Russell Grove shakes off shoulder issue to share Rosauers Open lead with Dalton Dean, Cort Benner
Russell Grove isn’t 100 percent healthy due to an undiagnosed shoulder issue, but you’d never know it by looking at his scorecards.
Grove has essentially left his driver in the bag and relied on hitting fairways, his short game and putter to do the heavy lifting through two rounds of the 37th Rosauers Open Invitational.
The North Idaho College golf coach posted a bogey-free, 7-under 64 Saturday at Indian Canyon to grab a share of the lead with amateurs Dalton Dean and Cort Benner.
The trio are at 10-under 132, one shot ahead of Spokane amateur Andrew Von Lossow. Amateur Nate Plaster, who played at Gonzaga Prep and Washington State, 2022 Rosauers champ Daniel Campbell, 2012 champ David Phay and Jim Eisentrout are at 8-under 134.
Grove, who played at Coeur d’Alene High and the University of Idaho, had an earlier tee time Saturday morning, which allowed for additional time to rehab his shoulder and get off his feet.
“I definitely messed it up in the gym,” said Grove, who is waiting to hear the results from an MRI earlier this week. “It was fine for a little bit but it’s been acting up the last couple weeks.
“I’ve basically been playing pretty conservatively. I haven’t hit driver on most of the par 5s. I know I’ll have a longer club in, but I try to get it up around the green and rely on my short game to get up and down. Thankfully my short game has been good the last few months and I’m putting well.”
Dean, a rising senior at Idaho, birdied No. 16 and No. 18 to finish off a 4-under 67. Dean competed against Grove’s NIC teams when he played two seasons at Bellevue College before transferring to UI.
Benner, an amateur from Bend, Oregon, fired an 8-under 63 – the lowest score in the field through two rounds – after an eventful 69 Friday that included two eagles, three birdies, three bogeys and one double bogey.
Grove, Dean and Benner tee off at 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
Grove and Von Lossow were in the same group for the second straight day. Von Lossow, who shared the first-round lead with Dean, moved in front by two strokes after a 3-under 33 on his first nine holes but lost ground on the closing nine with an even-par 35.
“We played together at the Oregon Open and a few other times,” said Grove, the PGA Pacific Northwest Section player of the year in 2017, 2018 and 2019. “He’s another one that can hit it a long way and he’s been rolling the ball on the greens really well.”
Former Eastern Washington Eagle Brian Thornton and amateur Matthew Durkin, a Gonzaga Prep grad who plays at Whitworth, are three shots behind the leaders.