Sports
Windham C.C.’s Lowe finishes 2nd in NENY PGA Tournament
By Dick Nelson
With all the drama that was played out between Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate during the U.S. Open, Windham Country Club head pro Brian Lowe finished second in the two-day Northeast New York PGA (NENY PGA) annual Donald Ross Classic on Sunday and Monday, with the first round held at Sagamore Resort and Country Club in Lake George, and the second days play held at Glens Falls Country Club in Queensbury — both of which were designed by the late architect.
Having shot a 5-over par 75 at Sagamore, Lowe advanced to the second round not knowing what to expect. But after birdying the first, fifth, 15th and 17th holes, Lowe, who was second in the NENYPGA Senior Player of the Year standings in 2007, ended the round with a 3-under par 68, tying him with Bob Mucha of Greenock Country Club in Lee, Mass with a 36 hole total of 143.
That put the play into sudden death, but unlike Woods and Mediate who started their sudden-death play on a par-5 hole, Lowe and Mucha would dual it out on Glens Falls’ par-3 18th.
Using a 7-iron, Lowe’s shot landed 15 feet from the cup, giving him a long but makeable birdie. But Mucha, using an 8-iron, followed with a solid drive that rolled within three feet of the pin.
The pressure built as Lowe lined up his birdie putt, but as it often happens in this wonderful game, the ball rolled past the hole.
“I thought I played pretty well on Sunday, but I couldn’t make a putt,” Lowe said. “[Monday] I started out making a lot of one-putts. I one-putted on my first hole [No. 16], and then also one-putted on the 17th, 18th, first and second hole.
“I was putting well and I was 3-under par right away. I thought I was in for a really good round. But I kind of slowed up a little and I made a three-putt bogey on the 12th hole. I knew I was playing pretty well, but I wasn’t sure what the low score was.
“In the playoff I made a good swing and I was 15 feet away, but when a guy comes right back at you with a shot just three feet away, there’s not much you can do,” Lowe said.
“Traditionally I never play very well in this event, but all in all, I’m happy with my game.”
Mucha earned $1,300, while Lowe took home $1,100.
Meanwhile, results from Sunday’s D.T. Four-Ball Scramble held at Blackhead Mountain Lodge and Country Club are as follows: Tiber Tomshaw, Dave Schultz, Rusty Hempel and Dave Macentee shot a 34-30 for a final score of 64 to capture first place.
Second place went to J. Farley, P. Scism, J. Gemmel and P. Scism Sr. with 66, while J. Werner, R. Jones, T. Parish and D. Parish finished third after matching cards with a 66.
Closest to the Pin (CTP) winners were Barry Finch, Rick Parisi, Tiber Tomshaw and Tom Parish while Rick Parisi had the longest drive.
On Monday, Decresente Beverages held its annual World Class Beverages Four Ball Scramble at Blackhead and when it was over Victor and Robert Jessen’s foursome from Stamford Golf Club bested 21 other teams, posting a first-place winning score of 62.
But it was the Reidlebauer team of Chuck Francis, Peter Nussbaumer, Jay Teator and Darrel Hutson that proved to be the best swimmers. It didn’t take long for the team to find out that the Dinkelacker raft they won in the raffle was not as sea worthy as they thought it was. The advertising craft sank to the bottom of the 9th hole pond with all four aboard.
On the other hand, when it came to Skins, Tim Patterson, Ryan Pindell, Dan Mitchell and Jack Patterson were very much afloat. CTP winners in that event were Steve Hindy, Karen Burke, Greg Wanek, Dan Mitchell and Mike Abate. Wanek and Lucy Jessen had the longest drives and Mohammed from the Cairo Getty Station won the putting competition.
Upcoming events at Blackhead include a benefit scramble for the Round Top volunteer fire company on July 13. with a 1 p.m. shotgun start. Registration includes golf, lunch, beverage cart, dinner and prizes. The entry fee is $75 per person and you can register by contacting Barbara at 518-622-8938 or Eleanor at 518-622-8483.
Eric Leach of Christman’s Windham House tells us that Danny Powell had a low gross 38 during Tuesday’s Men’s Play while Brian Christman had a low net 34. Bill Shane was CTP on 12 and Larry Lamarec was CTP on 17. Skins were picked up by both Christman on 14 and Powell on 15.
In Members Two-Ball Scramble, Jerry August and Mike McCarthy had low net with 67. In Couples Play, Bob and Joanne Dunphy had a low net 72 and also had low gross. Low gross men was Pete Darelas and Knute Zweitz with 71.
The S.A.A. Jerry Lark Memorial Golf League leader board changes weekly as Joe Trunk, Clem Dahl, John Gambino and Bill Muller moved into first place with 123 points.
Held at the Rip Van Winkle Country Club in Palenville, the teams of Gary Harvey, Dan Sirianni, Harry Young and Mike Roberts, and Dave Smith, John Karch, Tom Conrad and Kevin Sheehan share the second spot with 120; Kim Kiniry, Scott Genthner, Irv Linzey and Bill Buck are fourth with 117 followed by Tony Buono, Rich Michaels, Rich Michaels Jr. and Joe Scuitto with 109; and Mike Sanders, Neale Tracy, Dick Miller and Rob McCaig with 107.
Four teams, Steve Bartells, Jon Craft, Mike Craft, John Bartells; George Terpening, Eileen Williams, Joe Schrowrang and George Drumm; Brad Ebel, Bob Mayone, Mike Sandbrook, John Southwick and Tom Dengler; and Michael Weeks, Jim Zmiyarch and Steve Thornton currently have 106 points.
As of last Tuesday, Bill Kimble, George Haun, Steve Milligan and Rich Emerick accumulated 103, while the teams of Jim Halwick, Brian LoDolce, Gail Lawson and Al Carney, and Jack Wilsey, Bob Brink, Emil Muzzi and John Brink each have 98. Milt Pappas, Vince DePoala, Gerry Tucker and Steve Nickolich posted a 76.
Irv Linzey and Emil Muzzi were last week’s winners.
In Thursday’s standings, Charlie Steele, Tom Tynan, Don Rice and Scott Grant registered 121; Rich Snyder, Dave LaTourette, Cliff Tienken and Josh Tienken posted 118; Bill Karanza, George Redder, Bill Lacomb and Steve Bogert scored 110; Kevin Michaels, Gary Buckmann, Mark Nezich and Dan Brady marked a 108; Chuck Auchmoedy, Matt Nolan, Dennis Gogg and Alan Bonjolo finished with 104; Tim Arnold, Steve Sirianni, Jim Drumgold, and Joe Martin ended with 103; Keith Kehoe, Frank Cruz, Steve Briggs and Pete Santa, along with Jerry Jones, John Lerchmueller, Joe Beitl and Doug Smith had a 100; Randy Richers, Pete Lesser, Vincent Hart and Bob Miller closed with a 95 and Mike Mochovciak, Mark Westinghouse, Keith Olsen and Jeff Gardner concluded with 91.
Last Thursday’s winners were Dennis Gogg with a Low Net 28 and Keith Kehoe with a Low Net 29.
Meanwhile, Saugerties’ Bob Brink chalked up another ace — his second in as many weeks — and on the same hole when, using the green ball he found earlier that day on the course, rolled into the cup at Rip Van Winkle Country Club’s 105-yard, par-3 12th hole. The shot was witnessed by Bill Peetoom, Jim Naccarato and Herb Vogel.
Keith Sprenge, head pro at Catskill Country Club reports that the team of Barry Motzkin, Dave Blakely, Mike O’Loughlin and Bill Heinz finished first with a 62 during the Heart of Catskill Tournament.
Also finishing with a 62 was Dwayne Esposita, Brad Cummings, Paul Moon and Matt Devlin, who, after matching cards, finished second.
The 12th Annual Columbia County Golf Championship is scheduled to begin July 13 at the Copake Country Club starting at 1 p.m. The format for this Men’s, Women’s, and Senior Men’s (55 and over) is a 36-hole, medal play, scratch, no cut.
The second half of this event will be held July 14 at the Columbia Golf and Country Club (CGCC) beginning at 9 a.m. The entry fee is $25, plus non-members will be required to pay the appropriate greens fee.
Practice round at CGCC only. To reserve a practice spot contact CGCC head pro Marc Levesque at 518-851-9894. For more information on the championship call Scott Wood at 518-392-5161.
Meanwhile, Levesque reports that the three-day Men’s Member-Guest Round Robin Championships, held Thursday-Saturday, kicked off with the practice round “Swatfest ” — a team better ball competition, with champions crowned in both a gross and net division.
Low gross winners were James Moreno and Bob Carrick with a 71; second place went to Fran Gavin and Jerry Tshudin with 72; and Chris Stapleton and David Ollio took the third spot with 72.
Butch Piester and Jeff Piester were low net with 57; Jere Wile and David Turco had 60; and Jere Wile and Spike Boyce finished with 61.
The Tom Kline Memorial, so named in tribute to longtime member and former president Tom Kline, recognizes the low gross team and low net team for the first round of the member-guest tournament. This year’s winners were James Moreno and Robert Carrick, low gross team with a 68, and the low net team was Chick and Duke Matties with a score of 59.
The member-guest tourney then commenced in earnest with 27 holes of match play style round-robin golf for the remainder of the weekend. This year, champions were crowned in four different flights:
First Flight Champions were Chick and Duke Matties; second place Fran Gavin and Jerry Tshudin; third place Chris Stapelton and David Ollio. Second Flight Champions Jere Wile and David Turco; second place Alan Friess and Angel Rodriquez; third place Ralph Graziano and Dean Garafalo. Third Flight Champions were Butch and Jeff Piester; second place Al Ross and Jack Maxx; and third place John Jacobs and David Jordan. Fourth Flight Champions were Greg Bayduss and Tom Gillespie; second place tie Bob and Dom O’Mara, and Alex Gabay and Barry Meyers.
The member-guest tourney also produced some hole-in-one excitement when, during the final round of play Saturday, Joe Pilatich canned his first career ace on the 13th hole. Joe used a 7-iron on the par-3, 157-yard hole; he was paired with his partner Tony Vizzie , Kev Enu, and Erun Puranick.
During Thursday’s tournament, a guest of Jim Moreno had an eagle-2 on the par-4 11th hole as he canned a shot from the fairway. The shot helped send his team to a 1-stroke victory.
Along with the second half of the Columbia County Golf Championship on Monday July 14, other events at the CGCC include Mixed Member-Guest on July 12, Member-Member Championships on July 19-20 and Men’s One-Day Member-Guest on July 25.
Levesque will be conducting free Junior Golf Clinics from July 7-11 from 8:30 to 11 a.m. The camp will conclude July 26 with a 9-hole tournament, followed by awards and barbecue for participants and their families.
Cookie Birmann of Rainbow Golf Club in East Greenville reports that Joe Smith and John Stuerke finished first with 67 during the Billy Bob Two-Ball Scramble, but only after matching cards with Jack Wennstrom and Jeff Kinn. Finishing third with 68 was Brian and John Kinn.
In Skins Play, Mike O’Loughlin had a birdie on one, Carry O’Loughlin had a birdie on 13 and Jeff Kinn and Wennstrom birdied six and 12, respectively.
In addition, Birmann reports that the Rainbow Ladies won high points during last weeks Inter-county at Rip Van Winkle C.C. Lynn Van Auken had second low net in the A Flight and Mary Ellen Neppl had first low net in the B Flight, while Barbara Michelin had second low net and Paula Leonard had third low net in the B Flight.
Larry Markowski, head pro at Winding Brook Country Club, reports that the teams of Bill Callan and Bob Wisniewski tied with Frank Davis and Jason Ellis during the Men’s President Cup Championship with a net 135. First Flight Champions Bill Denton and Tom Reamon posted a net 139; Second Flight Champions Bill Cooper and Tom Donnelly registered a 136.
The Holy Spirit School will hold their outing with a 10 a.m. shotgun start Thursday, while the Ichabod Crane booster Club will hold its outing Friday at 10 a.m.
Ray Valcich of Colonial Country Club tells us that the Buggy Bath Team of Ryan Leach, Greg Thorpe, Steven Showers and Chris Glennon finished first in the Par Four Melissa Tournament.
Valcich also tells us that Laura Fergenson had a hole in one on a par-3, 135-yard sixth hole. The shot was witnessed by Kevin and Dylan Thompson.
In the meantime, keep your head down.
With all the drama that was played out between Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate during the U.S. Open, Windham Country Club head pro Brian Lowe finished second in the two-day Northeast New York PGA (NENY PGA) annual Donald Ross Classic on Sunday and Monday, with the first round held at Sagamore Resort and Country Club in Lake George, and the second days play held at Glens Falls Country Club in Queensbury — both of which were designed by the late architect.
Having shot a 5-over par 75 at Sagamore, Lowe advanced to the second round not knowing what to expect. But after birdying the first, fifth, 15th and 17th holes, Lowe, who was second in the NENYPGA Senior Player of the Year standings in 2007, ended the round with a 3-under par 68, tying him with Bob Mucha of Greenock Country Club in Lee, Mass with a 36 hole total of 143.
That put the play into sudden death, but unlike Woods and Mediate who started their sudden-death play on a par-5 hole, Lowe and Mucha would dual it out on Glens Falls’ par-3 18th.
Using a 7-iron, Lowe’s shot landed 15 feet from the cup, giving him a long but makeable birdie. But Mucha, using an 8-iron, followed with a solid drive that rolled within three feet of the pin.
The pressure built as Lowe lined up his birdie putt, but as it often happens in this wonderful game, the ball rolled past the hole.
“I thought I played pretty well on Sunday, but I couldn’t make a putt,” Lowe said. “[Monday] I started out making a lot of one-putts. I one-putted on my first hole [No. 16], and then also one-putted on the 17th, 18th, first and second hole.
“I was putting well and I was 3-under par right away. I thought I was in for a really good round. But I kind of slowed up a little and I made a three-putt bogey on the 12th hole. I knew I was playing pretty well, but I wasn’t sure what the low score was.
“In the playoff I made a good swing and I was 15 feet away, but when a guy comes right back at you with a shot just three feet away, there’s not much you can do,” Lowe said.
“Traditionally I never play very well in this event, but all in all, I’m happy with my game.”
Mucha earned $1,300, while Lowe took home $1,100.
Meanwhile, results from Sunday’s D.T. Four-Ball Scramble held at Blackhead Mountain Lodge and Country Club are as follows: Tiber Tomshaw, Dave Schultz, Rusty Hempel and Dave Macentee shot a 34-30 for a final score of 64 to capture first place.
Second place went to J. Farley, P. Scism, J. Gemmel and P. Scism Sr. with 66, while J. Werner, R. Jones, T. Parish and D. Parish finished third after matching cards with a 66.
Closest to the Pin (CTP) winners were Barry Finch, Rick Parisi, Tiber Tomshaw and Tom Parish while Rick Parisi had the longest drive.
On Monday, Decresente Beverages held its annual World Class Beverages Four Ball Scramble at Blackhead and when it was over Victor and Robert Jessen’s foursome from Stamford Golf Club bested 21 other teams, posting a first-place winning score of 62.
But it was the Reidlebauer team of Chuck Francis, Peter Nussbaumer, Jay Teator and Darrel Hutson that proved to be the best swimmers. It didn’t take long for the team to find out that the Dinkelacker raft they won in the raffle was not as sea worthy as they thought it was. The advertising craft sank to the bottom of the 9th hole pond with all four aboard.
On the other hand, when it came to Skins, Tim Patterson, Ryan Pindell, Dan Mitchell and Jack Patterson were very much afloat. CTP winners in that event were Steve Hindy, Karen Burke, Greg Wanek, Dan Mitchell and Mike Abate. Wanek and Lucy Jessen had the longest drives and Mohammed from the Cairo Getty Station won the putting competition.
Upcoming events at Blackhead include a benefit scramble for the Round Top volunteer fire company on July 13. with a 1 p.m. shotgun start. Registration includes golf, lunch, beverage cart, dinner and prizes. The entry fee is $75 per person and you can register by contacting Barbara at 518-622-8938 or Eleanor at 518-622-8483.
Eric Leach of Christman’s Windham House tells us that Danny Powell had a low gross 38 during Tuesday’s Men’s Play while Brian Christman had a low net 34. Bill Shane was CTP on 12 and Larry Lamarec was CTP on 17. Skins were picked up by both Christman on 14 and Powell on 15.
In Members Two-Ball Scramble, Jerry August and Mike McCarthy had low net with 67. In Couples Play, Bob and Joanne Dunphy had a low net 72 and also had low gross. Low gross men was Pete Darelas and Knute Zweitz with 71.
The S.A.A. Jerry Lark Memorial Golf League leader board changes weekly as Joe Trunk, Clem Dahl, John Gambino and Bill Muller moved into first place with 123 points.
Held at the Rip Van Winkle Country Club in Palenville, the teams of Gary Harvey, Dan Sirianni, Harry Young and Mike Roberts, and Dave Smith, John Karch, Tom Conrad and Kevin Sheehan share the second spot with 120; Kim Kiniry, Scott Genthner, Irv Linzey and Bill Buck are fourth with 117 followed by Tony Buono, Rich Michaels, Rich Michaels Jr. and Joe Scuitto with 109; and Mike Sanders, Neale Tracy, Dick Miller and Rob McCaig with 107.
Four teams, Steve Bartells, Jon Craft, Mike Craft, John Bartells; George Terpening, Eileen Williams, Joe Schrowrang and George Drumm; Brad Ebel, Bob Mayone, Mike Sandbrook, John Southwick and Tom Dengler; and Michael Weeks, Jim Zmiyarch and Steve Thornton currently have 106 points.
As of last Tuesday, Bill Kimble, George Haun, Steve Milligan and Rich Emerick accumulated 103, while the teams of Jim Halwick, Brian LoDolce, Gail Lawson and Al Carney, and Jack Wilsey, Bob Brink, Emil Muzzi and John Brink each have 98. Milt Pappas, Vince DePoala, Gerry Tucker and Steve Nickolich posted a 76.
Irv Linzey and Emil Muzzi were last week’s winners.
In Thursday’s standings, Charlie Steele, Tom Tynan, Don Rice and Scott Grant registered 121; Rich Snyder, Dave LaTourette, Cliff Tienken and Josh Tienken posted 118; Bill Karanza, George Redder, Bill Lacomb and Steve Bogert scored 110; Kevin Michaels, Gary Buckmann, Mark Nezich and Dan Brady marked a 108; Chuck Auchmoedy, Matt Nolan, Dennis Gogg and Alan Bonjolo finished with 104; Tim Arnold, Steve Sirianni, Jim Drumgold, and Joe Martin ended with 103; Keith Kehoe, Frank Cruz, Steve Briggs and Pete Santa, along with Jerry Jones, John Lerchmueller, Joe Beitl and Doug Smith had a 100; Randy Richers, Pete Lesser, Vincent Hart and Bob Miller closed with a 95 and Mike Mochovciak, Mark Westinghouse, Keith Olsen and Jeff Gardner concluded with 91.
Last Thursday’s winners were Dennis Gogg with a Low Net 28 and Keith Kehoe with a Low Net 29.
Meanwhile, Saugerties’ Bob Brink chalked up another ace — his second in as many weeks — and on the same hole when, using the green ball he found earlier that day on the course, rolled into the cup at Rip Van Winkle Country Club’s 105-yard, par-3 12th hole. The shot was witnessed by Bill Peetoom, Jim Naccarato and Herb Vogel.
Keith Sprenge, head pro at Catskill Country Club reports that the team of Barry Motzkin, Dave Blakely, Mike O’Loughlin and Bill Heinz finished first with a 62 during the Heart of Catskill Tournament.
Also finishing with a 62 was Dwayne Esposita, Brad Cummings, Paul Moon and Matt Devlin, who, after matching cards, finished second.
The 12th Annual Columbia County Golf Championship is scheduled to begin July 13 at the Copake Country Club starting at 1 p.m. The format for this Men’s, Women’s, and Senior Men’s (55 and over) is a 36-hole, medal play, scratch, no cut.
The second half of this event will be held July 14 at the Columbia Golf and Country Club (CGCC) beginning at 9 a.m. The entry fee is $25, plus non-members will be required to pay the appropriate greens fee.
Practice round at CGCC only. To reserve a practice spot contact CGCC head pro Marc Levesque at 518-851-9894. For more information on the championship call Scott Wood at 518-392-5161.
Meanwhile, Levesque reports that the three-day Men’s Member-Guest Round Robin Championships, held Thursday-Saturday, kicked off with the practice round “Swatfest ” — a team better ball competition, with champions crowned in both a gross and net division.
Low gross winners were James Moreno and Bob Carrick with a 71; second place went to Fran Gavin and Jerry Tshudin with 72; and Chris Stapleton and David Ollio took the third spot with 72.
Butch Piester and Jeff Piester were low net with 57; Jere Wile and David Turco had 60; and Jere Wile and Spike Boyce finished with 61.
The Tom Kline Memorial, so named in tribute to longtime member and former president Tom Kline, recognizes the low gross team and low net team for the first round of the member-guest tournament. This year’s winners were James Moreno and Robert Carrick, low gross team with a 68, and the low net team was Chick and Duke Matties with a score of 59.
The member-guest tourney then commenced in earnest with 27 holes of match play style round-robin golf for the remainder of the weekend. This year, champions were crowned in four different flights:
First Flight Champions were Chick and Duke Matties; second place Fran Gavin and Jerry Tshudin; third place Chris Stapelton and David Ollio. Second Flight Champions Jere Wile and David Turco; second place Alan Friess and Angel Rodriquez; third place Ralph Graziano and Dean Garafalo. Third Flight Champions were Butch and Jeff Piester; second place Al Ross and Jack Maxx; and third place John Jacobs and David Jordan. Fourth Flight Champions were Greg Bayduss and Tom Gillespie; second place tie Bob and Dom O’Mara, and Alex Gabay and Barry Meyers.
The member-guest tourney also produced some hole-in-one excitement when, during the final round of play Saturday, Joe Pilatich canned his first career ace on the 13th hole. Joe used a 7-iron on the par-3, 157-yard hole; he was paired with his partner Tony Vizzie , Kev Enu, and Erun Puranick.
During Thursday’s tournament, a guest of Jim Moreno had an eagle-2 on the par-4 11th hole as he canned a shot from the fairway. The shot helped send his team to a 1-stroke victory.
Along with the second half of the Columbia County Golf Championship on Monday July 14, other events at the CGCC include Mixed Member-Guest on July 12, Member-Member Championships on July 19-20 and Men’s One-Day Member-Guest on July 25.
Levesque will be conducting free Junior Golf Clinics from July 7-11 from 8:30 to 11 a.m. The camp will conclude July 26 with a 9-hole tournament, followed by awards and barbecue for participants and their families.
Cookie Birmann of Rainbow Golf Club in East Greenville reports that Joe Smith and John Stuerke finished first with 67 during the Billy Bob Two-Ball Scramble, but only after matching cards with Jack Wennstrom and Jeff Kinn. Finishing third with 68 was Brian and John Kinn.
In Skins Play, Mike O’Loughlin had a birdie on one, Carry O’Loughlin had a birdie on 13 and Jeff Kinn and Wennstrom birdied six and 12, respectively.
In addition, Birmann reports that the Rainbow Ladies won high points during last weeks Inter-county at Rip Van Winkle C.C. Lynn Van Auken had second low net in the A Flight and Mary Ellen Neppl had first low net in the B Flight, while Barbara Michelin had second low net and Paula Leonard had third low net in the B Flight.
Larry Markowski, head pro at Winding Brook Country Club, reports that the teams of Bill Callan and Bob Wisniewski tied with Frank Davis and Jason Ellis during the Men’s President Cup Championship with a net 135. First Flight Champions Bill Denton and Tom Reamon posted a net 139; Second Flight Champions Bill Cooper and Tom Donnelly registered a 136.
The Holy Spirit School will hold their outing with a 10 a.m. shotgun start Thursday, while the Ichabod Crane booster Club will hold its outing Friday at 10 a.m.
Ray Valcich of Colonial Country Club tells us that the Buggy Bath Team of Ryan Leach, Greg Thorpe, Steven Showers and Chris Glennon finished first in the Par Four Melissa Tournament.
Valcich also tells us that Laura Fergenson had a hole in one on a par-3, 135-yard sixth hole. The shot was witnessed by Kevin and Dylan Thompson.
In the meantime, keep your head down.
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