At some point, the good-luck charm has to be tossed aside, especially if it doesn’t fit the surroundings.
For instance, a University of Colorado graduate shouldn’t wear a red shirt to Sunday’s final round and expect it to be lucky. Not in this state.
Not that John Douma is crediting his Colorado Open victory at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club to a simple change of clothes. But after finishing second each of the past two years, a switch might not have hurt.
“I wore the yellow Buffaloes shirt today instead of the red Cornhuskers,” Douma said. “I caught a lot of flak over the last couple of years for wearing red on Sunday out here.”
If not for the break Douma caught on the 18th hole, he might have been forced into a playoff with Cortez resident Micah Rudosky, despite starting the blistering-hot day with a two-stroke lead over the rest of the field and a five-stroke advantage over Rudosky. Douma finished at 11-under-par 274.
Douma’s drive on the 18th hole was right down the middle of the fairway. But his second shot sailed over the cart path and took off for waist-high grass, meaning a penalty drop that could have set up the playoff.
The ball somehow stopped four inches from the hazard, probably thanks to a wooden railing that kept it in play.
Might have been the shirt, but the approach that came next was all Douma.
“I still had a really difficult shot to the green,” Douma said. “But it’s probably one of the most memorable shots I’ve hit.”
Douma’s shot landed 12 feet below the hole, leaving him an easy two-putt for the win.
And saved him from a rough back nine that saw him cough up a four-shot lead with double bogey, bogey and bogey on the 13th, 14th and 15th holes, allowing Rudosky to close the gap.
Most of the contenders on the women’s side probably wished Walailak Satarak had the same troubles Douma did. But Satarak, a native of Bangkok, Thailand, learned her lesson on the first day, when back-nine troubles ruined a four-birdie front nine.
“For the second day, I had to change my mind-set a little bit,” Satarak said. “I had to just be happy with par on a tough course.”
Par was more than enough to win.
Satarak finished with 287, 1-under in the tournament, four shots ahead of Dede Cusimano and five ahead of Longmont native Kelly Jacques, who entered the day one shot back at 2-under.
Satarak three-putted on the seventh to let Jacques within two shots, but the amateur finally had an off-day, shooting 78.
“I wasn’t making the short putts or the up-and-downs I was making the first few days,” Jacques said.
And one week after Satarak finished second at a Canadian tournament, it was nice to break through.
“It’s my first professional win against more than 30 players,” Satarak said. “This feels great.”
On the men’s side, two-time PGA Tour winner Mark Wiebe finished seven shots back at 281 in his first Colorado Open appearance since 1987.
Wiebe turns 50 on Sept. 13, making him eligible for the Champions Tour, where the heat might not be quite as bad as Sunday’s near-triple-digit temperatures.
“I didn’t putt very well. I left a lot out there,” Wiebe said. “I think I got tired. It was my second straight week in the heat.”
Staff writer Joel A. Erickson can be reached at 303-954-1033 or jerickson@denverpost.com.
