| Ogio Thanksgiving Shootout, Whiskey Creek Golf Club |
| Ijamsville, MD, 21754 |
| November 28-29 2009 |
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| Director: Gelenberg |
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What a great weekend! The final Mid-Atlantic event of 2009 ended with sunshine and temperatures in the 60's - who could ask for anything more? After a cool and windy Saturday, Sunday's weather felt like a springtime tournament.
Q: The Boys 14-15 Division looked very competitive. How did they do?
A: Five players, Addison Coll, Cody Lissner, Cas Dickerson, Ty Herriott and Aaron Staley were within five strokes of the lead after Saturday's round. Sunday's round showed improved scores by many players, Spencer Wilson -4, Ben Martinez -13, Lucas Farmer -1, Eric Sawchak -2, Cas Dickerson -2, Ty Herriott -3 and Aaron Staley -2, but little change in the leaderboard. The drama was high through the 18th green, where Ty Herriott narrowly missed taking things to a playoff. In the end, Cas Dickerson earned third, Ty took second, and Aaron Staley grabbed his first win with PJGT. Well done!
Q: What type of scores did the Boys 16-19 Division card?
A: Some pretty impressive ones! Despite Saturday's strong wind, five players, Seth Nagle, Christopher Bushey, Jay Dove, Spencer Bowling and Scott Davidson, shot sub-80's on a challenging course. Sunday's calmer conditions continued the sub-80 trend, with Spencer Bowling's 77 and Christopher Bushey's 79, sending them into a playoff for second where Christopher chipped in to earn second. Jay Dove's blistering one-under 71 had him cruising to his second win of the year. Jay also took home the Weekend Medalist Award for all the 12-19 Divisions. Congrats!
Q: How did the girls handle the course?
A: The wind made for a challenging day for Liza Freed, Girls 12-14 Division and Erica DeVal, Girls 15-19 Division, but they enjoyed each other's company and played through it. Sunday was a different story, as each player dramatically improved her score - Liza by 10 strokes and Erica by 14! Each has asked that future tournaments be held in areas with no wind - we're working on it! Nice job, girls.
Q: How did things go in the Boys 12-13 Division?
A: Three players were in a close race at the end of Saturday's round, with Zack Taylor and Jacob Leavitt's matching 80's tying them for second. Bennett Wisner's 77 (the only sub-80 round on Saturday) gave him a three-stroke cushion heading into Sunday. Bennett again went low on Sunday, firing a 78 and earning his second win in a row, with Jacob earning second and Zack grabbing third. Well done!
Q: And the Boys 8-9 and Boys 10-11 Divisions?
A: Graham Hutchinson, Boys 8-9 Division again played solid golf, working his way around the course and showing that he will be a contender in future age brackets…this despite the pressure of having his father run to retrieve three of his clubs from home! In the Boys 10-11 Division, John Kalavritinos carded a personal best at this distance and earned third. Despite battling an ice-cold putter all weekend, Ben Gelenberg took second. And Teddy Hoffmann's 77 on Sunday gave him his fifth win of the season. Teddy also took home the Weekend Medalist Aware for all the 8-11 Divisions. Nice!
Thanks to everyone for sharing your Thanksgiving holiday with us. It's been a great first half of the season. We're ready to go again in February at Nansemond River Golf Course Feb 27-28, followed by another event at Whiskey Creek Mar 13-14, Reston National Mar 27-28, Penn National April 10-11, the Junior World Qualifier at Wintergreen, Nemacolin Woodlands Resort May 1-2, former site of the PGA 84 Lumber Classic, and the final event of the season at Herndon Centennial May 15-16. We'll also be working on our 2010/2011 schedule. If you know of any courses that we should consider, please let us know and we'll explore them. This is your Tour, and we want to make it the best it can be.
As always, you can contact us at philgel@gmail.com or on cell at (814) 404-1234. Have a safe and enjoyable holiday season, and we'll see you in February!
Very best regards, Phil, Pené & Ben
