Stable play gives Koelbel and Krsnich first Charlie Coe victory

Following a first round that featured a tournament-high 16 Stableford points, the mid-am duo of Walt Koelbel (Denver, Colo.) and Pete Krsnich (Wichita, Kan.) were able to maintain their wire-to-wire lead in the Charlie Coe Invitational, eventually claiming the title with a 54-hole total of +31, one shot clear of runners-up Ted Neville (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and Andy Latowski (San Diego, Calif.), who finished at +30.

It was the first time participating in the Charlie Coe Invitational as a team for Koelbel and Krsnich, who finished their final round with eight Stableford points, comprising of five birdies (+10) and two bogeys. (-2). It was the tenth time in the 31-year history of the Invitational that a first-time team captured the title, while the 13th time overall that the eventual champions held a wire-to-wire lead.

Entering Friday’s final round two points clear of Houston, Tex. pair Gregory Pipkin and Eric Lodge, Koelbel and Krsnich picked up four Stableford points with birdies on the first and sixth holes by Krsnich, who would also birdie the par 5 eighth hole, en route to shooting an even par 72 on his own ball in the final round.

Neville and Latowski, who started the final round five points behind the eventual champions, attempted to make an early comeback, adding eight points on their outward nine, and 12 points overall. They came up just short following birdies by Krsnich on the par 4 15th and par 3 16th hole to close out the victory.

In the senior division, a pair of Texans also held a wire-to-wire lead to emerge victorious, as Flower Mound’s Bart Goodwin and Irving’s Mike Peck finished with a total of 27 Stableford points, four ahead of runners-up John Hull (Rapid City, S.D.) and Dave Honerkamp (Scottsdale, Ariz.). It was the 13th time a winner in the senior division held the lead through each of the three tournament rounds.

After Goodwin hit his tee shot on the par 3 16th in the water, Peck was able to seal the victory with a 25-foot birdie putt on the same hole to earn his team two points.