Northstar Golf Club was the host site for the Columbus division of the Golfweek Amateur Tour today. Our ninth tournament of the year brought 60 of our best to compete on a very tough golf course. The weather was hot and so were the scores. Our points races in each flight are very close and look to go down to the wire.
Our Champ flight had its toughest test to date today at Northstar. Playing from the back tees at over 7500 yards with no roll in the fairways challenged our best players all day. Tim Ford put together a solid round of 80 to take home first place and his second win in three tournaments. He only had one birdie on the day, but it was a big one. His eighty foot putt on the 235yd par three # 8 held up for a $240 super skin. Three players finished one stroke behind. John Fryman, Jeff Maier, and Josh Bell all shot 81. Jeff Maier’s birdie on hole eighteen gave him the scorecard playoff win and second place.
A flight had a great turnout with twelve players total. In the first group Chase Hardwick and Jared Minor went at it all day, trading shot for shot. Standing on the eighteenth tee box with both players tied, this would be the deciding hole. After two good tee shots, it all came down to their approach shots. Chase hit a great shot to twenty feet, two putted for par and took home his first victory of the year by one stroke shooting a 77. Jared finishes second with Monte Dyke taking third and one of the other super skins. Chase’s win springs him up the leader board and right back into the season long points race.
The biggest flight of the day with seventeen players was B flight. With ten players within five strokes of each other this was a great day for competitive golf. First year member Josh Davis and newcomer Matt Baucke both walked off eighteen with great scores of 82. After a brief wait to see if anyone had beat their scores, they headed off to hole #1 for a sudden death playoff. One hole is all it would take. Matt’s par gives him his first tour win. Also winning B flights closest to the pin, made this a awesome day for Matt. Josh took second, and Chris "ace" Wurzbach shot 84 to finish third for the second tournament in a row.
C flight had one of its veteran players come up with his first victory of the year. Gary Andrews with a score of 84 gets right back into the mix in the C flight. Shooting forty two on both sides with one birdie shows that his consistent play pays off. Just two strokes back shooting 86 is Cham Kahari. Cham’s return to the Golfweek Tour this year has been very beneficial. He is playing great and is in the hunt for the overall champion honor of the C flight. Rounding out the top three is Michael Bogutz with a solid 88.
Our D flight is shaping up to be the best it has ever been. We have had great participation as well as great scores. Today however was a one man clinic. Scott Allen birdied two of the tougher holes on the course cruising to an eleven stroke victory. With this victory it puts Scott second only to season points leader Mike Harris. Phil Petitti takes home second place and the only skin in D flight. This race is heating up. The next five tournaments are extremely important. Let’s see what they can do.
I want to thank everyone for participating today. The weather has been very hot and humid lately, and our players dedication has shown why the Columbus Tour is one of the best in the country. With the best courses still to come on our schedule we should close out the year with a bang. I hope to see everyone at Clover Valley Golf Club on August 20th. Register today at amateurgolftour.net to reserve your spot.