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Wittkopf snags share of lead Central Point golfer matches Boals at 69 in city event By DON HUNT Dave Wittkopf's claim to fame as a local golfer was winning the club championship at Grants Pass Golf Course a few years back. The Central Point resident carries a 2 handicap and has been competitive in many area tournaments, but the scratch golfers usually leave him a few inches down the leaderboard. Usually. Wittkopf bucked the odds at Cedar Links Saturday when he shot a 1-under-par 69 that gave him a share of the lead in the Rogue Valley Stroke Play Championships. David Boals also fired a 69 in the opening round, proving for one day at least that men over 50 can be pretty nifty with a golf club in their hands. Brad Bills carded a 70, while Dan Dixon and Kelly Rasmussen are tied for fourth with 71s. Five other golfers shot 72s. The second and final round will be held today. "I just kind of beat the ball around the course and herd it into the hole," Wittkopf, 52, said in describing his style of play. Wittkopf started off inauspiciously with six pars and two bogeys through eight holes. But then he nailed a curling 12-foot putt on the ninth hole, added another birdie on the par-5 15th to get back to even and finished with a birdie on the par-4 18th despite hitting a poor tee shot. "The birdie on nine was probably the key to my round," Wittkopf said. "It was a tough sidehill putt and I nailed it. That gave me some confidence." Wittkopf would have been content to finish with an even-par 70 after a poor tee shot on the 18th. But he blasted a 2-iron about 250 yards to within 8 feet of the cup and sank the putt for his 69. "I kept the ball below the hole most of the way and that really helped," Wittkopf said. "These greens are fast, and if you get above the hole you can three-putt real easily." Now that he's gained a bit of glory by emerging as the co-leader, Wittkopf admits he'll be nervous off the first tee today. "Hopefully I'll get off to a good start," he says. The 50-year-old Boals, meanwhile, turned back the clock by hitting 16 of 18 greens and sinking three birdie putts, including a 15-footer on the 15th hole. Boals was so accurate off the tee that he almost made a hole-in-one on the 165-yard, par-3 fifth hole. "This is one of the lowest rounds I've had in the past year-and-a-half," Boals said. "I haven't been in the 60s in a long time. "It's a pleasant surprise, to say the least." Boals three-putted the first hole for a bogey and suffered another three-putt on No. 10, but was nearly flawless the rest of the way. Bills, the 1995 champion, registered a solid 70 but failed to make several birdie putts over the final five holes. "Those are all birdie holes but I couldn't get the 12- to 15-foot putts to drop," Bills said. "But I hit some decent shots under pressure, and considering I haven't played in a tournament since the Southern Oregon last year, I can't be too unhappy." In other divisions, Reena Eklund shot a 7-over-par 78 and Luneta Ah Sam had an 80 to lead the women, while Fred Steele fired a 71 and Mike Austin a 72 to pace the senior men. Eklund, a senior-to-be at Oregon State, was just 3 over par until she hit one ball into the water and another out of bounds for a double bogey on the 15th hole. "Making a seven on a par-5 is frustrating, but overall I played fairly well," Eklund said. "I missed a few putts I should have made, but I struck the ball well other than the one hole. "I know I can come back tomorrow (today) and shoot a better round." The first golfers will tee off at 7 a.m. today, with the leaders teeing off between noon and 1:30 p.m. The public is welcome to watch. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.