SEASIDE, Calif. (Oct. 7, 2013) -- A bountiful number of low scores were fired in the first round of the NCGA Master Division Four-Ball Championship at Bayonet/Black Horse GC, but none were lower than that of Jon Peterson and Gary Deblaquiere. The duo competing in one of the first few groups out on the day fired an 8-under-par 64 on the Black Horse 18, which included eight birdies and no bogeys, setting the standard for the 30 other scores to come in under-par (18 of which were in the 60s).
Peterson and Deblaquiere, who are normally battling it out against one another at their home club of Granite Bay GC, melded well as Peterson converted six birdies and Deblaquiere assisted on the other two. The tandem had a nice stretch early converting three consecutive birdies on the front nine starting with a birdie on No.4 by Deblaquiere and two more on Nos. 5 and 6 by Peterson to turn at 33.
Then on the back nine, Peterson got really hot making birdies on Nos. 11, 12, 14 and 15, before Deblaquiere closed the duo’s round with a near eagle on the 18th hole—missing a 10-foot eagle putt—settling for a birdie to come in with a 31.
“I made some good putts and my putter really got hot there,” said Peterson of his four birdies on the back nine.
Only one stroke behind and tied for second place at 7-under-par 65 are the teams of Jeff Gilchrist and Steve Woods, and Dale Bouguennec and Jamie Looper.
Gilchrist and Woods, who played in the group right behind Peterson and Deblaquiere, also had eight birdies on the day, but relinquished a stroke with a bogey on No. 9. The duo made their birdies on Nos. 3, 6 and 8, before doing most of their work on the back nine with birdies on Nos. 12, 14, 16, 17 and 18 for an impressive 31.
Following the same theme, Bouguennec and Looper, who finished a half-hour later, also made eight birdies and one bogey for their 65. However, the tandem’s success was different as they scorched the course early before cruising to the finish. Bouguennec and Looper made six birdies over their first eight holes—with exceptions being Nos. 3 and 5—to fire a striking front-nine score of 30. A bogey on No. 11 derailed them briefly, but birdies on Nos. 12 and 15 gave them a 35 on the back nine.
Still right in the thick of things with a score of 6-under-par 66 and tied for fourth place are the teams of Greg Loosigian and Tom Moshier, Greg Edwards and David Bartman, and Richard Ramsey and Rob Matson. Just a notch below and in a four-way tie for seventh place, posting scores of 5-under-par 67 are the teams of Chris Cuttone and Ron Ewing, Mark Miller and Scott Olds, Matt Fagundes and Jon Bettencourt, and Bill Ayres and Vy Nong.
Russell Humprhey and Randy Haag, half of the 2012 defending championship team and half of 2011 championship team, are playing together and currently alone in 11th place at 4-under-par 68.
The final round will take place Tuesday morning at 8:00 a.m. with the competition moving over to the Bayonet 18.
View results for NCGA Mid-Amateur Four-Ball
ABOUT THE NCGA Mid-Amateur Four-Ball
Two-person, better-ball scratch event for NCGA
members 25 years of age and older. FORMAT: 36
holes of four-ball stroke play, 18 holes per day.
ELIGIBILITY: Players must have reached their
25th
birthday by the start of the tournament and
have a numeric handicap index listed on their
club’s
Master Report of 5.4 or less on the date of
registration. Partners need not be members of the
same club.
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