Many recent frantic Fairways Lilac finishes

When Hank Frame sunk his long putt and Mike Roters did not answer on the second hole of a sudden death playoff at the 2012 Lilac City Invitational golf tournament at The Fairways Golf Course, it seemed to set the stage for some frantic finishes.

Frame, at the time an amateur and a member of the Washington State University golf team, nailed a 15-foot putt from the fringe to complete a four-day, 14-under par 274 and then watched Roters miss his eight-footer to win the title.

Two former champs, Russell Grove (2013) and Derrek Barron (2016) are some of the professionals that have entered this year, according to general manager and head professional Kris Kallem.

"The biggest news so far is we already have 10 professionals making their Lilac debut," Kallem wrote in a news release.

Their ability to compete - and maybe repeat - might depend on how they adapt to what are expected to be fast greens.

"The greens are putting at 10 on the Stimpmeter on a day to day basis and should be up to 12 by the tournament," Kallem said. "They will be faster than they've been in well over a decade."

The course in general is terrific condition, he added, "Better than we've seen it for quite some time."

It will also be challenging on the fairways.

New championship tees for holes five and six will be used, Kallem said. The par-5 fifth will be extended from 535 yards to 580 and the par-3 seventh, which was 172 can now be played as long as 200 yards to back pin placement.

Spectators are encouraged to join in the festivities, including the three-day putting challenge which is open to the public, and Friday's long drive competition and street party with music by the band "Nobody Famous." Adult spectator tickets are $10 with proceeds going to support the Shriners Hospitals for Children-Spokane. Kids under 17 are free.

Starting times for all four days will be approximately 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.

Fairways finishes:

Other finishes in recent editions of The Lilac.

2013:

Russell Grove used his putter to perfection, shooting a final-round 64 and four-day total of 270 to top Corey Prugh's 273.

2014:

Tony Robydek shot a final-round 70 and four-day total of 271 to beat Cheney High grad Peter Sisich by two strokes.

2015:

Firing a four-round 210 under par 267, Brian Miller earned a one-shot victory over Conner Robbins and Jesse Schutte.

2016:

Derek Barron earned an "easy" four-stroke victory over Kevin PomArleau. Barron had a four-round total of 269.

2017:

Won on a long birdie putt on the 18th, shooting a final round 9 under par for a four-day 264 to edge Jesse Schutte's 265.

Lilac Open Winners

No. Year Winner

1 1960 Bob Duden

2 1961 Rod Funseth

3 1962 Bud Ward

4 1963 Al Mengert

5 1964 Tom Everham

6 1965 Al Feldman

7 1966 Al Mengert

8 1967 Ken Still

9 1968 Pat Welch

10 1969 Mike Davis

11 1970 Bill Wakeham

12 1971 Gary Floan

13 1972 Pat Fitzsimons

14 1973 Mahlon Moe

15 1974 Bob Johnson

16 1975 Gary Floan

17 1976 Pat Welch

18 1977 Kene Benzel

19 1978 Doug Campbell

20 1979 Kene Benzel

21 1980 Chris Mitchell

22 1981 Chris Mitchell

23 1982 Rick Acton

24 1983 Jerry Minor

25 1984 Jerry Minor

26 1985 Chris Mitchell

27 1986 Chris Mitchell

28 1987 Craig Schuh

29 1988 Chris Mitchell

30 1989 Chris Mitchell

31 1990 Tom Costello III

32 1991 Mark Rodhe

33 1992 Mark Rodhe

34 1993 Scott Geroux

35 1994 Gary Lindeblad

36 1995 Michael Combs

37 1996 Bob Rannow

38 1997 Storm Gleim

39 1998 Ryan Kelly

40 1999 Craig Gronning

41 2000 Scott Geroux

42 2001 Scott Geroux

43 2002 Mark Worthington

44 2003 Mark Worthington

45 2004 Chris Ming

46 2005 Jason Boyd

47 2006 Colby Myers

48 2012 Hank Frame

49 2013 Russell Grove

50 2014 Tony Robydek

51 2015 Brian Miller

52 2016 Derek Barron

53 2017 Andrew Vijarro

54 2018 TBD