Bandon, OR (May 25, 2004) - Mother nature delivered the full gamet of conditions to players in the 3rd Annual amateurgolf.com Two Man Links Championship this week, and Wednesday's final round topped them all, when sunny and windy opening round conditions yielded to fog and mist reminiscent of 'Golf in the Kingdom.'

"You really gave us a bit of everything this week," remarked competitor Fred Behling, who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the experience.

And while it's wonderful to enjoy the "golf as it was meant to be," as the Bandon Dunes slogan goes, the weather and world class links courses were only a backdrop for some pretty serious competition. The team of Kevin Bedsole and Paul Balatti entered the final round with a 5-stroke margin in the overall scratch division and with rounds of 67-68 under their belt (playing from the black tees) the field could only wonder if they would provide a little proverbial 'help' on the last day. If they went deep, the tournament was all but over.

Playing a group in front of the leaders, the formidable team of top-ranked amateur Randy Haag and the game John Hamm were able to post a 4-under-par round of 67 -- quite solid in conditions where several shots were literally blinded by the fog -- but as they turned in their card Haag and Hamm could only lament a team double that they knew might come back to haunt them.

That double bogey was carded on the par-4 8th, where both Hamm and Haag found the gorse on the right hand side that you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy.

But Bedsole and Balatti, of Healdsburg and Santa Rosa, north of San Francisco, had their own problems on the 13th, where they both found the Pacific Ocean with their tee shots -- in all fairness it was a tough shot into that fog -- and the pleasures of going under par for two rounds became a distant memory for at least 15 minutes.

Champs Kevin Bedsole(l) and Paul Balatti posted 6-under

They hung in and didn't let anything else seriously bad happen, then breathed a sigh of relief as they approached the scoring area at Pacific Dunes and learned the title -- and new tournament record -- belonged to them.

Although the lowest scores in the event were recorded by the 'older guys' the defending champ of the event, Greg Wardle of San Francisco, took solace in climbing to the top of the Championship leaderboard with his partner Pete Davison after a solid final round of 70.

'Youngsters' Pete Davison and Greg Wardle shot 70 on Wednesday

In the Net Division, the action was Golf Channel-worthy, as a Reality TV drama unfolded on the back nine. First round leaders Kevin McGillivray (Pacific Grove, CA) and Ken Griffith (Rocklin, CA) could only watch their five stroke lead evaporate into the fog on the back nine, when Joe Colmery (Alamo, CA) and Charles Smith (Pleasanton, CA) bringing out their Sunday best with back-to-back birdies on the 13th and 14th (one of them worth a net eagle) and a solid par on the 16th, with Griffith struggling with an impossible lie in the top of the back bunker (another place you wouldn't wish on your arch rival).

Colmery and Smith found the whole idea of victory to their liking, (go figure) and Griffith and MacGillivray represented what golf is all about-- you battle it out, then have a beer and laugh about it with the guys who got you...that time.

Net Champs Charles Smith and Joe Colmery overcame a 5-shot deficit on the back nine Wednesday

Tournament Notes

- Everyone in the field agreed that the tournament was enhanced by the wonderful sponsorship of UST Golf Shafts, The Golfer Magazine, Peak Bar, Fidra Golf, and of course The Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. We all enjoyed meeting Jamie Pipes and Jim McIntosh of UST Golf Shafts, and getting launch monitor-fitted for a complimentary shaft at the fantastic practice center. The Fidra Stormshirts were a huge hit, and Peak Bars on the tee each day were great. Thanks to all of these wonderful sponsors!

-- Special thanks to Jennifer Alexander of amateurgolf.com, who did a wonderful job as Tournament Director and found time to send off a few zingers to the guys before tee-off. And Jamie Fay, Group Coordinator of Bandon Dunes, as well as C.J. Kreuscher of the Professional Staff and ALL of the wonderful employees of our favorite resort.

We will be back for the 'Fourth Annual' next year with a national field of 100 players. Stay tuned. (or contact us for a request for invite)

Final results from the amateurgolf.com Two Man Links Championship. The first and final rounds were played on Pacific Dunes, while the middle round (on Tuesday, May 25) was contested on the Bandon Dunes course.

Pacific Dunes (Rounds 1 and 3)
- Championship & Master/Senior Division: Black Tees, 6633 yards, par 71
- Net Division: Green Tees, 6142 yards, par 71

Bandon Dunes (Round 2)
- Championship & Master/Senior Division: Black Tees, 6732, par 72
- Net Division: Green Tees, 6221, par 71

Note: The Master Senior Division and Championship Division play for the overall title, but separate prize funds based on age were paid and results for overall and the three divisions are shown below.

OVERALL- All Teams who played Black Tees
Pos	First	Last	First	Last	Rd1	Rd2	Rd3	Tot
1	Kevin	Bedsole	Paul	Balatti	67	68	73	208
2	John	Hamm	Randy	Haag	73	69	67	209
3	Greg	Wardle	Pete	Davison	72	73	70	215
4	Rick	Whitmore	Rick	Lindsey	67	73	75	215
5	Jim	Fletcher	Kelly	Erardi	72	70	73	215
6	Kim	Schwencke	Kevin	Davey	73	75	68	216
7	John	Holt	Geoff	Waldou	72	73	72	217
8	Jamie	Rector	Pete	Wlodkowski	72	71	75	218
9	Frank	Boensch	James	Weick	78	73	75	226
10	Jim	Silveira	John	Moore	80	72	74	226
11	Matt	Allen	Jamie	Fay	79	75	75	229
12	Matthew	Jones	Don	DeLair	71	80	79	230
13	Ralph	Hamm	Bob	Albritton	77	74	79	230
14	Jamie	Pipes	Jim	McIntosh	81	69	82	232
15	Sherman	Haggerty	Frank	Dall	75	81	76	232
16	Steve	Cantlay	Joe	Yurosek	76	77	80	233
17	Steve	Spitts	Scott	Ryles	74	79	80	233
18	Ronald	Tucker	George	Miller	75	79	79	233
19	Pierre	LaBarge	Tom	Kuhn	76	81	76	233
20	Ken	Harrison	Don	Daniels	77	80	77	234
CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION
Pos	First	Last	First	Last	Rd1	Rd2	Rd3	Tot
1	Greg	Wardle	Pete	Davison	72	73	70	215
2	John	Holt	Geoff	Waldou	72	73	72	217
3	Jamie	Rector	Pete	Wlodkowski	72	71	75	218
4	Frank	Boensch	James	Weick	78	73	75	226
5	Matt	Allen	Jamie	Fay	79	75	75	229
6	Matthew	Jones	Don	DeLair	71	80	79	230
7	Jamie	Pipes	Jim	McIntosh	81	69	82	232
8	Steve	Cantlay	Joe	Yurosek	76	77	80	233
MASTER/SENIOR DIVISION
Pos	First	Last	First	Last	Rd1	Rd2	Rd3	Tot
1	Kevin	Bedsole	Paul	Balatti	67	68	73	208
2	John	Hamm	Randy	Haag	73	69	67	209
3	Rick	Whitmore	Rick	Lindsey	67	73	75	215
4	Jim	Fletcher	Kelly	Erardi	72	70	73	215
5	Kim	Schwencke	Kevin	Davey	73	75	68	216
6	Jim	Silveira	John	Moore	80	72	74	226
7	Ralph	Hamm	Bob	Albritton	77	74	79	230
8	Sherman	Haggerty	Frank	Dall	75	81	76	232
9	Steve	Spitts	Scott	Ryles	74	79	80	233
10	Ronald	Tucker	George	Miller	75	79	79	233
11	Pierre	LaBarge	Tom	Kuhn	76	81	76	233
12	Ken	Harrison	Don	Daniels	77	80	77	234
NET DIVISION
Pos	First	Last	First	Last	Rd1	Rd2	Rd3	Tot
1	Charles	Smith	Joe	Colmery	65	65	64	194
2	Kevin	MacGillivray	Ken	Griffith	64	63	69	196
3	Greg	Bunting	Mitch	Friedman	68	69	63	200
4	David	Marriner	Gary	White	69	72	67	208
5	Charles	Mazzola	Eric	Hauser	74	71	65	210
6	Robert	Dillon	Allan	Rappoport	71	65	74	210
7	Mike	Roark	Tom	Callinan	71	69	74	214
8	Thomas	Jablonowski	Jeff	Dehart	67	74	74	215
9	Michael	Ofstedahl	Jeff	Kyer	72	70	74	216
10	Fred	Behling	Chris	Caputo	72	74	NC	NS
11	Tim	Maas	Mike	Schoeder	77	75	71	223
12	Peter	Pap	Donald	Ellis	DQ		70	NS
	* card off

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