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June 21, 2005
Former MU Golf Star Burke Spensky Wins Spring Valley Invitational Championship
by Grant Traylor
Huntington News Network Sportswriter
Huntington (HNN) – For former Marshall golf star Burke Spensky, there is no place like home.
The very golf course that he grew up hitting around was the site of his third Spring Valley Invitational Championship on Sunday afternoon, June 19, 2005.
Spensky finished at 2–under par on Sunday, giving him a five–shot victory over Roanoke's Rodney Naff. The championship marks Spensky's third in the Spring Valley Invitational in four years. His other victories came in 2002 and 2003.
Still, this win might be a little more special for the Huntington native as he prepares to leave the Mountain State for North Carolina at the beginning of July.
Spensky was the mark of consistency during the tournament, firing under–par in all three rounds. Saturday marked his best round of the three–day event when he shot a 5–under 65 to take a four–stroke advantage over former Marshall teammate Brad Tweel heading into the final day.
The two were paired up together on the final day, but while Spensky thrived, Tweel faded from competing for the title with a 4–over par 74 on the final day.
As Tweel bowed out gracefully, Naff came out of nowhere to make Spensky work for his third title. Naff nailed four straight birdies to close out his front nine to cut the lead to three and it appeared he would get closer on the par–4 12th hole.
Spensky, one of the tournament's longest drivers, bombed a drive that found the deeper rough on the right side, which is surrounded by trees. Luckily, Spensky had a play on the ball and nailed an approach shot within five feet and sank a birdie putt to stretch the lead back out.
From there, Spensky went on to shoot even–par on the back nine and close out his third SVI championship in four years. It was quite a turnaround from last year's tournament in which Spensky finished 17 shots behind winner Steve Ross.
