2023 Winterstone Golf Tournament Results

Finally, some warmth and sunshine! A little breezy, but it was a welcome break with the mid 90’s temperatures.  It did make an already challenging and undulating course that much more difficult, but I don’t think anyone minded after the weather Kansas City has been giving us lately. 

Division 1 started off a little shaky for most players, except for Dave Kearney who started even through the challenging first 3 holes.  Larry Langley on the other hand, was 5 over in the first 3 holes. Dave finished 1 over on the front 9, and Larry battled back to finish 3 over on the front.  Dave started the back 9 with 3 bogies in a row, while Larry played 10-12 in 1 under.  They battled it out neck and neck, with a bogey by Larry and birdie by Dave on hole 16, it was all tied up at 3 over par for the round.  An untimely bogey on 17 by Dave gave Larry a one stroke lead, and with two pars on the 18th, Langley found himself back in the winners circle.  Great playing by both of these competitors and good friends. 

As these tournaments continue to grow, the competition is getting so close between everyone it’s really making for exciting finishes!  In division 2, Justin Biggs the homecourse hero, shot a 2 over par front 9 to take a 1 stroke lead over Brian Taylor and Tom Aguilar, and 2 shots better than Adam Augustine.  A spectacular back 9 built on back to back birdies on holes 12 and 13, put Adam in the drivers seat by one shot.  Adam took a bogie on 15, tying him and Justin back up, and then birdie on 16 by Justin gave him a one stroke lead with two holes to play.  Adam would play steady with 2 pars on 17 and 18, while Justin bogied 17 to leave the pair tied up.  Justin left his chip about 12’ short on hole 18, leaving himself a down hill par putt to force a playoff.  His putt stopped 2” short of the hole, and Adam’s back 9 of 1 under par proved to be enough to take home the win! 

Division 3 seemed to be a tale of two 9’s for a large majority of the field, and especially the leaders.  Aaron Scholz seemed to breeze through the front 9 shooting a 4 over par 40, while the rest of the pack were 6-8 over par.  Scholz struggled on the back 9 though, when the rest of the field took advantage of the easier holes coming in.  Alex Lederer and Andrew Zeigler were both 6 over on the front 9, with Devin Abb at 7 over.  They were all chasing Scholz, but while Aaron struggled, these three guys kept it together.  Zeigler had a stretch of 3 bogies in a row, on two of the easiest holes on the back and seemed out of it, but birdies on 16 and the difficult 18 gave tied him for the lead with Devin Abb after a clutch birdie on 18 as well, both shooting 8 over par.  Alex however, was playing dominant golf.  A bogey on 10, followed by a massive eagle on and uphill into the wind par 5 and then a birdie on the short par 3 had him sitting at 2 under on the back through the 14th hole.  A tough double on the difficult 15th hole still gave him a 2 shot lead going into the final 3 holes.  Unable to take advantage of the downwind par 5 16th, he needed to stay calm on the final two holes.  Par on 17 meant he needed to find dry ground on his 18th tee shot, which he did.  His second shot was just long of the green, leaving a tough downhill chip.  He played it about 10ft past the hole and just needed an easy two putt to win.  His first putt, he hit about 4ft past the hole leaving himself a true knee knocker for the win.  He was able to jar that put to card an impressive 7 over par 79 and win by one. 

Division 4 also had it’s drama.  Jim Reeves, looking for back to back wins, continued his form of impressive play.  With newcomer Scott Gennusa and Jeff Taylor on his heels, Jim remained in his own game and had a comfortable lead going into he back 9 after shooting a 4 over par 40 on the front 9.  With the back playing easier than the front, he looked like a shoe in for the victory.  But the back 9 wasn’t as kind to Jim as the front 9 was, and starting hole 10 off with a triple bogey started to show some light to the rest of the field.  And Jeff Taylor pounced.  Despite a double bogey on hole 17, Jeff was able to shoot a back 9 of 1 over par after a difficult 10 over par front 9, which tied Jim for the lead at 11 over par.  Jim was one of the first out in D4 while Jeff was the last group out, meaning Jim had to wait a long time to see what was going to happen.  The two headed to a playoff hole, where Jeff Taylor bested Jim Reeves, denying him two in a row and giving Jeff his first win.  Great playing by both of these two. 

Division 5 saw some first time players chasing down the veterans.  Ethan Smith started out rough, and thought he might be out of it after the front 9 but after checking live scoring, realized he might have a chance.  Alan Parker had a comfortable lead after a front 9 score of 44, but the tough starting stretch to the back 9 saw him go from 8 to 13 over par quickly, while Ethan birdied hole 10 to get back to 15 over par.  Hole 11 proved to be a tough one for Ethan as well, and there just wasn’t enough holes left to catch Alan.  Despite Ethan making up 4 strokes on the back, it wasn’t enough to catch Alan who carded a 91 to grab another victory. 

Travis Foxx almost caught Ron Dyer in the senior net game, shooting a 2 under par net score of 70, but Ron’s front 9 of 4 under par net proved to be too much to overcome, and Ron takes home the senior net game by 1 stroke over Travis Foxx. 

Only 2 super skins for the day!  Alex Lederer with the eagle on 11 and Travis Foxx with the birdie on 17, for $330 each!   

Armando Smith took home the closest to the pin on hole 2, and Brian Taylor won the CTP on hole 14 for $152 each