Overall Match Play Winners: Larry Mickelson and Cort Wyss
Flight Winners, left to right: Bob Millikan and Kermit Reich, Cort Wyss and Larry Mickelson and Scott Brunt and Bill Anderson
Flight C Group Winners, left to right: Chuck (Gus) Gustafson and Peter Atkins, Mike Molinari and Richard Kennedy and Scott Brunt and Bill Anderson
Flight B Group Winners, left to right: Cort Wyss and Larry Mickelson, Jim Anspaugh and Ron Eppley and Richard Bean and Bill Armstrong
Flight A Group Winners, left to right: Larry Dick and Tom Spraggins, Bob Millikan and Kermit Reich and Bill Schaffer and Mark Schaffer
Howie Tiger
Cort Wyss and his guest Larry Mickelson were the overall Match Play Format winners of the 2017 PebbleCreek Men’s Golf Association 22nd annual Member/Guest Tournament. The tourney was held on Thursday, April 27 at Tuscany Falls and on Friday, April 28 at Eagle’s Nest. Immediately after regulation play was concluded on Friday the overall winners were determined in a playoff.
Each two-man team had a choice whether to play traditional stroke play or match play. So we really had two tournaments within a tournament. The Match-Play Format consisted of five nine-hole matches. There were three groups within each of the three flights. Each group consisted of six two-man teams. Over the two days, every team played against each of the other five teams in their respective group. A point was awarded for each hole won. Highest number of accumulated points for all five matches wins their group.
Group Winners:
Flight A: Group 1 Bob Millikan/Kermit Reich; Group 2 Larry Dick/Tom Spraggins; Group 3 Bill Schaffer/Mark Schaffer
Flight B: Group 4 Jim Anspaugh/Ron Eppley; Group 5 Bill Armstrong/Richard Bean; Group 6 Cort Wyss/Larry Mickelson
Flight C: Group 7 Mike Molinari/Richard Kennedy; Group 8 Bill Anderson/Scott Brunt; Group 9 Chuck Gustafson/Peter Atkins
The nine group-winning teams met on hole No. 9 of the new nine at Tuscany Falls to determine the overall winners using an alternate-shot format. Bill Barnard and Jason Whitehill conducted this playoff which was watched by a large gallery surrounding the green. Two different tees and hole placements were used. The first hole played as a 360-yard par 4. The second hole as a 150-yard par 3. The holes played straight down wind.
Initially, the three group-winning teams in each flight competed in a two-hole shootout. The winning team from each flight then advanced to the finals to compete in another two-hole shootout to determine the overall winner.
Bob Millikan and Kermit Reich advanced from Flight A. Cort Wyss and Larry Mickelson advanced from Flight B. Bill Anderson and Scott Brunt advanced from Flight C.
On the first playoff hole of the finals, Cort and Larry made birdie. Bob and Kermit tied Bill and Scott with a net bogey. A chip-off between these two teams then proceeded and Bob and Kermit were eliminated. That left Cort and Larry to take on Bill and Scott on the final hole. Bill teed off and hit into the back right bunker leaving Scott a difficult shot. Larry hit the green past the pin leaving Cort a downhill 25-footer for birdie. Then Scott hit a great sand shot to about six feet for par. Cort putted to within five feet. Bill missed his six footer. Larry then drained his par putt to win the overall Match Play Format.
Congratulations to all the group winners and especially Cort and Larry!
Many, many thanks to all the folks who volunteered (registration, hole monitors, skills challenge, etc.). We could not do it without you!