The Albertsons Boise Open is one of my favorite local events every year. On Sunday, Steve Wheatcroft shot the low round of the day, a 65 to force a playoff and eventually take home the championship. If you like birdies and low scoring, the Boise Open is for you. 

The shots to the 18th green in the playoff: Wheatcroft
on the left, Alker on the right.

 
   Steve Wheatcroft drains his 10-footer to win

Here are a few stats I tallied from PGATour.com:

The -24 scores by Steve Wheatcroft and Steven Alker set new tournament records. 

The players who made the cut played Hillcrest Country Club at a combined 743 under par. That’s almost an average of 11 under par per golfer.

In the final round, the players in the top 15 officially made 81 birdies and two eagles. You can add one more birdie from Steve Wheatcroft on the first hole of the playoff to beat Steven Alker and win the tournament. The birdie opportunities lead to some good drama at the finish.

Hillcrest Country Club is a short course. According to PGATOUR.COM, Hillcrest measures 6769 yards-Par 71. In contrast, Willow Creek Country Club, site of last week’s Utah Championship is 7104 yards-par 71.

Every year there are some ridiculously low scores posted at the Boise Open. That’s what makes this tournament fun. The Web.com tour could set up the course harder by growing the rough deeper and narrowing the fairways. But, why?  I say keep it the way it is.|

 It was nice to have some live coverage on the Golf Channel after a few years of being  tape-delayed. I do wish the organizers could bring back the celebrity skins game. It was always a huge success, but I’m sure very expensive. Overall, the Albertsons Boise Open is a fantastic event. That’s why it’s been around for 25 years with many more still to come.

 LEFT: 2002 PGA Championship winner Rich Beem provides on course commentary for the Golf Channel.