Joking about his course-record round of 10-under-par 61 during the pro-am of the 2009 Colorado Open, Chris Kamin said if it were always that easy, “it would be a video game, not golf.”
By that criteria, Sunday at Green Valley Ranch shouldn’t have been easy for Derek Tolan. Playing in the final group of the final round, the University of Colorado graduate not only faced the pressure of performing before a throng of family members and friends, but also maintaining the two-shot lead he carried into the last 18 holes of play.
And, given the way John Douma was playing, birdieing nine of his last 10 holes, that margin could have been obliterated. Instead, Tolan acted like he was wielding a joystick from the comfort of his living room.
The ultimate measurement of Tolan’s control was that, despite Douma’s barrage, he didn’t lose a single stroke of his advantage. Beginning the day at a tournament record 15-under, Tolan birdied his first three holes en route to a 7-under 64; his final total of 22-under 262 set another record for the event and netted his second victory as a pro.
“This was huge,” the Highlands Ranch native said, referring to more than his winner’s check of $23,000. “When I was younger, playing in this tournament, I always made sure to come back out and watch the leaders come in when I finished my round.
“And the other cool thing was that, whoever won, you would hear about it for the rest of the year from all the guys out there. Just to be in the mix was really, really cool, and to win in front of so many people that I know makes it really special.”
Tolan won a mini-tour event in New Mexico last month and felt so comfortable about his game entering the Colorado Open that he set a target score of 20-under for the week. He reached that figure when he made the turn Sunday. At that point he adjusted his thinking, moving his ideal figure to 24-under.
That wasn’t a case of being cocky, he said, but rather in anticipation of a big move by Douma, one of his playing partners.
“I’ve learned my lesson the hard way about messing up in the final round of a tournament,” Tolan said. “And John has been in this event something like five times and never finished worse than second. He’s capable of anything, so what I wanted to do was put the score out there somewhere where it couldn’t be reached.”
When Tolan hit his second shot into a greenside bunker on the 464-yard, par-4 15th hole, his father John, walking along the fairway, wondered aloud why Derek didn’t take a more conservative approach — especially with Douma sitting snug to the hole and looking at birdie. It didn’t matter. Tolan holed out for his three, making a moot point of Douma’s putt.
The same thing happened again on the following hole — Douma’s approach shot landing inside Tolan’s, but Tolan rolling in a birdie putt before Douma had a chance to make any inroads on his deficit.
Douma’s 18-under would have been good enough to win all but one of the previous 44 tournaments. Instead, the 2007 champion had to settle for second place.
“I was hoping there would be some wind or something to toughen up the course, but it was a perfect day for scoring,” Douma said. “I was playing ultra-aggressively on the back nine to try to make a move, but Derek didn’t flinch.”
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com
