Battle at Rumbling Bald Results

Welcome to the start of a busy two-day tournament portion of the schedule! 

The APT-Upstate Chapter hosted our first two-day event at Rumbling Bald Resort nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains on beautiful Lake Lure.

Boasting two courses with unique characteristics and challenges, players would test all their physical and mental skills.

Day 1 - Apple Valley Course - Recap

Day one players put themselves in position for the opportunity to gain valuable Player of the Year points along with the accomplishment of a two-day victory.

Apple Valley is dubbed the championship course and is the longer of the two courses.

Division 5 saw players testing their patience all day. Understanding bogey may be your friend at times. Keith Gibson (48-48-96) needing an early time found himself paired with some D1 players which just added to the challenge. Keith positioned himself nicely finishing the day two strokes back of the lead. Steve Kwon (44-50-94) would settle his nerves after the opening two holes, drop a couple of birdies, win a skin and rest with a two shot lead heading into day two.

Division 4 was a packed leaderboard after the first round with five players separated by two shots. Scott Bryant (47-42-89), Rondal Gibson (46-43-89) Joe Lewis (45-44-89) found themselves in position tied for third and two shots back of the leader. Walter White (41-47-88) found himself in second. Richard Massey (45-42-87) found himself as the day one leader.

Division 3 was another exciting leaderboard. Vic Lawrence (47-41-88) found himself a shot back after the first round and in solo third. Doug Harris (44-43-87) and Cliff Morgan (44-43-87) found themselves tied for the overnight lead heading into day two.

Division 2 found six players breaking 80 and positioning themselves for the title. Bobby Ream (37-42-79) and Phil VanGeersdaelen (39-40-79) found themselves tied for 5th and one shot off the lead after day 1. Sac Bounphasaysol (38-40-78), Tom Cone (40-38-78), Jordan Jones (40-38-78) and Joe Tucker (37-41-78) found themselves in a four-way tie for the overnight lead.

Division 1 , like the other divisions, also had a tight leaderboard near the top. Greg Moore (41-38-79) would sit solo 6th after the first round. Mr Boastful Dan Constantino (41-37-78), Mr Humble Tom Chambers (42-36-78) and multiple winner Scott Patnode (40-38-78) all tied for 3rd and one shot back after round one. Jimmy Popp (35-42-77) and Bruce Bevins (39-38-77) lead the way going into round two.

Day 2 - Bald Mountain - Recap

Players would be faced with new challenges on day two. Bald Mountain is the shorter of the two courses and requires strategy and precise execution to navigate.

Division 5 with two players clear of the rest of the field, and a difficult course, it would come down to who minimize the big numbers. Steve Kwon(50-53-103), the overnight leader, got off to a decent start but would see his lead disappear after the first nine. Knowing plenty of golf lay ahead, Steve would gain some ground on the inward nine but fall short of his goal. With a two day total of 197, Steve secured second place on the weekend. Keith Gibson (45-55-100) knew an opportunity lay ahead to secure a two-day victory and valuable player of the year points. After working late into the late and an earlier tee time, Keith elevated the challenge laying before him. Erasing his deficit, Keith found himself leading after the front nine. Keith would say his back nine proved more difficult than normal as the late night was catching up to him. By the end, Keith secured the victory with a two day of 196 and a one shot victory.

Division 4 would see the leaders get off to a decent start and post solid scores on the front nine. Walter White (40-46-86) and Richard Massey (40-41-81) enter the back nine in the same position as the started the day. Walter kept it close into the final stretch of holes where he needed a few birdies or pars to have a chance. Walter would finish in second with a two day total of 174. Richard would see his lead disappear three holes into the back nine. Needing a little something special, he rolled off a birdie-par-birdie stretch to separate from the field. With a two-day total of 168, Richard secured the victory.

Division 3 had a couple of players who appeared out of the running after day one, rocket up the leaderboard at different times during the round. Dan Ahlers (44-41-85) admittedly put himself in a hole after his front nine, or so he thought. Minimizing most dropped shots to bogies and capping off his round with a birdie on 18, Dan would finish in second with a two-day total of 176. William Buie (38-43-81) would scorch the front nine, catching the leaders. Making the turn with the lead, William was challenged by the course on the back nine. With a nice par-par-birdie finish William secured the victory with a two-day total of 172.

Division 2 would see Phil VanGeersdaelen (39-40-79) and Jordan Jones (39-38-77) make the turn with one shot separating them from victory. Phil would run into a difficult section of the course where he couldn’t avoid the big numbers. He offset some of the damage with a pair of birdies. Phil would settle for second with a two-day total of 158. Jordan was steady on the back nine and avoided the big number with a birdie on 16 to secure the victory with a two-day total of 155.

Division 1 had three players separate themselves from the pack after the front nine. All around nice guy, Tom Chambers (37-41-78) would ultimately lose on a scorecard playoff and finish T-2 with a two-day total 156. Scott Patnode (37-41-78) would win the scorecard tiebreaker on the final three holes to finish T-2 and second place money with a two-day total of 156. The weekend belonged to Bruce Bevins (35-40-75). With Bruce claiming he is the worst putter on tour, his three birdies helped offset his double on the back nine to post a two-day of 152 and a four shot victory.

Congratulations to all our division champions! Well earned.

Tournament Reports

Pace of Play Report (Average) 

• Apple Valley Course: 4 Hours 31 Minutes (+1 Minute)
• Bald Mountain Course: 4 Hours 11 Minutes (-19 Minutes)

Credit to the players for playing safe and respectful ready golf! Thank you!

Skins and Pins Report:

Division 1/2 Skins

20/20 Players Participated @$15 Per Day x 2 days = $600 Total Pot Per Day

Day 1 - Apple Valley Course - $300 Pot

Day 2 - Bald Mountain Course - $300 Pot

Division 3/4/5 Skins

16/18 Players Participated @$15 Per Day x 2 days = $480 Total Pot Per Day

Day 1 - Apple Valley Course - $240 Pot

Day 2 - Bald Mountain Course - $240 Pot

Super Skins

34/38 Players Participated @$15 Per Day x 2 days = $1,020 Total Pot Per Day

Day 1 - Apple Valley Course $510 Pot

Day 2 - Bald Mountain Course $510 Pot

Upcoming events around the tour!

Charlotte Chapter:

Sepona Country Club
September 18 (Saturday)
Hosted by Charlotte/Upstate/Triad Chapters
Registration

Stonebridge Golf Club - Charlotte Finals
October 2/3 (Saturday/Sunday)
Registration

Upstate Chapter:

Monticello Golf Club
August 28 (Saturday)
Registration

Currahee Club - Upstate Finals
September 25/26 (Saturday/Sunday)
Registration

Carolina Triad Chapter:

The Club at 12 Oaks
August 30 (Monday)
Registration

With the summer travel season slowing down and national/local points races heating up, be sure to review the entire schedule. There is still plenty of time to make a run up the standings. National Schedule | Amateur Players Tour (bluegolf.com)