2002 Touch 'Em All Tournament Recap

     With the season young and hope springing eternal, the CGA rolled into Lebanon, Ohio on May 11th for the highly anticipated first major of the year, the inaugural Touch 'Em All Tournament at Shaker Run Golf Club. Inspired by the season-ending CGA Championship, the TEA was born out of a need for an early season major.  Further, while the CGA is an individual competition, the League Office sought balance by having a tournament that would promote the team aspect of the league.  Mission accomplished.  The TEA was a homerun on all levels, including the selection of Shaker Run to host the event.  Soon after the tournament was over, the League Office announced that the CGA Board of Governors has named Shaker Run as the permanent home of the TEA Tournament.

     The day began with a net best ball competition on the Woodlands nine.  Scheraghtable Donation, with George Tzagournis subbing in for Scott Schoemer, showed some early promise coming in with a net best ball of 3 under par, tying The R & D Department for low net and the early lead.  Them Hate Us managed a 1 over par 37, while four teams carded 2 over par 38's.  The secret to the first nine holes was to stay in contention.

     Things got a little interesting on the Lakeside nine as the format switched to a scramble.  After sinking four consecutive 12 footers to save par for Red Bud, K.C. Budzik poured in a 50 foot bomb for birdie on the par 4 sixteenth.  That inspired his partner Brett Hosket to answer with a 10 footer for birdie on seventeen.  The 2 under gross converted to a net score of 30.6, which was good for low net honors for the nine and a share of second place.  Scheraghtable Donation started leaking some oil in the scramble, but was still hanging in there on the eighteenth tee, just 4 over gross on the nine and looking at a 1 under net and sole possession of second place if they could get home with a par.  With the wind swirling off the lake and gusting, the eighteenth proved too much as they carded an 8 and faded off the radar screen.  Them Hate Us moved into a tie for second place with Red Bud with a handy 31.6 net.  But R & D stayed hot with a 31.3 net to take over first by themselves, a healthy 7.7 strokes under for the tournament and 4.3 strokes up on Them Hate Us and Red Bud.

     The final nine holes moved to the Meadows nine for the modified alternating shot competition.  Of the three formats, this is by far the toughest, testing a team's balance and depth, and a fitting finish to the tournament.  If a team is relying heavily on one player who is hot, they might sneak through the best ball and the scramble.  But in modified alternating shot, sometimes affectionately called "Screw Your Partner", the three-legged horses are always exposed.  This format requires that both players contribute in order for a team to be successful.  And so, as the teams prepared to run the final gauntlet on the 19th tee, all bets were on R & D.  With Burkley and Sadd both playing well, it appeared that they might be poised for a blowout.

     However, Them Hate Us came out swinging, announcing that they were not not yet willing to give up the limelight as the elite team of the league, at least not without a fight.  While other teams in the field would find the format on this nine trying, to say the least, Them Hate Us hit the gas pedal and made their move.  Posting back to back birdies on nineteen and the difficult twentieth, they fired a warning shot that resounded amongst the hills and dales of Lebanon.  Playing in the group behind THU, R & D cruised to an easy par on nineteen, but encountered their first turbulence of the day on twenty where they carded a double-bogey six.  Oz and Southy had made up 4 shots in two holes and were within 0.7 of the lead.  Game on.

     Meanwhile, Red Bud was making their own surprising move to the front.  Getting 6.9 shots, they opened the final nine with three consecutive pars to go to 10.3 under and the outright lead by one.  A bogey on the twenty-second hole dropped them to 9.3 under and a tie for the lead with R & D, who righted themselves  with pars on twenty-one and twenty-two.  A bogey on twenty-one proved costly for THU, who fell to 1.7 shots off the lead.  But THU came right back with a bird on the par 5 twenty-second to get back to within 0.7 of the lead.  Then, the unspeakable happened.  Back to back bogies on the twenty-third and twenty-fourth holes for THU, while R & D and Red Bud went par and par respectively.  Things looked bleak for THU.  They would need to make up 3 shots on R & D and Red Bud on the final three holes to slip on the Gray Jackets. 

     The par 5 twenty-fifth presented a daunting tee shot, but a good chance at birdie.  Red Bud managed a par, but Them Hate Us answered with their fourth birdie of the nine, an astounding feat in the modified alternating shot format that may go unequalled for a long, long time.  After a tee shot by Burkley to within 230 yards, Sadd ripped a three wood to the back fringe.    But R & D couldn't convert and settled for a tap-in par.  Red Bud and R & D were still tied for the lead, with Them Hate Us now 1.7 shots.

     The par 3 twenty-sixth had more bite than bark.  A 175 yard carry over water became quite testy with the swirling wind.  Red Bud faltered and made double.  Oz and Southie played seven irons and made a solid par.  But by the time R & D got to the tee the wind had changed into the player's faces.  Sadd deposited his five iron effort into the pond, leaving Burkley with his thoughts, a four iron and their fate in his hands.  Taking no chances, he played to the back of the green but was unable to keep his four iron on the putting surface, leaving a difficult up and down.  R & D's bogey left them with a 1 shot lead over Red Bud and a slim 0.7 lead over THU going into the final hole.

     After the deflating double-bogey on twenty-six, Red Bud needed birdie.  Or some help.  They got neither.  A bogey 5 capped off a strong performance and a spirited run at the championship.  Them Hate Us closed out with a par to cap off a remarkable score of 35 gross in the final format and a low net score for the nine of 31.8.  R & D stood on the last hole a par away from victory.  Sadd responded with a another bomb off the tee, clearing the bunkers on the right side and leaving Burkley with a short iron into the green.  Burkley's drive found the bunkers and left Sadd with no chance of getting home in two.  The pressure fell squarely on Burkley's shoulders once again.   Displaying the nerves of a champion, Burkley came through with a shot to the front fringe, which they easily converted to par.  Their final score of 99.7 was 8.3 shots under par, 0.7 better than Them Hate Us and 2 shots better than Red Bud.   The 2002 Touch 'Em All was over, and R & D stood proud as Champions. 

2002 Touch 'Em All Champions

R & D Department:  Dan Sadd and Rob Burkley   

Tournament Results

Thanks to all participants for a very enjoyable and memorable tournament.  We definitely touched them all!