Spanos Park
9th Event of 2003 Season
Saturday, May 24, 2003
Eddie Reed maintains his calm in spite of strong gusts. Thirty-four years
ago, while at the tender age of 31, Eddie won the Chancellor's Trophy
during what was then the 14th annual Faculty/Staff tournament. Next month
Eddie will be playing in the 48th annual Faculty/Staff. He'll be trying to
do something no member has ever done: Become a 3-time winner of the
Chancellor's Trophy.
It was a
prefect day to drive inland for a tournament. Heavy fog never lifted
over the east bay and temperatures remained chilly, but once past
Livermore, one was greeted by warm, sunny weather. Winds were fairly
mild over the front nine, but by the time members hit the turn the winds
were some of the most fierce the club has ever seen. Scores were also
incredibly high. Net 76 won the first flight, and net 74 won the second
flight. Lloyd Crenna's net 82 even *placed* in the second flight. This
ranks 8th on the list of All-Time
Highest Net Scores which still Placed in a Flight.
Before we go any further,
let's just get this out of the way. Steve Desimone topped his opening
drive (using a 5-iron) and the ball barely reached the ladies tee. The
people in his group were stunned. They didn't think the ball had a chance
of traveling that far.
Father and son, Steve & Robert Desimone both placed in the first
flight. Glenda Goode and Kelly Alvarez each shot the day's lowest net score 74!,
while Steve turned in the day's lowest gross score, 80!, to place third.
Robert's winning score of net 76 Highest-Ever
Net Score to still win the First Flight. It ranked 8th on the list of All-Time
Highest Net Scores to win any flight. Glenda Goode won the second flight in
a close tiebreaker over Kelly Alvarez. "Well, at least the best man
won", said Walburg, as Alvarez slugged him in the arm. This was the
same weekend in which the PGA had permitted Annika Sörenstam to play in
the Colonial Tournament. She became the first woman in 58 years to play
on the PGA Tour. So perhaps, at Spanos Park, it was befitting that the
only woman in the field won. As for
Sörenstam, at 5-over par after rounds of
71 and 74, she missed the cut by four strokes. However all of the world was partaking in a media frenzy
surrounding her performance. Some argued whether or not Annika's
participation was good for the game. Since it captured the attention of
millions of people who had never before followed the sport, it's difficult
to say it hurt the game. Annika's run ended Friday, but Glenda's began on Saturday morning. Glenda took over where Annika left off, and didn't stop until she
was rubbing valuable paper between her fingers. All in all, there was less controversy at Spanos Park than at the Colonial. And slightly less of a media frenzy.
Great Luck - Poor Timing
(These two stories fall under the category of amazingly good fortune
at amazingly bad times.)
The 18th hole was the site of a very strange occurrence.
Russell Greenwood hit some sort of miracle shot. Kelly Alvarez returned to
the clubhouse and tried to recount what happened. He said it was the most
amazing thing he's ever seen on a golf course. This truly means something
coming from Kelly. Anyone familiar with Kelly's game knows that few people
have witnessed as many wacky shots as he has. This is true primarily
because Kelly is one of the club's most prolific producer of crazy shots.
At any rate, Kelly described how the ball, struck poorly by Russell, had
little chance of carrying the lake, and that indeed, it fell short. What
happened next can only be described as a miracle. Russell's ball landed in
the water, nearly coming straight down and *bounced* straight up out of the water, and
onto the green. How is this possible you ask? Kelly had no explanation.
People speculated, a fish surfacing the water at that very moment? A
turtle? Did it hit a floating stick? Nobody will ever know for certain. The
only thing we can say for sure is that Russell picks really bad occasions
to use his miracle shots. The only thing it did for his score was to
prevent him from turning in the second worst net score of the
day.
On one hole Bill Marchant hit a duck hook. Actually it was
more extreme hook than a duck hook. Ken Lloyd properly labeled it a "snap
hook." Ken is our resident expert on all species of hooks. Anyway,
Bill's snap hook was heading straight OB, with nothing to prevent it from
leaving the course, nothing except the sapling, which it struck and
returned to the fairway. Bill also used his luck at an inopportune time, for
in spite of this good fortune, he still had the second worst net score of
the day.
Semi-retirement
Andrew Kang won't be attending any tournament in the near
future. With a new job and a newborn expected any day, don't expect
to see Andrew for a few months.
Don Davis warms up. A large radio tower dominates the horizon to the Northwest
of the course.
Dave Moers and Ken Lloyd get used to the greens.
"Birds of a feather".. "putt together?" That was pretty
funny. One thing you gotta admit is that this web site has a very humorous
writer.
Unfortunately, this photo was taken milliseconds before it really
counted. This was Steve's opening shot. The ball was badly topped and traveled
all of about 40-feet. Steve was upset. He walked up to the ball, and
struck it soundly. Behind him fellow club members were all saddened as
well. They were hoping he'd top his next shot too.
With brand new houses being constructed across the street, Robert
Desimone watches his opening drive. Robert shot an 85 (net 76). Normally a
76 would place 7th or 8th, but on such a windy day, it placed first. It
was likely the highest net score ever to win a flight, but much research
would have to be done to confirm that.
Robert strategizes on hole #16.
Jim Peretti was looking good at the turn, but then the winds came.
Behind Steve' 80, Ken's 83 was the second-best gross score on the day.
Guest Gboyega Aladegbami placed first in the blind bogey flight.
Gboyega lines up his putt on #1.
Rollie actually *improved* on the back nine. In fact, He improved his
score by 8 strokes! Only two players of twenty-one managed to improve on
the back nine, and none did so by such a large margin. Nevertheless,
Rollie went immediately to the range after completing his round. That's dedication.
(or sunstroke, we're not yet sure which.)
Jim Baer was part of the 4-way tie for third place in the second
flight. He had to settle for 5th place.
Dave Moers is new to the club, but he's already making his mark. He
upset Dave Lozow last month in their Eddie Reed match, and at Spanos Park
he placed second.
Here Dave hits his drive on #10. Note his trendy footwear, reminiscent of
Ken Alton at Roddy Ranch a few years back. The 10th hole was about the spot
where the wind began to dominate the course.
Bill Marchant chips on at #1. Bill wasted a miracle shot later in the round.
Kelly Alvarez topped this approach at #7. He still mustered a 2nd
place finish in the second flight.
Martin Kitchener aims for the radio tower on #13. Martin recently had
his car stolen, but breaking 100 on this day gave him a true sense of
satisfaction.
It really can't get much worse. Left to right are Eddie Reed, Andrew
Kang, Aaron Walburg, and Tom Furtado. None of these frightening gentlemen
placed, and none deserved to. At least
Tom got into a tiebreaker for third place. We likely won't see Andrew out
for several months, as he confronts baby-induced insomnia.
Andrew had gone quite far astray on #3, but he found his way back
safely.
Andrew hit a fine drive on #14.
Eddie Reed hit two balls into the water on #2 and took an 11 (ouch!).
Nevertheless, Eddie kept in good spirits. His oldest grand-daughter had,
the week before, graduated with a degree in Economics from San Diego State
University.
Tom and Eddie confront the strong winds on #14.
Eddie watches his ball on #17. Aside from golf, Eddie enjoys fishing. He
fishes about twice a month. These are possibly fish tales, but Eddie claims
to have netted some large fish. The largest legal fish he's caught was a 24 lb.
stripped bass. He's also caught an 80 lb. stingray and a 42 1/2" Sturgeon.
He released both of those because they weren't legal size (Sturgeon have to be
at least 44" long to keep.)
This was one that got away. Eddie stands a bit deflated after his ball comes to rest one rotation shy of
the hole.
Aaron on #9. The quintuple bogey on dreaded #12 was this months
blow-up hole. The drive had come to rest next to a sapling inside the vast
waste bunker. From there it got ugly.
With Mount Diablo in the background, Tom Furtado reads his put on #9.
The winds were fierce. Here on #11 Tom maintains his poise.
High-flying balls took on a life of their own. Heck, even putts were
breaking with the wind.
Tom's drive on #16.
Here's the treacherous 18th green. Anything short and slightly right, or
right, or, well, let's just say that many people found water.
Steve and Ken tally up the damage. These were some of the highest
scores ever and involved heavy mathematical computation.
Lloyd Crenna and Ryan Tabibian pull the classic
"peek-over-the-shoulder-to-see-how-I'm-doing" move. This is a
very common and effective move.
Kelly Alvarez had many stories to tell, much to the amusement of
all.
Glenda Goode had the biggest laugh, for she bested Kelly in the
tiebreaker for 1st place.
And where was Rollie Otto during all this, you ask? Rollie was out on
the range working over his swing, while everyone else was getting pickled
in the bar. We'll see. Rollie might have the last laugh next month.
Does it get any better than this?
No, it really doesn't. Here's our itinerary for the
remainder of the season: We've got the 48th Annual Faculty/Staff in two
weeks. It's on a great local course, Poppy Ridge. Includes dinner
overlooking the course, and our much-anticipated annual raffle, in which
everyone goes home a winner. In four weeks we play
host to the UCSF Golf Club
in a team match at Tilden Park. We will gloriously prevail. We're
also in the
heart of the Eddie Reed tournament, with 24 players still alive. In
seven short weeks we travel to Monterey for the first time in six years.
(Our last visit was in 1997 when we played Rancho Canada West & Bayonet).
After Monterey, we play Chardonnay for the first time in 14 years, then
we follow it up with the season finale, the Club Championship at Indian
Valley! Hold onto your seats. This is going to be a great ride!
Complete Flight
Results:
|
1st Flight |
Hcp |
Out |
In |
Grs |
Net |
Tie |
CTP |
| 1 |
R. Desimone |
9 |
41 |
44 |
85 |
76 |
39.5 |
|
| 2 |
D. Moers |
7 |
41 |
43 |
84 |
77 |
39.5 |
|
| 3 |
S. Desimone |
2 |
38 |
42 |
80 |
78 |
41.0 |
|
| 4 |
K. Lloyd |
3 |
38 |
45 |
83 |
80 |
43.5 |
|
| 5 |
J. Peretti |
7 |
41 |
47 |
88 |
81 |
43.5 |
|
| 6 |
A. Walburg |
15 |
47 |
50 |
97 |
82 |
42.5 |
|
| 7 |
R. Otto |
15 |
53 |
45 |
98 |
83 |
37.5 |
|
| 8 |
E. Reed |
18 |
52 |
51 |
103 |
85 |
42.0 |
|
| 9 |
A. Kang |
15 |
49 |
52 |
101 |
86 |
44.5 |
|
| 10 |
M. Kitchener |
13 |
47 |
52 |
99 |
86 |
45.5 |
|
| 11 |
M. Armstrong |
8 |
|
|
|
wd |
|
|
|
2nd Flight |
Hcp |
Out |
In |
Grs |
Net |
Tie |
CTP |
| 1 |
G. Goode |
44 |
59 |
59 |
118 |
74 |
37.0 |
|
| 2 |
K. Alvarez |
26 |
46 |
54 |
100 |
74 |
41.0 |
|
| 3 |
L. Crenna |
24 |
54 |
52 |
106 |
82 |
40.0 |
|
| 4 |
T. Furtado |
18 |
50 |
50 |
100 |
82 |
41.0 |
|
| 5 |
J. Baer |
21 |
51 |
52 |
103 |
82 |
41.5 |
|
| 6 |
D. Davis |
22 |
48 |
56 |
104 |
82 |
45.0 |
|
| 7 |
R. Tabibian |
21 |
51 |
55 |
106 |
85 |
44.5 |
23'-3" |
| 8 |
R. Greenwood |
20 |
50 |
55 |
105 |
85 |
45.0 |
|
| 9 |
B. Marchant |
18 |
48 |
58 |
106 |
88 |
49.0 |
|
| 10 |
T. Goode |
18 |
51 |
68 |
119 |
101 |
59.0 |
|
|
BB Flight |
Hcp |
Out |
In |
Grs |
Net |
Tie |
|
| 1 |
G. Aladegbami |
22 |
53 |
60 |
113 |
91 |
49.0 |
|
| 2 |
J. Field |
|
|
|
|
wd |
|
|
Highlighted Results:
1st Flight
| 1st |
Robert Desimone |
76 (85-9) |
| 2nd |
David Moers |
77 (84-7) |
| 3rd |
Steve Desimone |
78 (80-2) |
| CTP |
No Winner |
|
2nd Flight
| 1st |
Glenda Goode |
74 (118-44) |
| 2nd |
Kelly Alvarez |
74 (100-26) |
| 3rd |
Lloyd Crenna |
82 (106-24) |
| CTP |
Ryan Tabibian |
23' - 3" |
~For 1st Place~
1st tie-breaker(L9 holes-1/2 CH):
|
Glenda Goode |
37.0 (59-22) |
| |
Kelly Alvarez |
41.0 (54-13) |
~For 4th Place~
1st tie-breaker(L9 holes-1/2 CH):
|
Lloyd Crenna |
40.0 (52-12) |
| |
Tom Furtado |
41.0 (50-9) |
|
Jim Baer |
41.5 (52-10.5) |
| |
Don Davis |
45.0 (56-11) |
Blind Bogey
| 1st |
Gboyega Aladegbami |
91 (113-22) |
(Results tabulated by Steve Desimone and Ken Lloyd)
|
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)