Island Invitational Recap

Demanding Course Leads to Sizeable Victories

Langley, WA - The Golf Channel Amateur Tour of Seattle hosted the 2012 Island Invitational at Useless Bay Golf & Country Club.  With a beautiful sunny day, the course proved to be one of the premium courses of the season, and still managed to test everyone's game.  With a demanding back nine, each of the winners were able to pull further ahead of their competition, and easily become champion.     

Palmer Flight (4.0-7.9) – The Palmer Flight was a battle on the front nine, with Dusty Rhodes, of Deer Park, TX, having a one-shot lead over Philip Burton.  Both players stayed steady on the next few holes and birdies Hole 13.  But Dusty quickly rose to the challenge on the final holes, shooting a 78 to become champion and have the low round of the day.

                                                                            

Hogan Flight (8.0-11.9) – The Hogan flight was very close on the front, with three players tied at the turn.  But Cindy Merritt, of Seattle, WA made birdie on Hole 10, to take the lead.  As she grinded throughout the back, she increased her lead and shot 89 to become champion.  This was her first win for the 2012 season. 

Sarazen Flight (12.0-15.9) – The Sarazen Flight was lead by Don Harrell, of Everett, WA shooting an impressive 37 on the front.  Don had a three-shot lead over Dennis Borton.  While Don struggled a bit on the back, players tried to make a move, including Ryan Meyer and Jordan Cumming.  While both of these players moved up the leaderboard, their efforts fell short.  Don shot an 81 to become champion and take home his third win of the season.  Ryan, Dennis, and Jordan all shot 88 to finish tied for 2nd place.    

Jones Flight (16.0-19.9) – The Jones Flight was close at the turn, with Gary Collins having a one-shot lead over Tanka Sunuwar.  But Tanka made his move on the back, going one-over par on the next five holes, and making a birdie on Hole 16.  Tanka shot an 87 to become champion.  Gary finished in 2nd place with a 93.

Snead Flight (20.0 +) – The Snead Flight had Mike Pavlick making the turn with a three-shot lead.  But Lisa Scott, of Issaquah, WA, made up ground on the back and grinded through the competition.  Lisa shot a round of 96 to become champion and take home her third win of the season. 

Top Finishers and Payouts

For full field scores and photos please visit www.gcamtour.com. 

Palmer Flight

78-Dusty Rhodes ($40 and Trophy)

Hogan Flight

89-Cindy Merritt ($80 and Trophy)

Sarazen Flight

81-Don Harrell ($100 and Trophy)

88-Ryan Meyer ($60)*

88-Jordan Cumming ($40)*

Jones Flight

87-Tanka Sunuwar ($85 and Trophy)

93-Gary Collins ($35)

Snead Flight

96-Lisa Scott ($60 and Trophy)

Trophy Lake Invitational Recap

Race to the Finish at Trophy Lake

Port Orchard, WA - The Golf Channel Amateur Tour of Seattle returned for the 2012 Trophy Lake Invitational, hosted by Trophy Lake Golf & Casting.  With a beautiful day of sunshine, players were excited to spend the day on the course.  With play coming down to the eighteenth hole, it really was a race to the finish for the field. 

Palmer Flight (4.0-7.9) – The Palmer Flight was a battle between Alex Cogdall and Brian Wimer, as both players made the turn with a 40 on the front.  Brian tried to take an early lead, making a difficult par on Hole 10, but the two continued to match each other during the round.  Brian went into the final hole with a one-shot lead, but Alex made birdie, allowing the two to tie with rounds of 81.  During the sudden death playoff, Brian made birdie on Hole 2, to win and become champion. 

                                                                            

Hogan Flight (8.0-11.9) – The low rounds of the day can be found in the Hogan Flight, as Kim Shek and Paul Goff made the turn at an impressive one-over par.  Paul was able to take a two-shot lead after Hole 11, and pulled further ahead after Hole 15.  But Kim made back-to-back birdies on Hole 16 and 17 to get back in the competition.  After Paul lost his ball on Hole 18, Kim managed to make par on the final hole to shot 74, and win by one-shot over Paul.  This was Kim's first win on Tour. 

Sarazen Flight (12.0-15.9) – The Sarazen Flight had Mark Aro leading after nine holes, with a 40 on the front side.  He had a two-shot lead over Ryan Meyer, and several other players on their heels.  But with the back nine offering some of the tougher holes on the course, players further down on the leaderboard made their move, including Kathy Provazek, who had low round on the back for the flight with a 41.  As four players came in with rounds of 86, Ryan was able to make a two-putt birdie on the eighteenth hole to inch over the field and win by one.  Kathy, Mark, Eric Bennett, and Don Harrell, all shot rounds of 86 to tie for second place. 

Jones Flight (16.0-19.9) – The Jones Flight was led by Michael Grant, of Snoqualmie, WA, who shot a 41 on the front.  Michael only had a one-shot lead over Gary Collins.  As the players battled on the back, Michael pulled ahead by one, birding Hole 15.  Michael shot an 83 to become champion.  Gary finished in second place with a round of 85, and Michael Olson shot an 87 to take third place. 

Top Finishers and Payouts

For full field scores and photos please visit www.gcamtour.com. 

Palmer Flight

81-Brian Wimer ($85 and Trophy)*

Hogan Flight

74-Kim Shek ($120 and Trophy)

75-Paul Goff ($50)

Sarazen Flight

85-Ryan Meyer ($105 and Trophy)

86-Kathy Provazek ($65)*

86-Don Harrell ($40)*

Jones Flight

83-Michael Grant ($105 and Trophy)

85-Gary Collins ($65)

87-Michael Olson ($40)

The Puget Sound Open

Bagpipers, Sunset, an Ace, and Long Grass

Newcastle, WA -  The Golf Channel Amateur Tour of Seattle hosted the 2012 Puget Sound Open at The Golf Club at Newcastle.  The players were tested by blind tee-shots and long grass throughout their round at China Creek, leading to several lost balls.  This week's event included many highlights as several players earned their third win and qualified for Nationals.  But the best part of the day came on the 2nd Hole, with Mitch Cohan having a Hole-In-One from 218 yards.  Congratulations Mitch on your second ace!  But the day wasn't complete until the bagpiper came out at sunset to conclude the awards ceremony.

  

Championship Flight (0-3.9) – The Championship Flight had Mohammed Abouelheiga, of Redmond, WA, making the turn with a three-shot lead over Philip Burton.  As the length on the back tested the players, Mohammed was able to hold on to his lead.  He shot 85 to become this week's champion. 

Palmer Flight (4.0-7.9) – The Palmer Flight had Alex Cogdall shooting 40 on the front to take a two-shot lead over Ray Henry and several other players just behind.  As Alex and Ray battled on the back side, Alex was able to hold on to his lead by making a par on the eighteenth, shooting an 81 to become champion.  Ray finished in 2nd place with an 82. 

Hogan Flight (8.0-11.9) – The Hogan Flight was a tight race as Paul Goff and Jeff Collins were two-over after nine, and William Heaney only one-shot back.  But the back side proved to test players allowing for some competitors to make their move.  Both Jerry Browning and Brian Wimer went low on the back and were able to move up the leader board drastically.  Paul was able to fight off their charge, and shot 79 to become champion.  Paul's round was low of the day and with his third win on Tour, he qualified for Nationals.  Jerry finished in 2nd place with an 80, and Brian finished in 3rd place with an 81.

  

Senior Hogan Flight (8.0-11.9) – The Senior Hogan Flight had Mitch Cohan taking the lead after nine holes with a 38 on the front nine that included a beautiful ace on the 2nd Hole.  Ken Frazier was three-shots back, and made a charge on the back nine.  Both players shot rounds of 83, and edged out Mike Lee by one-shot.  Mitch and Ken went into a sudden-death playoff.  The first hole Ken had an easy par, but Mitch was able to make a great save and par the hole.  Ken was able to edge Mitch on the second hole with another par and became champion.  This was Ken's third victory of the season and earned a qualification for Nationals. 

Sarazen Flight (12.0-15.9) – Ryan Meyer led the front nine for the Sarazen Flight with Ted Calico and newcomer Dennis Borton only three-shots back.  But as scores on the back side went up, Ted was the only player in the flight to improve on the back.  He remained one-shot behind with two holes to play and managed to stay consistent on the last two holes to take the lead.  Ted shot a round of 87 to become champion, and with his third win of the season qualified for Nationals.  Ryan finished in second place with a round of 92. 

Senior Sarazen Flight (12.0-15.9) – David Landry and Don Harrell made the turn in the lead, shooting 43's on the front.  Peter Hunt was only two-shots back and tried to make a charge on the back nine.  While Peter was able to edge inside of Don, David stayed steady on the back and shot a round of 85 to become champion.  This was David's first win on Tour.  Peter took 2nd place with a round of 89.  

Jones Flight (16.0-19.9) – The Jones Flight had Michael Olson leading after nine holes with a 41 on the front, but three players remained only two-shots behind.  One of those players was Glenn Niemela, of Lynnwood, WA who shot an impressive 38 on the back to move significantly up the leaderboard.  Glenn shot an 81 to become champion.  Michael finished in 2nd place with an 84.    

Snead Flight (20.0 +) – The Snead Flight was a close match as Jennifer Forsythe, of Kirkland, WA, made the turn with a one-shot lead over Jack Plummer.  The two battled on the back and headed into the sixteenth hole tied.  But Jennifer was able to pull ahead on the final holes, shooting an 87 to become champion. 

Top Finishers and Payouts

For full field scores and photos please visit www.gcamtour.com. 

Championship

86-Mohammed Abouelheiga ($85 and Trophy)

Palmer Flight

81-Alex Cogdall ($90 and Trophy)

82-Ray Henry ($35)

Hogan Flight

79-Paul Goff ($115 and Trophy)

80-Jerry Browning ($70)

81-Brian Wimer ($45)

Senior Hogan Flight

83–Ken Frazier ($100 and Trophy)*

83–Mitch Cohan ($45)

Sarazen Flight

87-Ted Calico ($90 and Trophy)

92- Ryan Meyer ($35)

Senior Sarazen Flight

85-David Landry ($100 and Trophy)

89-Peter Hunt ($45)

Jones Flight

81-Glenn Niemela ($115 and Trophy)

84-Michael Olson ($50)

Snead Flight

87-Jennifer Forsythe ($65 and Trophy)