TST #6 Wind, Rattlesnakes, and a Return to Form

Make no mistake—Nk’Mip demanded everything. The wind didn’t just blow—it hunted. The greens weren’t unfair, but they were unkind. Put yourself on the wrong tier or above the hole, and the only thing coming back was regret. The Head Pro warned it’d be quick, and he was right. If you were putting downhill, you were praying. And if you were approaching from the rough—or worse, from the bushes the wind kept pushing you into—you were playing defense. Multiple low handicaps posted scores north of 90. Nk’Mip didn’t care who you were, only where you landed.

All this unfolded under cloudy skies, with a storm building over the western ridges. Thunder rumbled by the turn. Gusts swept through the canyon. It was, somehow, still a relief from the usual July heat—but only in temperature. Mentally, this was as taxing as it gets.

And yet, even here, someone found a way.

Vitaly Yaromich, returning to the tour after a short absence, reminded everyone just how quietly lethal he can be. His round was surgical: one-over on the front, one-under on the back. Three birdies. Three bogeys. But it was the 18th tee where the story peaked. Tied with Fred Winters and fully aware of it, Vitaly said simply: “Need a birdie. No pressure.” Then he piped a 300-yard drive down the gut, waited for the green to clear, and flushed a 4-iron to seven feet. Two putts later, he signed for even par and the Gross win.

He wasn’t alone in the hunt. First-time guest Zach Urban, sitting at +1, had a chance to tie with a birdie of his own. His chip stopped eight feet from the hole. His putt never dropped. He and Fred shared second.

Fred didn’t leave empty-handed. His Net win at -3 was built on resilience, not rhythm. Early on, nothing was working. But on the signature 6th—a long, turning par-5—Fred saved bogey after finding trouble off the tee and leaving himself 30 yards short of the green in four. He clipped a pitch to five feet and rolled it in. That was the moment it turned. From there, he went 3-under over his final 12 holes, finishing +1 Gross, -3 Net.

Josh Mowbray and Jona Spence shared third in Net at +1. Josh, still fresh off his wedding, looked like a man playing free—an 82 and a strong finish on his honeymoon. Jona, whose handicap has plummeted from 19 to 14 in just a month, continued his rise with another steady showing. His confidence is clearly catching up with his form.

In the season-long races, Bruce Kristinson’s absence shook things up. Bryson Marshall, with a T3 Gross finish, leapfrogged him for the Gross season lead. Evan Koppa, though off-form with an 85, still hangs on to the Net lead—his early season wins giving him cushion—but Fred is charging.

Nk’Mip didn’t stage a shootout. It staged a reckoning. The kind of round where the margin for error was a blade of grass, and the only way through was total commitment. Vitaly didn’t win because he was flawless—he won because he was unshaken. Fred didn’t surge because it was easy—he surged because he refused to let a rough start write the story. That’s what this course asked for. That’s what they gave. And while the rest of the field limped in, licking wounds and replaying tee shots, the season moved forward—with fewer certainties than it had the day before.