Foursome goes 10 under par in their 10 holes of golf Friday at St. Marys G&CC
By Pat Payton
Deserving winners!
This year’s victorious team went 10 under par in their 10 holes of golf last Friday at St. Marys Golf and Country Club. The foursome of Tristan Dundas, Paul Shackleton, Mike Glover and Brandon De Groote fired a sizzling nine-under-par score of 28 on the back nine, then birdied the par 4 No. 1 hole in a sudden-death playoff. They called their entry Team PB Open.
No other team could match that performance in the 2021 St. Marys Lincolns Alumni and Friends golf tournament. This year’s format was a modified scramble, with 128 golfers on 32 four-man teams taking part in the Lincs’ annual fundraiser.
During the regulation nine holes, Team PB Open collected seven birdies, and an eagle 3 on the par 5 No. 15 hole. Their only par of the day came on the uphill par 4 No. 12 hole, often regarded as the toughest test on the golf course.
Two teams posted five-under-par scores of 30 on the front nine. The foursome of Joe Graff, Connor Preston, Brendan Near and Cody Patterson earned a spot in the playoff based on retrogression. The other front-nine team that shot 30 consisted of Sean Brogden, Aaron Lopez, Mike Brogden and Jacques Cousineau. During their round, they had an eagle 3 on the par 5 No. 3 hole.
The playoff pitted the front-nine winners against the back-nine winners for the overall title.
In the playoff, Dundas hit his drive 115 yards from the green, and Glover wedged it to the back fringe on No. 1. De Groote then rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt to give his team the victory. The Graff foursome, meanwhile, found tree trouble. They needed to make a 50-foot par putt on No. 1 for any chance of extending the playoff, and failed to do so.
Green jackets presented
Following the one-hole playoff, the 2021 champions received green jackets and the Lincolns’ golf trophy from club president Brandon Boyd.
Captain Mike Glover said it was a complete team effort from start to finish. “Everyone of us was knocking it close and having good looks for birdie. Solid putting was the key to the win,” he said.
Teammate Paul Shackleton agreed. “It was a full team effort and everyone contributed. We were hitting fairways and hitting greens and all our putts were dropping,” he said.
There were also several individual prizes handed out Friday.
On the front nine, Sean Brogden had the longest putt on No. 4, Pat Payton was closest to the pin on No. 5, Lucas Spence was closest to the pin on No. 7, and Payton was closest to the mini-net on No. 9.
On the back nine, Rob Mossey was closest to the mini-net on No. 10, Brennan Long had the longest putt on No. 12, Peter Hughes had the longest drive on No. 14, Darryl Sterkenburg was closest to the pin on No. 16, and Scott Graham was closest to the pin on No. 18.
The putting contest was won by the team of Pat Payton, Wayne Ross, Nelson Goad and Steve Goad with 65 total points.
Nine-hole format will continue
Lincs’ golf convener Dan Murrell says the nine-hole format is something golfers seem to like and it will continue in years to come.
“We had a great turnout, with 128 golfers,” Murrell said. “The weather got a little damp in the middle of the round, but it was a nice rain and the farmers will be happy.
“We’ve had a lot of positive feedback with the format, and we’ll continue with the nine-hole format. A lot of golfers prefer nine. We’re looking forward to next year when maybe we can have a shotgun start, and have more of a social after the tournament.
“And it’s a great fundraiser for the team. It seems to be easier to get more people involved in the tournament when it’s just nine holes,” he added.
Tourney notes:
–Two other great scores from the back nine Friday. Brad Roth’s team posted an eight-under 29 and Dan Murrell’s foursome came in with a seven-under 30. Other members of the Roth team were Mark McKay, Jeff Roth and Greg Kaufman. Other members of the Murrell group were Dan Schiedel, Steve Chateauvert and Jeff Richardson.
–Convener Murrell wanted to thank the following volunteers who helped make the 2021 event a big success: Terry McEwan, Shari Ann Chmiel, Donna Aldis, Anna Lowe, Bill Lowe, George Cifa, Brian Murrell and Jenn Murrell.
–The convener also gave a “big shoutout” to Brandon Boyd for the “ton of work he put in” and to Kellen Fifield for “his help with the scoring.”
–Junior Lincolns’ Parker Levy, Donovan McGregor, Ethan Henderson and Harper Murrell played a couple of the par 3 holes this year and golfers could use their shots if they helped.
–The Lincs golf tournament dates back to 1983, making this year’s event the 38th annual. The format has been a four-person Texas Scramble since 1985. Jeff Van Vliet was the winner of the very first Lincolns’ tourney, held at Science Hill.
