Threesome Runs Away with Championship Title
Summer golf is in full swing at Mountain View Country Club. Pictured (at right) is Kerry Sheedy of Truckee, Calif., attempting a birdie putt on the par-three fifth hole. Looking on are Kelly Robb (left) and Rachel Sheedy.
GREENSBORO — It was an all-out thrashing last Tuesday night at Mountain View Country Club as the winning threesome lit up the course and simply ran away with the Midseason Championship title.
Despite sporting some of the highest handicaps in the league, Shayne Carr, Bill Richardson and Jefferson Tolman came out ready to compete in last week’s scramble format. This fearsome threesome cranked out two consecutive birdies to start their round and never looked back on their way to a four-stroke victory in the title chase.
They slid back from two-under par and got to even after bogies on the third and fourth holes, but remained at even with nice pars on the fifth and sixth holes. Then they laid the hammer down, pounding out birdies on both seven and eight.
The eventual winners took a bogie on nine, but played well above their averages, finishing with a one-under par 34. Sporting an average handicap of 17, that 34 was split in half to a net score of 17 as they absolutely destroyed the competition.
Four strokes back in second place, and also playing well above their averages, was the foursome of Dave Rogers, Dan Rogers, Doug Allen and Jeremy Kaufmann. They shot a one-over 36 and netted a 21.
They parred the first and also birdied two, but took a bogey on three. Yet, on the course’s toughest three-hole stretch, four, five and six, they managed a clutch par each hole. They had a tough bogey on seven, but finished strong, parring both eight and nine.
Three teams piled up in third place, just a half stroke behind the second-place finishers. The young foursome of Aaron Molleur, Colton Niemi, Luke Perez and Nick Crum tied one other team for the night’s best gross round. They shot a four-under round of 31 and netted a 21.5.
This up-and-coming group also posted birdies on holes one and two, and finished strong by birdying eight and nine. They got pars on every other hole.
Tying them for second place was last week’s winners, the foursome of Mike Cloutier, Brian Niemi, Andy Lemieux and Roger Boone. They had three bogies and three birdies while shooting an even par 35.
The final group in third place was the foursome of Nate Brown, Rob Montgomery, Dale Hall and Ryan Hall. They had a birdie on two and a bogey on six, otherwise shot par golf.
The second group to shoot a four-under gross round of 31, the night’s best, was the threesome of Dave Bellavance, Mike Clark and John Sperry. They finished very strong, birdying their last three holes consecutively. They also got a birdie on three when Sperry chipped in from off the green.
They tied for fourth place net with a 22 along with the foursome of Karl Ferland, Dave Campbell, Dennis Pudvah and Dave Campbell. That foursome shot a four-over 39 with five pars and four bogies.
It was a festive night as 42 golfers showed up, a night that saw warm temperatures and threatening storm clouds. Luckily, the rain showers held off until well after the night’s barbecue. The league, after a two-year pandemic delay, finally revived their tradition of cooking out together after play.
No one landed on the third green, but Brian Niemi won closest to the pin on the fifth hole, landing nine feet, seven inches from the pin. His teammate Andy Lemieux won closest in two on eight, putting this approach to seven feet, two inches. Then on nine, Mike Clark put his chip to three feet, eight inches to win closest in two there.
