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Forty-Six players played in the 15th annual BPA Pro Golf PBeM tournament. All players first competed on the Augusta National course. The top 35 players who finished 1 over par and better survived the cut and moved on to contest the Muirfield Village course. The top 18 (those 2 under par and better) then advanced to contest the Pebble Beach course. The best cumulative score of the three rounds won the title. And in an all-time first, the tournament finished before the March Madness PBeM event.
Newcomer David Blatch (with John Daly) led the way early with a score of 6 under par at the Augusta National course. This gave him a two-stroke advantage over four players at 4 under par.
After the second round at Muirfield Village, David Blatch moved to 7 under par, and was tied by Bob Hamel (also with John Daly) who posted a 6 under par round of 66.
The third and final round at Pebble Beach saw Paul Pawlak (using Ray Floyd) start with a score of 5 under par and post a 4 under par round of 68 to reach 9 under par overall. The only other round of 68 was posted by Peter Stein (with Justin Leonard). Jeff Mullet (with Curtis Strange) and Bob Hamel came up one stroke short at 8 under par. Rob Drozd (Ray Floyd) and Nicole Reiff (Johnny Miller) were two strokes back and Peter Stein and David Blatch ended up 3 strokes back.
A closest-to-the-pin roll off was used to break the ties. Jeff Mullet and Bob Hamel were equally close on their first attempt, but Jeff put his next attempt closer to claim second place and leave Bob in third. Nicole Reiff and Rob Drozd also tied on their first attempt, with Nicole triumphing on the second attempt to place fourth while Rob settled for fifth. Finally, David Blatch and Peter Stein also tied in their first attempt to earn sixth place and its one single laurel. Pete won out on their second attempt to win the virtual sand plaque.
Congrats to champion Paul Pawlak, who also earned laurels last year.
The tournament will be restarted in March 2025. Come join us next year as we use the time of the Masters and the U.S. Open to determine another PBeM champion of the BPA Pro Golf world.
Laurelists were:
- Paul Pawlak
- Jeff Mullet
- Bob Hamel
- Nicole Reiff
- Rob Drozd
- Peter Stein
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44 players signed up to contest the 14th annual BPA Pro Golf PBeM tournament. All players first competed on the Augusta National course. The top 31 players who finished even par and better survived the cut and moved on to contest the Muirfield Village course. The top 15 (those two under par and better) then advanced to contest the Pebble Beach course. The best cumulative score of the three rounds won the title.
Dave Stiffler and Bill Dickerson (both with Justin Leonard) led the way early with a score of 6 under par at the Augusta National course. This was old hat for Dave, who posted a 5 under par score at Augusta last year. Oliver Searles was one stroke behind at 5 under par.
The second round at Muirfield Village was led once again by Dave Stiffler, whose 4 under par round put him in the overall lead at 10 under par. Bryce Trumble (with Ray Floyd) also completed Muirfield at 4 under par, moving him into a tie for second place with Bill Dickerson at
7 under par overall.
The third and final round at Pebble Beach saw Dave Stiffler claim an early start time and finish in even par to hold onto his overall score of 10 under par. Dave’s top contenders tended to all find water or the out of bounds markers to derail their championship hopes. A few players were successful at Pebble Beach, as Scott Nerney went 3 under par to finish in second place at 9 under par overall. Paul Pawlak shot 5 under par to tie Oliver Searles (who shot 3 under par) for third place. Bill Dickerson held on to fifth place with a tough round of 1 over par, while Bruce Monnin charged from deep in the field with a 3 under par round to claim sixth place laurels in the event for the second consecutive year.
The third-place tie was broken with a playoff at Augusta National. Paul Pawlak and Oliver Searles tied after the first three holes, but a double bogey on hole #4 hurt Oliver’s hopes. Paul still needed to sink a 16-foot putt on the sixth hole to secure the tie-break victory.
Congrats to champion Dave Stiffler, who last earned laurels in this event in 2010. Nothing like a plaque to end such a drought!
The tournament will be restarted in March 2024. Come join us next year as we use the time of the Masters and the U.S. Open to determine another PBeM champion of the BPA Pro Golf world.
Laurelists, in order, were Dave Stiffler, Scott Nerney, Paul Pawlak, Oliver Searles, Bill Dickerson, and Bruce Monnin
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46 players signed up to contest the thirteenth annual BPA Pro Golf PBeM tournament. All players first competed on the Augusta National course.
The top 32 players who finished one over par and better survived the cut and moved on to contest the Muirfield Village course. The top 16 (those one under par and better) then advanced to contest the Pebble Beach course. The best cumulative score of the three rounds won the title.
Sean McCulloch (with Shigeki Maruyama) blitzed the Augusta National course with a 7 under par score of 65. His nearest competition came from David Stiffler (also with Shigeki) and Paul Pawlak (Johnny Miller), with rounds of 5 under par.
The second round at Muirfield Village was dominated by Rob Kircher (Colin Montgomery) whose 7 under par round of 65 was three strokes better than the rest of the field. His overall score of 8 under par placed him two strokes ahead of Mike Pacheco (Curtis Strange) and three shots ahead of David Stiffler, Paul Pawlak and Sean McCulloch.
The third and final round at Pebble Beach saw the top players hoping for a good round and a collapse by Rob Kircher. Mike Pacheco fired a 2 under par 70 to get to 8 under par, while Rob Kircher went one under par through 16 holes to hold on to a one stroke lead.
A few players then gathered for the third annual (and probably last) Zoom finale to see if Kircher would put a shot into the Pacific Ocean. His tee shot on the par 3 17th hole landed squarely on the green, and he two putted for par. On the par 5 18th, he removed all doubt, hitting his tee shot long and straight down the middle, then going for the green and dropping his fairway wood 11 feet from the hole. In true championship form, he drained the putt for an eagle to win the tournament by three strokes with an overall score of 11 under par. This is Rob’s first title in many attempts at both the WBC and PBeM versions of the event.
Mike Pacheco finished as our runner-up at 8 under par. Jessica Finkeldey beat out Mike Coomes in a roll-off of 7 under par finishers to claim third place and leave Mike in fourth.
David Stiffler took fifth place laurels and Bruce Monnin placed sixth, beating out David Schneider, John Coussis, Paul Pawlak and Sean McCulloch in the roll-off of players who finished 6 under par.
The tournament will be restarted in March 2023. Come join us next year as we use the time of the Masters and the U.S. Open to determine another PBeM champion of the BPA Pro Golf world.
The laurelists, in order were Rob Kircher, Mike Pacheco, Jessica Finkeldey, Mike Coomes, David Stiffler, and Bruce Monnin.
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47 players signed up to contest the twelfth annual BPA Pro Golf PBeM tournament. All players first competed on the Augusta National course. The top 32 players who finished one over par and better survived the cut and moved on to contest the Muirfield Village course. The top 17 (those one under par and better) then advanced to contest the Pebble Beach course. The best cumulative score of the three rounds won the title.
Dennis Nicholson (with Justin Leonard) and Rebekah Monnin (John Daly), led the way early at Augusta with rounds of 6 under par. Ken Gutermuth (Shigeki Maruyama), Bruce Monnin (also Shigeki) and Bill Dickerson (Curtis Strange) were one stroke behind at 5 under.
Nicole Reiff (with Ray Floyd) had the best second round, posting a 5 under par round of 67 at Muirfield Village to reach 5 under par overall. Ken Gutermuth used a 4 under par round to take the overall lead at 9 under par overall. Rebekah Monnin and Max Jamelli (Johnny Miller) entered the final round one stroke behind Ken.
The third and final round at Pebble Beach again proved decisive, as the top ten players on this course finished in the top ten overall.
Laurie Wojtaszczyk (Shigeki Maruyama) came out of nowhere to go 8 strokes under par through 16 holes to claim the early lead. After 16 holes, Bruce Monnin came in at 11 under, Max Jamelli at 10 under and Dennis Nicholson at 9 under. Ken Gutermuth waited until the final day, started 6 under par through 9 holes, but went 2 under on the back nine to finish 4 under par for the round, 13 under overall.
Wojtaszczyk, Monnin and Jamelli gathered on the second annual Zoom finale to complete their rounds. Max birdied hole #17 to finish at 11 under par. Bruce chipped in for a birdie on hole #18 to surpass Max at 12 under par. Laurie survived the 17th hole with a par, but then proceeded to put her tee shot in the Pacific Ocean on the 18th hole and took a devastating double-bogey.
That left Ken Gutermuth as our Pro Golf champion this year. Bruce Monnin finished as runner-up for the second consecutive year. Adding insult to her late double-bogey misery, Laurie Wojtaszczyk was defeated by Max Jamelli in a three-hole Augusta playoff to drop to fourth place while Max claimed third.
Dennis Nicholson took fifth place laurels and Nicole Reiff placed sixth.
The tournament will be restarted in March 2022. Come join us next year as we use the time of the Masters and the U.S. Open to determine another PBeM champion of the BPA Pro Golf world.
- 1st – Ken Gutermuth
- 2nd – Bruce Monnin
- 3rd – Max Jamelli
- 4th – Laurie Wojtaszczyk
- 5th – Dennis Nicholson
- 6th – Nicole Reiff
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49 players signed up to contest the tenth annual BPA Pro Golf PBeM tournament. All players first competed on the Augusta National course. The top 34 players who finished one over par and better survived the cut and moved on to contest the Muirfield Village course. The top 18 (those one under par and better) then advanced to contest the Pebble Beach course. The best cumulative score of the three rounds won the title.
Bob Hamel (with Curtis Strange) got out to his usual fast start, blistering Augusta with a round of 8 under par. Laurie Wojtaszczyk (also with Curtis Strange, hmm) was one stroke behind at 7 under par. Ken Gutermuth (with Ray Floyd) was next closest at 5 under.
Peter Stein (with John Daly) had the best second round, posting a 6 under par round of 66 at Muirfield Village to reach 7 under par. This was three strokes better than the next best rounds posted by Bruce Monnin (with Shigeki Maruyama) and Bruce Reiff (with Johnny Miller) of 3 under par 69.
Bob Hamel retained the lead after the second round at 10 under par. Stein and Monnin were three stokes back at 7 under par.
The third and final round at Pebble Beach again proved decisive, as the top six players on this course finished in the top seven overall.
Pebble Beach has been the final course for six years now. After scoring 2 under par after the first two rounds, Cindy Drozd (with Shigeki Maruyama) went out early and tied the best ever score of 7 under par 65 to end the event at 9 under par to finish fourth.
Bruce Reiff also had a great final round, and his 5 under par round of 67 tied him with Cindy. Reiff won the tiebreaker of three holes at Augusta to finish in third place.
After leader Bob Hamel played quickly and posted a disastrous two over par round of 74 to fall out of contention (finishing sixth after losing a tiebreaker to Nicole Reiff), the tournament became a duel between Stein and Monnin. Both players played gradually, usually at a pace of a hole (or slightly less) per day, and the lead switched hands many times.
After the 13th hole, Monnin had a one stroke lead. When Stein missed a four foot par putt on the 14th hole, the lead grew to two strokes. Stein then made a late charge by birdieing the final two holes to even up the match.
Monnin was still tied after the 17th hole, then made a critical mistake. After setting up a Zoom meeting where anyone could view his final hole (and at least 14 players sadly had nothing better to do in the middle of a workday than to watch, some with their co-workers), fate had indeed been tempted. His tee shot landed squarely in the Pacific Ocean, destroying his chances for a tournament winning birdie. An 18 foot par putt was missed badly, and the tournament belonged to 2017 champ (and 2018 runner-up) Peter Stein.
The tournament will be restarted in March 2021. Come join us next year as we use the time of the Masters and the U.S. Open to determine another PBeM champion of the BPA Pro Golf world.
The top six finishers were:
- 1st – Peter Stein
- 2nd – Bruce Monnin
- 3rd – Bruce Reiff
- 4th – Cindy Drozd
- 5th – Nicole Reiff
- 6th – Bob Hamel
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44 players signed up to contest the ninth annual BPA Pro Golf PBeM tournament. All players first competed on the Augusta National course. The top 31 players who finished one over par and better survived the cut and moved on to contest the Muirfield Village course. The top 18 (those one under par and better) then advanced to contest the Pebble Beach course. The best cumulative score of the three rounds won the title.
Bob Hamel (with Ray Floyd) and Mike Lembke (with Justin Leonard) took a 3 stroke lead over the rest of the field after opening rounds at the Augusta National course with six under par scores of 66. Bob and Mike had middling second rounds, as Bob’s even par round of 72 at Muirfield Village kept him tied for the lead at 6 under par, while Mike posted a 2 over par round of 74 kept him within reach of the leaders at 4 under par.
Cindy Drozd (with Colin Montgomery) had the best second round, posting a 6 under par round of 66 at Muirfield Village to reach 5 under par. Grant LaDue (with Curtis Strange) fired a second round score of 4 under par 68, tying him for the lead at 6 under overall.
The third and final round at Pebble Beach again proved decisive, as the top five players on this course finished in the top five overall.
Pebble Beach has been the final course for five years now. After scoring 3 under par after the first two rounds, Sean McCulloch (with Justin Leonard) went out early and tied the best ever score of 7 under par 65 to end the event at 10 under par to earn a repeat of his 2014 championship.
Nicole Reiff (with Shigeki Maruyama) also had a great final round, but a bogey on the par three 17th hole left her 6 under par for the round, and in second place at 9 under par overall. Laurie Wojtaszczyk (with Johnny Miller) also finished 6 under par for the round, but started a stroke behind Nicole and finished in third place at 8 under par.
Out second round leaders? Grant posted a 2 over par round of 74 to finish in seventh place overall. Bob set a new standard for choking, scoring an 8 over par round of 80 to finish in 17th place.
Bryan Collars (with John Daly), Mike Pacheco (with Ray Floyd) and Cindy Drozd tied for fourth place at 5 under par. Bryan won the three hole playoff at Arrowhead Park (in beautiful Minster, Ohio) to claim fourth place. Mike defeated Cindy over the next three holes to take fifth and leave Cindy in sixth.
The tournament will be restarted in March 2020. Come join us next year as we use the time of the Masters and the U.S. Open to determine another PBeM champion of the BPA Pro Golf world.
The top six finishers were:
- 1st – Sean McCulloch
- 2nd – Nicole Reiff
- 3rd – Laurie Wojtaszczyk
- 4th – Bryan Collars
- 5th – Mike Pacheco
- 6th – Cindy Drozd
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45 players signed up to contest the eighth annual BPA Pro Golf PBeM tournament. All players first competed on the Augusta National course. The top 30 players who finished even par and better survived the cut and moved on to contest the Muirfield Village course. The top 15 (those one under par and better) then advanced to contest the Pebble Beach course. The best cumulative score of the three rounds won the title.
Justin Rice scorched the opening round Augusta National course with a score of six under par. Paul Pawlak and defending champion Peter Stein were only one stroke behind. Rice then performed the traditional leader’s second round collapse, as his 3 over par round dropped him to just 3 under par and into a tie for sixth place. After an opening par round, newcomer Mathieu Danel posted a 7 under par round of 65 at Muirfield Village, the best round seen on this course in the eight years of the event. Stein and Jessica Finkeldey were tied for second, two strokes back at 5 under par.
As the event moved to its third and final round at Pebble Beach, only five players finished the course under par, and all five finished among the top six overall.
Pebble Beach has been the final course for four years now. After Thomas Browne barely survived the cut at 1 under par, he went out early and posted a best ever score of 7 under par 65 to end the event at 8 under par. Alexandra Monnin also squeaked past the cut at 1 under par, but she only posted the second best round, a 4 under par 68, to finish 5 under par overall.
Stein started the final round at 5 under par. After the first six holes, Peter’s score was down to 10 under par. However, his game stalled from there (likely due to the pressure of the event), as he lost a stroke to be 9 under par after 17 holes. Needing only to avoid a bogey on the par 5 18th hole for the title, Stein put his third shot into the sand, put his wedge to within 8 feet of the hole and then missed the medium range par putt. He and Thomas Browne moved on to a three hole tiebreaker at the exceedingly short Arrowhead Park course.
Thomas continued his hot play and finished one under par on the tiebreaker holes to claim the overall title. Peter missed mid length putts on all three holes to lose by two strokes and finish one place lower on the podium this year.
Jessica Finkeldey and Jeff Mullet had opportunities to join this leading duo. Jessica probably lost her chance when she missed a 4 foot par putt on the opening hole, while Jeff missed a 3 foot birdie putt on hole #10 to also leave him one stroke behind Thomas and Peter. Jessica then won the tiebreaker for third place, leaving Jeff in fourth.
Mathieu Danel had a tough 1 over par round to finish 6 under par to claim fifth place, while Alexandra Monnin finished in sixth place at 5 under par.
The tournament will be restarted in March 2019. Come join us next year as we use the time of the Masters and the U.S. Open to determine another PBeM champion of the BPA Pro Golf world.
The top six finishers were:
- 1st – Thomas Browne
- 2nd – Peter Stein
- 3rd – Jessica Finkeldey
- 4th – Jeff Mullet
- 5th – Mathieu Danel
- 6th – Alexandra Monnin
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For those who keep track (myself only, I am sure) we had a more efficient field, as only 11,670 emails were required to finish this year’s tournament, a full 920 fewer than two years ago, though up slightly from last year.
47 players signed up to contest the seventh annual BPA Pro Golf PBeM tournament. All players first competed on the Augusta National course. The top 34 players who finished two over par and better survived the cut and moved on to contest the Muirfield Village course. The top 16 (those one under par and better) then advanced to contest the Pebble Beach course. The best cumulative score of the three rounds won the title.
Peter Stein ran away from the field on the Augusta National course with a score of seven under par, three strokes better than his nearest competitors, Ken Gutermuth, Thomas Browne and Bruce Monnin. Stein then performed the expected second round collapse, as his three over par round dropped him to just four under overall and into a tie for fifth place. Derek Landel scorched the Muirfield Village with a four under par round of 68, putting him into a first place tie at seven under par with new convention director Ken Gutermuth. GM Bruce Monnin was one stroke back, while Thomas Browne hovered only two shots behind the co-leaders.
While nine of the sixteen players on the final round at Pebble Beach would find enough water and out of bounds to finish over par, our first round leader lived on the edge to reclaim his lead. Peter was asked to ROLL ONE DIE! 7 times during the round, and never once went out of bounds or in the water. While five times he flirted with disaster and survived, two of those rolls were 50-50 chances to pitch in for eagles, and he made both rolls.
Pete also needed to consult the 2nd Putt Card five times without suffering a dreaded 3 putt. He did miss one 2 footer for birdie, but otherwise had a magical six under par round of 66 to take the overall lead at ten strokes under par.
Ken Gutermuth reached three under par after the sixth hole to also reach an overall score of ten under par. Ken would later birdie the par four 15th hole, which would have been good enough for the title if not for his back to back bogeys on the ninth and tenth holes to leave him in second place at nine under par.
It appeared Peter had the tournament in the bag, but Scott Nerney played the front nine four strokes under par to get within four strokes of the lead. A bogey on the par four 13th hole deeply hurt his chances, but birdies on the 14th, 16th and 18th holes allowed him to finish six under par for the round and in third place at eight under for the tournament.
John Cousis and Jeff Finkeldey tied for fourth place, with John triumphing after six holes of tiebreaker action. Likewise, Bob Hamel claimed sixth place when he survived six holes of tie-breaker play against Thomas Browne.
The tournament will be restarted in March 2018. Come join us next year as we use the time of the Masters and the U.S. Open to determine another PBeM champion of the BPA Pro Golf world.
The top six finishers were:
- 1st – Peter Stein
- 2nd – Ken Gutermuth
- 3rd – Scott Nerney
- 4th – John Coussis
- 5th – Jeff Finkeldey
- 6th – Bob Hamel
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A field of 44 duffers contested the 6th Annual BPA Pro Golf PBeM tournament. All players first competed on the Augusta National course. The top 32 players who finished two over par and better survived the cut and moved on to contest the Muirfield Village course. The top 16 (those even par and better) then advanced to contest the Pebble Beach course. The best cumulative score for three rounds would take the title - or so we thought. After 92 rounds, a play-off would be required.
Chris Kizer led early with a seven under par effort on the Augusta National course, while Laurie Wojtaszczyk hovered just one stroke back. A three under par round at Muirfield Village kept Chris in the lead, while Alexandra Monnin used the best round of the field at five under par to draw within a stroke of the lead. Mike Pacheco and Marshall Collins each also carded scores of three under par to draw within two and three strokes of the leader.
Kizer and Monnin would be early finishers on the final course at Pebble Beach. Alexandra had the highest score of the field on this final round, but this is golf, where a lower score is desired. Her four over par effort dropped her from laurel contention. Chris would reach two under par after the third hole, then played a conservative rest of the round, finishing at two under par for the course and twelve under for the event.
Scott Nerney then posted the best round at Pebble Beach, finishing five under par. Defending champ Debbie Gutermuth scored four under par, and both players tied for third at nine under par for the event. Scott would go on to claim third place laurels thanks to better dice during the tie-breaker. Robert Kircher ended the tournament in fifth place while Marshall Collins collected the last of the laurels for sixth.
Mike Pacheco was one of the round’s late finishers. By the twelfth hole, he had overcome an early bogey to reach four under par, good enough to tie for the overall lead. On the 15th hole, two bonus feet gained thanks due his superlative drive just barely gave him the ability to sink an eleven foot birdie putt to claim the tournament lead. After missing long birdie putts on the next two holes, Mike needed only a par five on the final hole ti web it all. Alas, his tee shot found the water, his layup found the sand, and his ten foot par putt failed to find the hole, necessitating a tie-breaker for the title for the third time in the last four years.
Each player had to play the first three holes at Arrowhead Park, the golfing pride of Minster, Ohio, to break the tie. Mike opened the door on the second hole when he missed an 11-foot par putt. After parring the first two holes, Chris could win with a third par, but he missed a 6 footer and both golfers were one over par, thus needing to play three more holes.
After both parred hole 4, Mike missed a golden opportunity when he failed on an 8-foot birdie putt on the par five fifth hole. Chris had a similar 9-foot birdie putt, which he drained to regain a one stroke lead. After Mike parred the sixth, Chris again needed only par for victory. This time he left no doubt, easily holing a three-foot birdie putt to win his first BPA championship wood by two strokes.
The tournament will be restarted in March 2017. Come join us next year as we use the time of the Masters and the U.S. Open to determine another PBeM champion of the BPA Pro Golf world.
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Over 13,600 emails later, we have a champion.
A record field of 51 players contested the 6th annual BPA Pro Golf PBeM tournament. All players first competed on the Augusta National course. The top 40 players who finished 2 over par and better survived the cut and moved on to contest the Muirfield Village course. The top 22 (those one under par and better) then advanced to contest the Pebble Beach course. The best cumulative score of the three rounds won the title.
Debbie Gutermuth and jessica Finkeldey each blistered Augusta to the tune of 7 under. Bruce reiff, Kevin Wojtaszczyk and Ron Emch trailed by three strokes. Debbie grew her lead to four strokes with a 4 under at the Muirfield Village course. Only Terry Coleman and Jennifer Visocnik posting 5 under 67s would card a better round as they moved into a tie for second.
Jennifer and Terry would outplay Debbie on Pebble Beach, but their threats died with bogeys on the last four holes. Deb carded a 2 under to go 13 under o win the tournament. Her score has only been topped by Mark Yoshikawa's 18 under total in 2013 on what some would argue were easier courses.
Jennifer finished 11 under to take second place laurels. Terry was a stroke behind her to claim third. Dennis Nicholson bested Bruce Reiff in a three-hole playoff to claim fourth at 9 under while Peter Staab garnered sixth at 8 under.
Derek Landel shot the most frustrating round with a 9 over at Pebble Beach, but that was still one shot short of Bob Hamel's 10 over in 2013 on the Muirfield course.
The tournament will be restarted in March 2016. Come join us next year as we use the time of the Masters, the Memorial and the U.S. Open to determine another PBeM champion of the BPA Pro Golf world.
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Only 12,590 emails later, we have a champion.
A record field of 51 players contested the 5th annual BPA Pro Golf PBeM tournament. All players first competed on the Muirfield Village course. The top 35 players who finished one over par and better survived the cut and moved on to contest the Lancaster Host course. The top 17 (those two under par and better) then advanced to contest the Augusta National course. The best cumulative score of the three rounds won the title.
Robert Kircher and Harry Flawd led the field at five under par on the Muirfield Village course. Peter Stein then crushed the Lancaster Host course with a round of seven under par to take a one shot lead into the final round. While Peter would collapse with a three over par round at Augusta, others would seize the initiative. It was one of those days during the final round at Augusta, as the roars of the crowd reverberated throughout the back nine.
Laurie Wojtaszczyk was one of the early golfers to take on the final course at Augusta National. She blistered the front nine at five under par. After a bogey at 10, she birdied 13 and 16 and scored an eagle at the 15th hole. Unfortunately, a bogey on the final hole left her at 12 under par for the tournament, one stroke short of the necessary total.
Sean McCulloch was the next contender to challenge Amen corner. After only playing the front nine at even par, he birdied holes 10, 11, 12 and 14, while carding eagles at both par 5's, holes 13 and 15. With a three stroke lead, Sean's magic collapsed, as he bogeyed both holes 16 and 17. On the final hole, Sean earned his only par of the back nine, but needed to drain an 18 foot putt to win by a stroke.
It appeared Sean had the tournament in the bag, but recent March Madness PBeM winner Robert Kircher was lurking three strokes back with four holes to play. Robert also eagled 15 to move to within one stroke, then sank a 20 foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to force a playoff.
For the tie-breaker, Sean and Robert faced off at Arrowhead Park (the GM's home course). Sean (with perennial favorite golfer Shigeki Maruyama) and Robert (using Bob Tway) each shot par for the first four holes, setting up the decisive fifth hole. Sean went first on the par 5, laying up on his second shot. A nice chip led to a successful seven-foot birdie putt. Robert tried to match with his own second shot layup. However, he found the pond that wraps around the green. Shaken by that, a poor pitch and putt followed, leading to a double bogey. To emphasize his victory, Sean then birdied the sixth hole to seal the deal.
Meanwhile, Laurie used golfer Johnny Miller to claim third place while Harry Flawd (Bob Tway) was two strokes further back in fourth. Terry Coleman and Rebekah Monnin, who both were assigned Ray Floyd, tied for fifth, but Terry won the playoff to earn the higher placing and the extra laurels.
The tournament will be restarted in March 2015. Come join us next year as we use the time of the Masters and the U.S. Open to determine another PBeM champion of the BPA Pro Golf world.
The top six finishers were:
- 1st – Sean McCulloch
- 2nd – Rob Kircher
- 3rd – Laurie Wojtaszczyk
- 4th – Harry Flawd
- 5th – Terry Coleman
- 6th – Rebekah Monnin
For those of you interested, here are the historical results for the seven golfers used in this year's event.
Muirfield Village Average Scores:
- 69.0 = Bob Tway 1986 (5)
- 70.7 = Shigeki Maruyama 2005 (19)
- 72.0 = Ray Floyd 1984 (20)
- 72.6 = Curtis Strange 1981 (21)
- 72.8 = John Daly 2004 (14)
- 72.4 = Johnny Miller 1981 (18)
- 74.5 = Bernhard Langer 1986 (6)
Lancaster Host Average Scores:
- 67.2 = Bob Tway 1986 (5)
- 70.3 = Curtis Strange 1981 (19)
- 70.5 = Shigeki Maruyama 2005 (18)
- 70.6 = John Daly 2004 (10)
- 70.6 = Ray Floyd 1984 (19)
- 71.1 = Johnny Miller 1981 (15)
- 72.5 = Bernhard Langer 1986 (2)
Augusta Average Scores:
- 70.8 = Johnny Miller 1981 (4)
- 70.8 = Bob Tway 1986 (5)
- 70.9 = Ray Floyd 1984 (7)
- 71.2 = Shigeki Maruyama 2005 (6)
- 72.3 = Curtis Strange 1981 (3)
- 72.7 = John Daly 2004 (3)
Overall Average Scores:
- 69.0 = Bob Tway 1986 (15)
- 70.7 = Shigeki Maruyama 2005 (43)
- 71.2 = Ray Floyd 1984 (46)
- 71.6 = Curtis Strange 1981 (43)
- 71.7 = Johnny Miller 1981 (37)
- 72.0 = John Daly 2004 (27)
- 74.0 = Bernhard Langer 1986 (8)
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A record field of 48 players took to the links 99 times to contest the 4th Annual BPA Pro Golf PBeM tournament. All players first competed on the Muirfield Village course. A third of the field was culled with the rest moving on to contest the Lancaster Host course. The top third of the original field then advanced to challenge the Augusta National course. The best cumulative score of the three rounds won the title.
It was far and away our most closely contested tournament in the four years of the event, as seven players ended the final round within one stroke of the lead. Defending champion Mark Yoshikawa jumped out to the first round lead with a 5 under par effort on the Muirfield Village course. However, unlike last year where he took a four-stroke lead after the first course, he was joined at -5 by Debbie Gutermuth, Sean McCulloch and Alexandra Monnin.
Sean and Grant LaDue posted the best scores in the second round with 6 under on the Lancaster Host course. This gave Sean the overall lead at 11 under, one stroke ahead of Mark. Alan Evenson lingered just two strokes back, Grant and Debbie were three behind while 2011 champion Dennis Nicholson lurked four strokes off the pace.
The 18 survivors moved on to the third course, Augusta National, which exacted a heavy price from the pretenders. Leader McCulloch posted a disappointing score of 3 over par to fall to -8 overall. He was soon passed by Nicholson, who used a 2 under par round to finish -9 for the tournament. Yoshikawa, who started his final round 4 over par, birdied the last three holes to tie for the lead and force a playoff for the title.
Sean McCulloch was not the only player to finish one stroke off the lead. He was joined by Debbie Gutermuth (who just missed her birdie putt on the final hole), Mike Pacheco, Grant LaDue and Bill Morse (who posted the best Augusta score of 4 under par).
For the tie-breaker, Dennis and Mark faced off for three holes at Arrowhead Park (the GM's home course). Things started poorly for the defending champ, as Mark's golfer, Bruce Lietzke, bogeyed the first hole while Dennis' golfer, Curtis Strange, shot par. Mark rallied for a birdie on the second hole, but Dennis matched it to retain a one-stroke lead. Mark showed the heart of a champion by scoring another birdie on the third hole. But Dennis was not to be denied, as he rolled a glorious 66 to drain his tournament winning birdie putt.
Meanwhile, Debbie Gutermuth emerged from six holes of tie-breaker action to claim third place over Mike Pacheco, Grant LaDue, Sean McCulloch and Bill Morse - who finished 7th - just out of the laurels.
The tournament will be restarted in March 2014. Come join us next year as we use the time of the Masters and the U.S. Open to determine another PBeM champion of the BPA Pro Golf world.
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A record field of 44 players contested the third annual BPA Pro Golf PBeM tournament over the course of 95 games. All players first competed on the Lancaster Host course. The top two-thirds of the field survived the cut and moved on to contest the always difficult Muirfield Village course. The top one-third of the original field then advanced to contest the Arrowhead Park local public course. The best cumulative score of the three rounds won the title.
Mark Yoshikawa shocked the rest of the field when he captained his golfer, John Daly, to a 9 under par 62 on the Lancaster Host course. That gave him a four stroke lead over Chris Kizer, whose golfer was Bruce Lietzke. What made Yoshikawa's round more shocking was that the other four players who had John Daly as their golfer averaged a score of 73.5 for the round.
John Coussis (with golfer Lee Trevino) posted a best score in the second round of six under par on the Muirfield Village course, which put him in a second place tie with Mark Mitchell (and Shigeki Maruyama). However, both were six strokes behind Yoshikawa, who posted a four under par 68 on the course.
Twenty players were left to move onto the third course, Arrowhead Park. Jeff Mullet (with Bruce Lietzke) posted the best score on the course at ten strokes under par, but his combined score of eleven under par was only good enough for fifth place.
Chris Kizer also ended play at eleven under par, earning fourth place. Mark Mitchell finished in third place at 12 under par, and John Coussis tried to keep things interesting with a second place finish at 13 under par.
But nothing could stop the mighty Yoshikawa. His digital dice cooled a bit, and he only finished five under par at Arrowhead Park, the eighth best result of the field. But his nearly insurmountable lead coming into the round was good enough to leave him with a five stroke cushion over the stunned field, an 18 strokes under par effort for the tournament. It was a surprisingly easy victory for a BPA member winning his first event after 18 years of Avaloncon/BPA participation.
The tournament will be restarted in March 2013. Come join us next year as we use the time of the Masters and the U.S. Open to determine another PBeM champion of the BPA Pro Golf world.
The top 6 laurelists were:
- 1st Mark Yoshikawa
- 2nd John Coussis
- 3rd Mark Mitchell
- 4th Chris Kizer
- 5th Jeff Mullet
- 6th Bruce Monnin
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A field of 41 duffers signed up to contest the second annual BPA Pro Golf PBeM tournament. All players first competed on the Augusta National course. The top two-thirds of the field survived the cut and moved on to contest the world famous and always difficult Lancaster Host course - home of the WBC. The top one-third of the original field then advanced to contest the Muirfield Village course - home of world famous golf analyst Bruce Monnin. The best cumulative score of the three rounds won the title.
Mark Mitchell used golfer Shigeki Maruyama to blitz Augusta National for a first round best score of six under par. One stroke behind were Dennis Nicholson (with Tom Kite) and Dave Stiffler (with Johnny Miller). Consul Bruce Reiff (with golfer Tom Kite) posted the best score in the second round with six under par on the Lancaster Host course, which put him one one stroke behind the leaders. Dennis Nicholson and Robert Kircher (with Jerry Pate) led with a cumulative score of -9. Bill Morse (also with Jerry Pate) tied Bruce Reiff at one stroke off the lead thanks to a -5 round.
Fifteen survivors moved onto the third course, Muirfield Village. Debbie Gutermuth (with John Daly) posted the best score for the course at -5, but her combined score of nine under was only good enough for fourth place. Mike Pacheco and Bruce Reiff both ended play at -11. Bruce won the three-hole playoff to claim second place and relegate Mike to third. Dennis Nicholson lost his lead with a slow start to his final round, then recovered on the back nine to go 12 under par after 17 holes, one stroke ahead of Bruce and Mike. With the pressure on, he calmly birdied the final hole for a two-stroke victory. With this win, Dennis now has bookend plaques to go with his 2001 WBC championship.
The tournament will be restarted in March 2012. Come join us next year as we use the time of the Masters, the U.S. Open and the British Open to determine another PBeM champion of the BPA Pro Golf world.
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A field of 34 players with too much time on their hands signed up to contest the first annual (sigh) BPA Pro Golf PBeM tournament. All players first competed on the Augusta National course. The top half of the field survived the cut and moved on to contest the always difficult Lancaster Host course, home of WBC. The best cumulative score of the two rounds won the title.
Champion Lisa Gutermuth used golfer Jerry Pate to be one of three golfers to finish the first round at six strokes under par. Dennis Nicholson (also with Jerry Pate) and Andrew Daw (Johnny Miller) were the other two leaders after the opening round.
Dave Stiffler set the best score on the Lancaster Host course, his six under par 65 vaulting him from 17th place after the first round into a 5th place finish. Josh Githens (using golfer Tom Kite) was just one stroke behind, his five under par 66 moving him into a second place tie with Nicholson. The tiebreaker went in favor of Dennis when he won a six hole playoff on the Muirfield Village course by a whopping four strokes.
Plaque winner Gutermuth was also only one stroke off the best mark for the second round. The combination of her consistently good (?) play on both courses allowed her to post a final score of 11 under par, two strokes better than the rest of the field. She had an eagle in each round, on the 15th hole at Augusta and on the 18th hole at the Lancaster Host to seal the win (especially combined with Nicholson's missed three-foot putt for a bogey on the 18th).
Lisa also demonstrated an advantage of PBeM play as she participated in a lot of "night golf" under the lights. She finished the first game between 12:40 and 1:55am, prompting the GM to remark to this college student, ""Don't you have worse things to be doing after midnight on a Friday?"
The tournament will be restarted in March 2011. Come join us next year as we use the time between the Masters and the U.S. Open to determine another PBeM champion of the BPA Pro Golf world.
The top six finishers were:
- 1st: Lisa Gutermuth
- 2nd: Dennis Nicholson
- 3rd: Josh Githens
- 4th: Nicole Reiff
- 5th: Dave Stiffler
- 6th: Rob Drozd
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