Humps and bumps and bears await the 39 men and eight women ready to march across the Hill Course at Moose Run when the second annual Arctic Valley Open begins Saturday morning.
Among the men, Paul Blanche and Michael Oldenkamp are two known quantities ranked No. 8 and No. 9, respectively on the AGB Tour. We’ll label them 2-to-1 favorites. The women’s favorite is likely Teresa Fischer at even money. The rest of the golfers are underdogs. All odds listed here for nothing more than comic relief and are complete B.S.
Defending champion Brad Ross tops the list of long shots. Ross is a savvy player who managed the Creek nicely in last summer’s final round, in which he convincingly walked away from Herschel Deaton to win the title. We’ll call him 8-to-1 to repeat.
Deaton (19-to-1), a master of ceremonies famous for conducting his Gaggle each weekend, is also famous for bisecting every fairway. Not a long hitter, Deaton does all the important things well enough to win many of his plethora of side wagers. Will it be enough to become champion?
Paul Smith (9-to-1) will play alongside the two favorites and the defending champ. Armed with monster drives, the winner of the Mid-July Mash is fresh off some lessons from Rob Nelson and ready to compete.
Tyler McKinley and Jack Newell are a couple of youngsters with powerful swings and talent to spare. How their games have progressed this summer is anyone’s guess. We’ll call them 50-to-1 and see if there are any takers.
Jeremy Peters is about a 150-1 shot who told the AGB he is really just tagging along to witness the spectacle and find out if the rest of the championship flight is any good. Nathan Johnson, Ryan Shahan, Tim Covelos, Denny Davis, Jake McGraw and Matt DeSalernos complete the list and all are complete mysteries. One or all could be failed mini-tour pros bent on teaching us Alaskans a lesson. We’ll give ’em all 5-to-1 odds and adjust before Sunday’s final round on the Creek Course.
On the women’s side, Deb Mitchell and Toyoko Hawkins are both students of the game and have been known to dominate at Moose Run. Connie Rummel frequently wins money in Deaton Gaggles on the weekend. Cathy Garrick and Jane Shaw are familiar names, therefore are veterans of competitive golf to be wary of. We’ll give all of them 10-to-1 odds.
A quick word on the Hill Course.
The Hill is the closest thing to British Open golf we have in Alaska. Many would say Palmer resembles links golf more closely, however, the firm conditions at the Hill call for more bump-and-run shots than any other course. A golfer must navigate moguls in every fairway on their way to small, firm greens. Elevation changes are extreme on the front nine, but the Hill plays relatively short, making it one of the easiest courses in Alaska. Scores could be below par, if the bears don’t eat the golfers before they finish. Black bears are seen frequently on both Moose Run courses and there was even word of a Grizzly and her cub last weekend.
