2009 SCGA Foursomes Champions
Photo by Phil Vitek/SCGA.
Thanks to Mike Sweeney of the SCGA for this report.
COTO DE CAZA, Calif. (February 24, 2009)--It wasn’t easy, but winning golf tournaments never are. The team of Big Canyon Country Club’s Don DuBois and SiverRock’s Jeff Wilson know this more then ever after holding on to win the 7th SCGA Foursomes Championship at Coto de Caza Golf and Racquet Club by three strokes. The duo was the only team to finish under par with rounds of 69-74 -- 143.
The Foursomes Championship kick-starts the SCGA tournament season with a fun and challenging alternate shot format that most SCGA members rarely play. Adding to the difficult format was Coto de Caza’s challenging North Course, which had most players posting scores typically found in most SCGA net events. The demanding Robert Trent Jones, Jr. design beat up on most of the field after Monday’s first round yielding an average score of 83. Only DuBois and Wilson broke par with a stellar 69 that put them four strokes clear of second place going into Tuesday’s final round.
“That was an adventure,” sighed DuBois as he signed his winning card after today's round. Indeed it was, as DuBois was referring to a roller coaster round that started with a triple-bogey 8 on the par-5 first hole. That triple closed the lead to only one stroke over the teams of Tyler Crawford and Bryson Groat and Fred Hoffman and John Sanhamel. “We almost had to start re-thinking our strategy,” joked Wilson about the unexpected start. “Starting the day we knew someone would have to make a run at us.”
Neither second place team could imagine they would get back into it that quickly but neither could capitalize as Crawford and Groat struggled to a front nine 41 while Hoffman and Sanhamel were 2 over for their front nine.
DuBois and Wilson righted the ship with pars on holes two through four and then got hot again starting when DuBois rolled in an eagle putt on the 523-yard par-5 fifth hole. That proved to be the turning point for the duo as they birdied holes seven through nine, giving them a front nine 35 and a four-shot cushion through 27 holes. “We had a few wrecks on the back nine but we were able to hold on,” said Wilson referring to their bogey on 11 and double bogey on 13. They finished with five straight pars for back nine 39 and 2-over 74 total.
Making a mid-round charge was the team of La Cumbre’s Kevin Marsh and Valley Club’s John Pate who were playing in the group in front of DuBois and Wilson. They found themselves only one stroke back after birdieing the 16th hole. Unfortunately, back to back bogeys to finish their round left them in second place for the championship at 76-70 – 146.
Taking third place was Big Canyon Country Club’s Warren Caves and Kevin Hayes. Their steady play carded them back-to-back solid rounds of 77-72 – 149.The 2007 SCGA Foursomes Champions, David Bartman and Robert Funk (78-73 – 151), tied for fourth place, aided by Bartman’s eagle approach shot on the par-4 third hole. Hoffman and Sanhamel tied for fourth with a 73-7-8 – 151. Defending champions John Adams and Jason Bittick finished in sixth place at 80-72 –152.
The top five teams are exempt into the 2009 SCGA Four-Ball Championship to be held November 16-17 at Dove Canyon Country Club.
View results for SCGA Foursomes
ABOUT THE SCGA Foursomes
This event is open to two-person teams (partners
are
not required to be from the same club) with each
member having a handicap index of 7.4 and below.
The
format is alternate shot with one player teeing off
from
the odd numbered holes and the partner teeing off
from the even holes. The championship is a 36-hole
event, there is no qualifying as all entries are on a
first
come, first served basis.
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