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Bigfork’s Hinkle Wins Montana Open

By Beacon Staff

It was a good weekend for the old pro.

Bigfork resident Lon Hinkle, a former PGA professional with three Tour victories in the late 1970s, birdied the final hole at Larchmont Golf Course in Missoula to win the Montana Open on Sunday.

Hinkle, 62, won by one stroke after carding a 6-under 66 for a three-day score of 65-69-66—200. Twenty-five year old Russel Grove of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, finished runner-up with 66-69-66— 201. Kalispell’s Ryan Malby took fourth with 75-62-68— 205.

“That’s the first time I’ve won a tournament in awhile,” Hinkle told me on Tuesday morning while walking his dogs back in Bigfork where he’s lived full-time since 1993.

“It’s always nice to win. I don’t know how many more chances I’ll get to win something.”

The dramatic victory came a year after Hinkle had a disappointing finish in his first Montana Open, shooting a 222 in what ended up being his final round of golf for the season.

“I played so poorly I put my clubs up and didn’t play again until April of this spring,” he said. “That was just the culmination of a lot of frustration with my golf game.”

Anyone who’s ever golfed can understand that feeling. But Hinkle didn’t let frustration keep him off the course for too long. He returned to playing regularly at his member course, Eagle Bend, and by this weekend he was back to form.

“It’s a long grind (playing the Montana Open). But I was prepared for it this year,” he said.

“It was a good weekend for the old pro.”

Hinkle played on the PGA Tour for 22 years. He tied for third at the U.S. Open and PGA Championship in 1980 and placed in the top 10 57 times over his career. In 1979 he was the third-leading money winner on Tour.

The Flint, Mich., native was immortalized in 1979 at that year’s U.S. Open after finding a shortcut on the eighth-tee that led to a tree being planted afterward in between rounds. Known as the “Hinkle Tree,” the Black Hill spruce still stands at the Inverness Club and has become a landmark of PGA history. You can read more about here.

Montana Open
Final Leaderboard Top 15
Sunday
Larchmont Golf Course, Par 72, Missoula
(“a” denotes amateur)
Lon Hinkle, Bigfork 65-69–66–200
Russell Grove, Coeur d’Alene 66-69-66–201
Glen Griffith, Tucson, Ariz. 70-65-68–203
Ryan Malby, Kalispell 75-62-68–205
Brandon Kearney, Bend, Ore. 69-70-67–206
a-Brian Beach, Missoula 71-70-67–208
Kyle Cianflone, Hamilton 69-69-70–208
Scott Longenecker, Helena 67-67-74–208
Brian Nosler, Portland 66-71-71–208
a-Jay Guittard, San Leandro, Calif. 69-71-70–210
Justin Ellis, Mountain Home, Idaho 68-74-68–210
Mike Hamblin, Twin Falls, Idaho 71-70-69–210
Eddy Heinen, Ventura, Calif. 71-70-70–211
a-Bill Dunn, Missoula 71-70-71–212
a-Spencer Williams, Great Falls 74-69-69–212