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SOUTHERN OREGON GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS Bills starts fast Inspired by movie, he leads SOGC senior qualifying Comment By Tim Trower Mail Tribune Follow @@MTsports MailTribune.com By Tim Trower Mail Tribune Follow @@MTsports Posted Aug. 30, 2016 at 8:45 PM Updated Aug 30, 2016 at 8:57 PM By Tim Trower Mail Tribune Follow @@MTsports Posted Aug. 30, 2016 at 8:45 PM Updated Aug 30, 2016 at 8:57 PM --> SOGC RECAP: Brad Bills, a former men's regular and junior-senior winner, shoots 71 to lead the seniors after the first day of qualifying. UP NEXT: Women and out-of-... » Read more X SOGC RECAP: Brad Bills, a former men's regular and junior-senior winner, shoots 71 to lead the seniors after the first day of qualifying. UP NEXT: Women and out-of-town men qualify today at Rogue Valley Country Club. » Social News Brad Bills was seeking answers for his golf game. He found them Monday night while watching a movie, The Legend of Bagger Vance. "It happened to be on the Golf Channel," said Bills, who shot a 1-under-par 71 Tuesday to lead men's senior division qualifying in the Southern Oregon Golf Championships at Rogue Valley Country Club. He recalled a scene where the star was struggling in a matchup against superstars Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen. His caddie, Bagger Vance, told him: Watch Bobby Jones, watch the way he focuses, watch how effortlessly he swings the club. "I thought to myself, 'Crap, I've got too much stuff in my head,’" said Bills. "I'm swinging too hard. Just focus and swing smooth." The light bulb went on and the ball found darkness at the bottom of the cup more frequently as he kick-started his bid for a championship in a division he has yet to win. Bills won the men's regular in 1993 and the junior-senior in 2009. He's also been medalist in those divisions. Local men qualified on Tuesday in the 87th running of the tournament, and women and out-of-town men qualify today. If Bills' score holds up, it'll be the first time he medaled as a senior. In other divisions, South Medford High senior-to-be Reese Fisher is leading the men's regular with a 69. Kevin Murphy is second at 71. In the junior-senior, Rich Owen fashioned a 73, and in the super senior, Dan Dixon and Rick Young led the way with 73s. Despite Bills' impressive resume over the years, golf has largely been put on the back burner since last year's Southern Oregon. He got married in January, bought a new house and spends a lot of time visiting his 22-year-old daughter, Lindsey, who "is in a very serious battle with cancer," he said. It's a fight she's been waging for three years. "Golf really has been secondary," said Bills. "Or sixth, seventh, eighth. ... I've kind of been on a crash course this last month to try and get ready." He played in the city championships last weekend at Centennial Golf Club and, after the final round, did something he rarely does. He went straight to the driving range to work out kinks. Bills' objective then was to swing more smoothly. Then came the movie scene, reaffirming the notion. On Tuesday, he hit the ball well off the tee and with his irons. "I didn't hit it very close," said Bills. "I felt like I could have putted better. I didn't putt that great." He birdied the first and sixth holes. But he was stalled by a couple bogeys despite being 120 yards or closer in two shots on the par-5 12th and 16th holes. His takeaway from the round was positive, however. "Most importantly, I just found some confidence," said Bills. "Going into the city, I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I definitely was not very confident." He wound up third in the junior-senior division. Now, he'd love to win the SOGC seniors. "Hopefully, we can keep it going," he said. Fisher got his round going from the start, eagling the par-5 first hole. He hooked his tee shot into trees on the left, but got a favorable bounce to the fairway. A 260-yard 4-wood and a 35-foot putt wrapped it up. "It was a good start," he said. He birdied Nos. 4, 8 and 15 with easy putts. "I knew all I had to do was shoot a somewhat normal score to get in the championship flight and that was the goal," said Fisher, who finished second in the men's championship division in the city tournament. "It's always fun to get medalist or something, but my goal was to put a good score up there and get in the championship flight." Match play begins Thursday and continues through Monday, when championships in all divisions will be decided. Tuesday's Results MEN'S REGULAR: Reese Fisher 69, Kevin Murphy 71, David Murphy 72, Noah Brooks 73, Joey Walker 73, Jeff Barry 75, Matt Eschenbacher 76, Justin Wise 76, Ethan DeVore 76, Mike Snowden 78, Taylor Klemp 79, Ryan Suvoy 79, Tom Leavens 79, Tavis Brink 80, Scott Weiland 80, John Keyser 80, Mark Wilson Jr. 82, Alec Williamson 82, Nick Malone 83, Lance Fowler 83, David Mayer 84, Tim Johns 85, Ryan Kantor 86, Morgan Hawkins 86, Matt Johnson 87, Eric Engelbach 89, Max Lewis 90, Dustin Wallace 90, Charles Day 90, Chase Schumacher 91, Jay Christiansen 91, Justin Hanlin 92, Jason Rowan 92, Tanner Lawtom 92, Derek Schwarm 92, Brian Wilson 93, Matt Stringer 94, Jason Hanlin 95, Brian Murphy 95, Jerdson Gamble 95, Shawn Shumate 97, Charlie Walker 100, Ian Norgan 101. MEN'S JUNIOR-SENIOR: Brett Breeze DC, Bret Barr 71, Rich Owen 73, David Culbertson 74, Brandon Crosier 75, Kevin Dixon 76, Tom Pepple 77, Eric Artner 77, Todd Dixon 77, Scott Loyd 78, David Simms 79, Todd Couch 79, Marty Motlan 79, John Justin 79, Bobby Foote 80, Mike Walker 81, Dan Westbrook 82, Mark McCune 82, Dave Cuttrell 83, Eddie Bostwick 83, Todd Ostenson 85, Rick Jackson 86, Joe Arnesen 86, Todd Raduski 86, Keith Lallo 86, Michael Bauer 87, Daniel Trenholm 87, Phil Heiner 87, Jeff Morgan 87, Derek Davis 87, David Raff 88, Greg Jacobs 89, Craig Knips 89, Richard Stremming 89, Ralph Wallis 89, Ron Stranahan 90, David Card 90, Richard Warner 90, Joe Bowles 91, Chris Adderson 91, Kevin Jones 92, Joe Davis 92, Ed Lindbloom 92, Tony Nieto 93, Jason Challstrom 94, Michael Stanish 95, Brian Carr 95, Kirk Anderson 96, Chris DuFour 97, Kevin Primerano 98, Jason Figueroa 107 MEN'S SENIOR: Kevin Klabunde DC, Brad Bills 71, Ken Stringer 74, Glen Clark 74, Bob Hyer 74, Bill Foulon 74, Erik Austed 76, Jeffery Blum 76, Marshall Holman 76, Doug Hartley 77, Mark Wilson 77, Billy Crenshaw 78, Jerry Ecklund 79, Bob Cox 79, Pat Daggitt 79, Bob Dickey 80, Steve Watkins 81, Steve Wood 81, Mark Weiss 81, John Buda 82, Dave Allen 82, Brian Adolph 82, Evan McArthur 83, Jerry Johnson 83, Thad Hodgson 84, Rick Lloyd 84, John Lawton 85, David Orr 85, Mark Pagan 85, Tim Trower 85, Bill Allen 85, Bob Skinner 85, Jim McCabe 85, Scott Weaver 85, Charlie Tissen 85, Paul Schleintz 86, Bob Crews 86, Terry Buntin 86, Art Aviles 86, William Milimuka 87, Brian Snow 87, John DeMario 87, Scott Saxon 87, Neill Smith 88, Larry Schmaltz 89, Cory Crebbin 90, Norm Veronneau 90, Buck Brigham 91, John Zupan 91, Tony Franco 92, Frank Lucas 96, Bob Kaczor 96, Ron Harvey 96, Ray Figueira 97, Michael Moylan 99, Scott Lubich 100, Michael Confer 101, G. Schumacher 104 MEN'S SUPER SENIOR: Rick Young 73, Dan Dixon 73, Doug Olson 75, Ron Lewis 77, Greg Miller 77, Bob Harrell 77, Mike Miller 78, Tom Tarlow 81, Tom Hamlin 81, Ken Weist 81, Tim Wray 82, Michael Goldman 82, Al Raduski 82, Ron Primasing 82, Terry Anderson 82, Dick Brekke 82, Tom Hatton 83, Tom Powley 84, Jim Garrison 85, Bob Doolen 85, Ken Bailey 85, Larry Garvin 86, Rick Tolar 86, John Kruesi 86, Arn Withol 86, Gary Bates 87, OJ Endicott 89, Dan Leary 89, Brian Scmitz 89, Mike Armitage 90, Alex Bellen 90, John Brittain 90, Ron Dixon 90, Tom Micahels 94, Steve Warrington 94, Bob Glover 97, Mike Arant 97, Ray Smith 98, Garth Harrington 98, James LeRoy 98, Jim Quincy 98, Gibb Mitchell 98, Gordon Carrigan 99, Donald Young 99, Dave Rasmussen 100, Tom Barry 102, Phil Gossner 105. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 541-776-4479, or email [email protected] By Tim Trower Mail Tribune Follow @@MTsports MailTribune.com By Tim Trower Mail Tribune Follow @@MTsports Posted Aug. 30, 2016 at 8:45 PM Updated Aug 30, 2016 at 8:57 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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