additional mon- itors placed around the building to update players of their scores in real time during tournaments. Another new feature is a simulator room, which uses Doppler radar to help golfers analyze their swing and improve their games. Golf tournament slices into impact fund Photo contributed by Kristi smalley Special Olympics supporters John Edmundson, Pat Vaughn, Pam Thompson and Cal Harris shot a 59 during the Hermiston/Pendleton Special Olympics Fundraising Golf Tournament, held Aug. 10 at Echo Hills Golf Course. Special Olympics golf shirts provided by Special Olym- pics Oregon. Gold Medal Sponsors for the event included Uma- tilla Electric Cooperative, A & A Mini Storage, Rog- er’s Toyota of Hermiston, Jim Purswell’s Pumps Co. Inc., Knights of Columbus and Wyatt Harris/Northwest Mutual. Special Olympics pro- vides athletic training and competitions for individuals with intellectual and devel- opmental disabilities at no charge. Local athletes will begin bowling and swim- ming starting the first week in September. For more information, contact local coordinator Angela Schnei- der at 541-314-0166. UMATILLA — A siz- zling time is in store for those who tee off in the upcoming Hermiston Fire- fighters Fundraiser. In its second year, the four-person golf scram- ble tournament is Satur- day, Sept. 7. Check-in is at 8 a.m. with a shotgun start at 10 a.m. at Big River Golf Course, 709 Willa- mette Ave., Umatilla. The cost is $100 per person and includes lunch, a golf cart and 18 holes of golf. It also features door prizes, raffles and cash prizes. Mulligans, putter strings and “cut the cor- ner” advantages also are available for purchase Presented by Herm- iston professional fire- fighters L-2752, the event raises money for its com- munity impact fund, which is used for community projects. To register your team, call 541-561-8013. To reserve a golf cart, call 541-922-3006.
