Tom Graham
May 18 and 19 graced our SaddleBrooke Men’s Golf Association (SBRMGA) tournament with bright sun, fast true greens, moderate temperatures, buzzing bees, and fairways anxious for our 96 competitors to tee it up. The Member-Member, a two-man team competition, consisted of four distinct 9-hole formats. Day one front nine was a 1 best ball net and back nine a Chapman. The Chapman requires each member of the team to hit his tee shot and then to hit his playing partner’s ball, after which, one ball is chosen for alternate shot through hole completion. Day two front nine was a scramble and the back nine a total both balls net. It required both strategy and skill.
Congratulations to Ed Harrington and Jim Mulhall our overall tournament and flight 1 winners. They demonstrated how being in the hunt on the front nine each day and blistering the field on the back nine Chapman day one and two balls net day two provided a runaway winning score of 163, besting the second-place finisher in the tournament by 4 strokes and the second-place finisher in flight 1 by 7 strokes.
Other flight winners included Guy Shelton and Rick Snowden with a 167 in flight 2; Jim Cook and Tony Wells tied with Doug Balzer and Dan Watson with a 175 in flight 3; and Wayne Adams and Larry Bicklehaupt with a 172 in flight 4. Congratulations to each of you on a well-played tournament.
The top three places by team in each flight included: Flight 1—2nd place Rod Linville and Eric Taylor, and tied for 3rd, Mark Drake and Rick Merritt, Bill Oprish and Doug Redfield, and Mike Eby and Dave Maisch. Flight 2—2nd place Brent Flessner and Harley Schlachter, and in 3rd Kevin McCarthy and Hal Peabody. Flight 3—tied for 3rd place John Green and Mike Tomaso, Bill Albu and Rich Hanson, and Randy Friedman and Sam Rossi. Flight 4—2nd place Jim Dyer and Mike McManus, and tied for 3rd Dave Cacci and Phil Jelleff, and Bud Bonvouloir and Jim Rodgers.
The competition was fierce. Flight 1 first to third was separated by 12 strokes; but flights 2 and 4 were separated by only 4 strokes first to third; and the tightest of all flights was flight 3 separated by a 1 stroke first to third. SBRMGA members continue to set the standard with each competition. Many thanks to Bruce Haney, our special events chairman, for setting the stage for a great competition.