Local golf notebook: Kirkland golfer hits pay dirt
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Mark Worthington, a talented Kirkland golfer who has spent eight years in golf's minor leagues, got a major-league paycheck last week.
Worthington, 29, won the A.G. Spanos Open and a $45,000 check at The Reserve course in Stockton, Calif.
The triumph also gave him the money title for the 13-stop Spanos California Golf Tour that had 13 different winners, including Port Ludlow native Mark Wurtz, this year. Worthington finished with $79,147 in earnings on the February-to-June new mini-tour.
Worthington shot 75-63-71-67 — 276 to win the event on the tour funded by Alex Spanos, owner of the San Diego Chargers. After the first round, Worthington was worried about making the cut. After the course-record second round, he was tied for first.
Worthington never three-putted during the tournament and considered the best club in his bag to be his new Aserta putter. The putter's center of gravity is near the top of the putterhead, and Worthington said the design imparts topspin and "gets the ball rolling instead of skidding."
Worthington, too, is rolling instead of skidding.
"I'm going in the right direction," said Worthington, who won the state 4A (then AAA) prep title in 1992 as a senior at Lake Washington High School. "I've been good enough to compete on the PGA and Nationwide tours the past two years."
However, Worthington, son of a semiretired University of Washington dentistry professor, has yet to make it through PGA Qualifying School to get a Tour card.
"I'm going to do it this year," he said.
Worthington took his first golf lesson from Steve Hubbard at Bellevue Municipal at age 10. Before Worthington graduated from high school, he set the course record of 11-under 60. He finished that unforgettable round by holing out from 85 yards.
His current teacher is Eric Driessen of Seattle Golf Zone. Worthington has won more than a dozen tournaments the past two years, including four on the now-defunct Cascade Golf Tour. He also has won the Lilac Invitational in Spokane the past two years and the Tri-City Invitational once. He earned a berth in the Nationwide Tour Monterrey Classic last year by qualifying on Monday and finished tied for 23rd.
Worthington is 6 feet, 205 pounds and has throttled back on his driver in pursuit of more accuracy. He considers the strength of his game to be his short game.
"I love what I do and I have to believe I'm going to be where I think I should be, which is on the PGA Tour," he said.
Free birthday round popular at Avalon
One of the best-known golf promotions in the Northwest is the policy of Avalon Golf Links outside Burlington of offering free golf on a player's birthday.
Owner Ron Hass noted dryly, "The promotion is of less value to those born in January than those in June."
During the golf season, the course averages at least one birthday round a day. Hass said the offer includes a free ice-cream sundae "so everyone leaves with a sweet taste in their mouth."
The promotion started when the 27-hole facility opened in 1991. Golfers are asked to show proof of their birthday.
Notes
• The 9-hole Monroe Golf Course closed this month but eventually will reopen. Homes will be built around the course, but Snohomish County has ruled that some type of public golf course (possibly an executive-length course) must be part of the real-estate project. For decades, Monroe has been a walkable, affordable course with a special appeal for beginners, seniors and families.
• King County has shelved plans to build a driving range at Marymoor Park in Redmond.
Craig Smith: 206-464-8279 or csmith@seattletimes.com