Nightmare
on Shaker St. turns into Massacre
A glorious spring
day greeted the CGA at Shaker Run this year, a welcome change
from the non-stop downpour that prevailed in 2003. Some
things, like the weather, were different from 2003. Some
things, like Greg May being on the winning team, weren't.
The Commash became the first two-time winner of the event, as
well as the first back-to-back winner, in it's brief three year
history. Lexus Budzsaw Massacre built a six stroke lead at
one point, saw it vanish, then came back on the final hole to
win the 3rd Touch 'Em All Tournament on May 22nd.
Like the previous two TEA
champions before them, LBM got off to a good start by posting a
stellar 32 net best ball, and taking the early lead. (If
you follow trends, here's one: the three winning teams of
the TEA have all had the lowest, or have been tied for lowest,
best ball.) Right behind LBM after nine holes were
LBM's playing partners, Steak & Shake, as well as the
made-for-this-event-only team of R&D II, Dan Sadd and Rob Burkley,
winners of the first TEA in 2002. When their respective
partners, Andy Shaffer and Pete Ebel, were unable to compete in
the 2004 TEA, Sadd and Burkley were matched up and tried to
become the first two golfers to win a second TEA as
partners. Both Steak & Shake and R&D II carded
33's on the first nine. DEA was fourth with a 34.
In the
scramble portion of the event, things got a
little interesting, as they usually do.
Steak & Shake had shown signs of a wobbly
wheel on the last three holes of the best
ball. Fry had suddenly started hitting it
sideways, but Ayers had his back, making three
straight pars on his own ball on the final three
holes. In the scramble, Fry's struggles
continued and Ayers couldn't carry the load all
by himself. Steak & Shake ballooned to
a 35.18 on the second nine and fell into 4th
place.
LBM
stayed hot and was pigging out at the All You
Can Eat Ham and Eggs Breakfast Bar. Their
32.34 was only 3rd best in the scramble, but it
was enough to maintain a slim lead. Sadd
and Burkley kept the pressure on with a 32.26,
and remained in second place. DEA's 33.37
in the scramble came up short and they found
themselves in third, but a distant 3.03 points
behind after two nines. Posting the lowest score
for the scramble was Happy Days with a
31.66. After a rough start led to a an
inflated best ball of 38, Ralph and Potsie found
themselves out of it in all likelihood, but they
weren't throwing in the towel just yet.
While
all of the TEA champions have taken early leads
by posting the lowest best ball score, all too
have had to run the gauntlet that is alternate
shot. TEA championships might be born in
the best ball, but they are not won, or lost,
until the alternate shot. As most every
CGAer will attest, nothing comes close to the
pressure and intensity of Alt Shot. LBM
and R&D II teed off in the final group for
Alt Shot with May and Budzik holding a slim 0.92
point lead.
LBM
gave themselves some breathing room with a par
on the first hole, while R&D II made
bogey. Things looked up for Sadd and
Burkley on the third hole when The Commash
chunked his tee shot in the water and Budzik
missed the green and short-sided it on on the
steep hill just right of the green. Sadd
was lining up a 20 foot birdie putt when The
Commash dunked his chip shot for a birdie.
R & D made par, but watched what looked like
a certain 1 point pickup turn the other
way. With the stroke differential factored
in, LBM now had a comfortable 5.92 point lead
with six holes to play.
Things
changed in a hurry on the par five 7th
hole. LBM couldn't put one in play off the
tee, leading to a disastrous triple-bogey
8. Seizing their chance, Burkley planted a
wedge to birdie range and Sadd drilled the putt
for a 4. The lead was now only 1.92 with
two holes to play.
On the
par three 8th, the pressure was palpable.
LBM had blown a gasket and was leaking oil
fast. R&D II was alive and surging
with momentum. Budzik's tee shot found
water and The Commash overclubbed it into the
heather left of the green. Budzik would
get a drop from casual water, but had an
impossible lob shot to the green. After
The Commash chipped it on the green, a two putt
gave them a double-bogey 5. R&D II
pounced. When Sadd's tee shot found the
back middle of the green, a cautious two putt
gave them a par and the outright lead by 0.08
points.
On the
final hole, R&D II's chances took a huge hit
when Burkley's tee shot found the right fairway
bunker. Sadd had been hitting irons with
laser-like accuracy all day, but he would have
virtually no chance at the final green.
His tee shot split the fairway putting the
pressure squarely on Burkley for the second
shot. May and Budzik made sure to avoid
the fairway bunker, but overdid it a bit finding
the left rough. Facing difficult uphill
approaches of 200 yards, The Commash managed to
draw a hybrid club into the apron in front of
the green. His shot would roll just pass
the flag and off the right side of the
green. Burkley pulled his approach to the
left of the green, but Sadd would have plenty of
green to work with on the chip. The crowd
around the green gasped in horror as Sadd
chunked his chip shot into the greenside
bunker. Budzik's chip gave The Commash a
chance at par. Burkley had to focus on
getting up and down for bogey, and hoping The
Commash would miss. Suddenly, the pressure
was now on The Commash. But when he missed
the par putt, the pressure just as suddenly fell
on Sadd who was now faced with a 6 footer for
bogey. As if scripted by the golf gods,
the 3rd TEA Tournament would come down to the
final putt. In almost deafening silence,
Sadd's valiant effort lipped out, and Lexus
Budzsaw Massacre watched as the title that had
momentarily slipped away on the next to last
hole fell right back into their laps one hole
later. Congratulations to Greg May and
K.C. Budzik, the 2004 Touch 'Em All Tournament
Champions.
Tournament
Notes: In finishing second, Rob
Burkley pushed his career earnings over the
$1000 mark. He becomes the fourth member
of this club. . .
. . The win gives Budzik an
unprecedented third major title, and his partner
Greg May a second. They are the only
multiple major winners in league history.
. . . Despite the favorable
weather and conditions, no team broke 100 for
the first time in tournament
history. Last year in the rain, two
teams broke 100, the winning team of Greg May
and Dan Freiburger (97.04) and the second place
team of Andy Shaffer and Steve Geraghty
(99.87). In the tourney's first year, the
winning team of Dan Sadd and Rob Burkley were
the only team to break the century mark
(99.7).
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Will
Budzik get a big head after winning his third
major?
2004 Touch 'Em All Tournament
Final Results
1. G. May / Budzik
32 / 32.34 / 36.33
100.67
2. Sadd / Burkley
33 / 32.26 / 35.5
100.76
3. Diwik / Geraghty
36 / 32.36 / 34.61
102.97
4. Osborn / D.
May
34 / 33.37 / 336.47 103.84
4. Southworth / Underwood
38 / 331.66 / 337.7 107.36
6. Freiburger / Ayers
33 /
35.18 / 39.94
108.12
7. Webb / Schoemer
37 / 37.51 / 36.30
110.81
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