Lovell qualifies for PGA Assistant Championship

SANDPOINT — Former Sandpoint football and golf standout Joey Lovell tore up the links recently, carding a 68 and 71 to finish second at the Rocky Mountain Section PGA Assistant Championship, held recently at the Blackfoot Golf Course in southern Idaho.

While the second-place finish among the 24 regional assistant club pros was impressive, the biggest news was earning one of the two spots awarded for the 19th annual PGA Assistant Championship, held in late October at the Wanamaker PGA Course in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Lovell, who played golf in college at Lewis-Clark and Boise State and now works as an assistant pro at Black Bull Golf Course in Bozeman, Mont., finished one stroke behind winner Jake Harr, an assistant pro from Buhl. The two will be among the 126-man field competing for a purse of $100,000 in Florida.

Lovell was red hot during his 68, which included a scintillating 30 on one of the nine-hole stretches, to share a first-round lead with two other assistant pros. The field was higher on the second day, but his 71 was good enough to hold onto the coveted second spot.

The 126-man field will consist of the top four finishers from last year’s Championship, if eligible, as well assistants and apprentices from a weighted average of total entries of the 41 PGA Sections. The winner earns $9,000, and only the top 70 finishers and ties after the second round will make the cut.