Keller Fall Classic Recap

St. Paul - A chilly start to a beautiful fall day found the Am Tour at venerable Keller Golf Course with the largest field of the year and a great start to the 2017 Am Tour season. 4 new members and 3 guests joined 39 Am Tour veterans for our Fall Classic.

 

The highlight of the day was created by Tim Palya when he holed his tee shot on the par 3 13th for his first ever ACE. 

Steven Holland - Sr. Sarazen

The Sr. Sarazen flight was the largest contest of the day with 11 players competing along with 3 guests. Among Am Tour members, Steven Holland led by 1 at the turn over Ed Favorite and Douglas Bird. MJ Graphenteen, a guest from Luverne, matched Steven's 39 and had a birdie on the par 5 third hole. Jerome Olichwier had the best back nine with a 41, 2 shots better than Steven's 43, but not enough to catch him. MJ finished with a 44 to post an 83 that would have earned her a runner up finish as a member. Vicki Burns' 84 was good for 2nd place and Jerome captured 3rd with an 85.

Mike French - Palmer

Once again the Palmer flight posted the low scores of the day. There were four 37s on the front side carded by Mike French, Dean Sengstock, Joe Swierczek and Jeff Gallagher. Joe grabbed the lead on 11 with a par to the bogies posted by the other 3 but Mike took it back with birdies on 12 and 13 and held on to post a 76. Dean was runner up with a 77. Welcome to Bradley Stelzer who joins us after a couple of seasons on the MD tour.

Benjamin Grant - Hogan

18 holes weren't enough in the Hogan flight. Benjamin Grant and Marcus Williamson both posted 78s. Benjamin held a 3 shot lead at the turn with an even par 35. Marcus gained some momentum from his birdie on 9 and took the lead after a birdie on 12. Benjamin knotted things up with a birdie on 16 and matched Marcus on the final holes to finish the round. Benjamin made short work of playoff winning with a par on the first hole. We welcomed 2 new members to the Hogan flight, Jon Sanz and Michael Van Ert.

Dean Dubreuil - Sr. Hogan

Dean Dubreuil traveled furthest to join us this weekend coming from the mine fields of Balmerton, ON Canada, and he made the most of his trip. Steve Buan held the lead after 9 holes with a birdie on the 9th to shoot 40. Dean carded a 42. Dean made a birdie on 12 and Steve made a birdie on 16 but Dean limited the damage to only one double on the back side to finish at 84. Robert Gardner was runner up at 87. Welcome to new member Randy Mclaughlin.

Fredy Alvear - Sarazen

The Sarazen flight was the Fredy Alvear show except for Tim's Ace. He shot 39 on the front to lead by 3 at the turn over Tim and 4 over Luke Schwantes and Jeff Loeffler, playing up from Jones. Fredy came home in 43 to seal the deal and a 7 shot victory. 

Jeff Olichwier - Snead

Jeff Olichwier made his presence known in the Snead flight. His front nine 46 gave him a one shot lead over Mike Miller and they matched 45s on the back nine.

John Juntilla - Champ

The Championship flight also went into overtime to determine a winner. Nathan Petersen announced his return to the Tour after a one year hiatus with a birdie on the first hole. He added another on the 7th to card a one over 36 and lead by 1 over John Juntilla and Jason Rhoades. Jason put up 2 birdies on the back nine and John made par on 6 of the 9 holes. Both shot 41 for a total of 78. John won on the first playoff hole with a par.

Dean Dubreuil and Jack Olichwier won the Closest to the pin contests. 

The 4th Olichwier brother was not shut out. Jim took home $170 from the 50/50 raffle for Feherty's Troops First Foundation. Thanks to all for your support. 

Our next and final tournament of the 2016 calendar year is MONDAY the 24th at TPC. Don't miss this fabulous opportunity to play where the PGA Tour Champions play in the 3M Championship. Registration deadline is this Sunday night.