Baker Recap

Medina - the sun finally returned to make for a beautiful fall day in MN. The gusty wind was not ideal but it helped to dry out the course enough so we were able to use carts after an inch of rain on Saturday. We started on the 10th tee to give the lower front side a chance to dry out a bit more. 45 players began their 2020 Race to Nationals at Baker National golf course. But first a bit of 2019 business to take care of.

Congratulations to Joe Christy our 2018-19 Player of the Year. He played in 9 of 11 events on the MN Tour schedule winning 4 times in Sarazen flight. Joe finished T5 at our National Championship earning him a promotion to Hogan flight for the 2019-20 season. Honorable mention goes to Larry Caldwell who won 3 of 11 starts in Hogan flight and Steve Schubert with his 3 wins in 10 MN events in Palmer and a T11 at Nationals. 

Despite the conditions the Palmer flight showed it's strength of field with 3 of the top 5 scores on the day. Jeff Gallagher took the early lead shooting even par on the first nine holes (back nine) with 2 birdies and 2 bogey's. He held a commanding 4 shot lead over Steve Schubert and Anthony Hugelen at the turn. Steve made a charge making up all 4 shots going 2 under through the next 6 holes while Jeff went 2 over. Both made par on the 7th but Jeff's birdie on 8 gave him the 1 shot advantage going to the last hole. A par on the 9th was good enough for Jeff's victory at 1 over 73. Steve's 1 under on the second nine gave him a 75. Mike Kelley posted at 80 with 3 birdies and Anthony Hugelen wound up with an 81.

The Hogan flight had some pretty good competition as well. 6 of the 14 players were within 4 shots of the lead after nine holes. Bryan Poetsch opened with a birdie and turned at 41, two shots clear of Gary Braun and Nate Plagge who were all in different pairings. Bryan made par on the 1st hole to extend his lead over both. Dan Levasseur, visiting from KC, had a stretch of 5 pars on 4-8 to make a charge carding a 40 on the second nine along with Gary. Bryan also shot 40 to post an 81 and nip Gary by 2 and Dan by 4.

Sr. Hogan was a small and friendly group. Dan Barrett took the early 2 shot lead through 3 holes with 2 pars before misfortune struck with 4 "others" in a row. Robert Gardner limited the damage to bogey's and just one double to turn in 43 one shot clear of Ed Favorite who finished the first nine with 4 pars. Robert padded his lead with a par on 3. He and Ed traded strokes on 5 & 6 but Robert's birdie on 7 closed the deal giving him a 41 and a total of 84. Ed shot a second 44 to finish at 88.

Steve Buan got off to a terrific start in Sarazen flight also going even par through 3 holes. Doubles on 13 and 15 might have derailed his round but he added 3 more pars to turn at 41 one shot ahead of Barry Wadsworth and 3 ahead of David Slininger. David had the better second nine shooting 41 with a birdie on 8 but Steve played steady with only one double to shoot 43 and finish at 84 and a 1 shot victory over David. Barry held on for third at 87.

Sr. Sarazen saw similar scoring. 2 of the "O" boys, of Chicago, were tied after nine holes. Jerome Olichwier was even through 7 holes, featuring a birdie on 12, before a double and triple to reach the turn. Jack Olichwier put up 4 pars while limiting the damage to one double and 4 bogeys to match his brother at 42. Jerome gained 2 shots in the first 3 holes of the second nine but gave those back and 1 more on 4. He grabbed two back through 6 only to give up 3 more to Jack on the last 3 holes. Jack posted at 84 to Jerome's 87. Jack was also Low Net on the day. 

The Snead flight needed extra holes to determine a winner. Pete Rojas led at the turn with a fine 43 giving him a 2 shot advantage over Jeff McVay. Pete carded 4 pars in a 5 hole stretch in the middle of the first nine. Paul Alexander was 6 back and George Hardgrove 7. The second nine (front side) proved to be a lot more difficult for almost everyone. Pete led all but 2 players with a 55. Paul posted first with a 48 on the front for 97 and had to wait for George in the penultimate group. They had nearly identical scorecards with the only difference on 8 and 9. George was one shot better there to tie Paul at 97. George won on the first playoff hole.

Closest to the pin was Steve Buan on #2 and Robert Gardner on #7.

Bill Kelsey took home $195 from the 50/50 raffle. The rest goes to Feherty's Troops First Foundation. Thank you for your support.

Thanks to our visitors this week from other Tours. Jack and Jerome Olichwier from Chicago, Dan Levasseur from KC and Dino Liebe from Milwaukee.

Our next tournament is Sun. the 20th at StoneRidge. Registration deadline is this coming Saturday night. I hope you'll join us before we head into our winter hibernation.