Winning the Falls Country Club men’s club championship for the second time was literally par for the course Tuesday for Travis Blais of International Falls.
Blais, 21, who previously won the tournament in 2008 at age 17, golfed an even-par 72 for the first 18 holes and an-even par 37 for the nine-hole final to place first with the top overall score of 109 among the eight finalists.
“I had a consistent round,” said Blais. “I just went out there and made a bunch of pars.”
Blais, a 2009 Falls High School graduate who is now attending the community college in Cloquet to seek a degree in law enforcement, missed out this summer on qualifying for the U.S. Amateur Public Links national championship in Utah after losing in a four-hole playoff in Medina.
On Tuesday, he had been in a three-way tie for third in the Falls Country Club men’s club championship after 18 holes, trailing two 2011 FHS graduates who are now playing golf at the collegiate level.
Glenn Walls, who now golfs for the University of Northern Iowa, led with a 70 going into the final nine holes, while last year’s club champion, Jeff Shermoen, who plays for Bellevue University in Nebraska, was a stroke behind at 71.
Two other FHS graduates who will be golfing next season at Bemidji State University — Derek Riley and Brett Musich — were tied with Blais at 72 going into the final nine holes.
Walls ran into trouble on the final nine and finished out of the top four, while Shermoen and Riley tied for second with Musich placing fourth.
The men’s club tournament attracted 52 golfers, who were divided into the championship and six other flights.
Among golfers age 50 and older who played 18 holes, Bill Hughes was the senior champion after carding a 71. Hughes this summer had also won the senior title in the Smokey Bear Invitational.
Falls Country Club PGA professional Tom O’Connell said the final event of the season will be the Frostbite Falls Scramble on Sept. 8 when more than 100 golfers are expected to participate in the 18-hole, four-person scramble.
