Aspen Lakes hosts the Oregon Open

"I can hit the ball 300 yards and they go 60 to 70 yards by me," said Derek Johnson, head pro at Aspen Lakes Golf Course.

Fortunately for him, he was referring to two of his partners in the Oregon Open Invitational golf tournament at his course that began last Friday with a pro-am. Play resumed on Tuesday, June 24, and ends Thursday, June 26.

Those partners are 21-year-old twins, David and Christian Green, who live in the Aspen Lakes development. The fourth member of the team is Michael Reeve, a 2008 Sisters High School grad, who is also long off the tee.

The foursome were to tee off at 1:14 p.m. on Tuesday and 8:14 a.m. on Wednesday.

A field of 192 players from the states of Oregon, Washington and Alaska, as well as Northern Idaho and Western Montana will participate in the tournament. Half are Professional Golf Association professionals and half are amateurs.

Each team will have two professionals and two amateurs.

Tuesday's and Wednesday's matches have three best ball competitions.

Stroke play will also count on Tuesday and Wednesday, with Thursday's final 18 to be combined with the first two days for a final 54-hole winner.

The winning professional receives $4,000.

An amateur is eligible to win the tournament, but gets no prize money. The field will be cut to 70 players for the final 18.

Tee times will be used all three days, with morning and early afternoon slots on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday's championship tee times are from 8 to 10 a.m.

Since 2000, the champion of the Oregon Open has been decided on the final hole or a playoff five times.

Last year, Josh Immordino of River Bend Golf Complex in Kent, Washington was the winner.

The Kid's Center in Bend is the tournament's charity this year.

Aspen Lakes hosted the tournament in 2005. Designed by William Overdorf, the course features pristine bent grass fairways and signature red sand bunkers. The majestic Three Sisters offer a magnificent setting.

The course will use a combination of black and blue tees and total 7,087 yards, par 72. The longest par four measures 479 yards and the longest par 5, 585 yards.

Pam Mitchell, one of the owners of the course and the development, said the red sand bunkers came about because the sixth-generation Oregon farm and ranching family owned a quarry near the course.

Instead of hauling sand from Idaho or Washington, the family decided to try crushed lava rock to meet United States Golf Association standards. It worked, saving transportation costs and providing a unique brand for Aspen Lakes Golf Course.

The first nine holes at the course were completed in 1997 and the second in 2000. Plans for a third nine are somewhere in the future, although the design work has been done.

The course was accorded the honor of eighth best in the nation as a new affordable public golf course by Golf Digest.

Mitchell said her family was heavily involved in construction of the course, since moving dirt was part of their life for many years. They grew hay, potatoes, and raised cattle and sheep on 1,000 acres near the golf course.

Last November, a 28,000-square-foot building was completed at the course featuring wood décor and mountain views. It houses the pro shop, a restaurant, dining room, conference meeting and banquet facilities, offices and meeting rooms.

An effort to convert the development into a destination resort is before the county.

Aspen Lakes has 115 one-acre home sites, with only six left, Mitchell said.