Oh Deer, 2012 Golf Channel Am Tours of Cleveland and Pittsburgh Open Season

     Wheeling, West Virginia- The 2012 Golf Channel Am Tours of Cleveland and Pittsburgh got their season kicked off on Saturday, October 22nd, 2011 with the inaugural Oglebay Fall Classic held at the Oglebay Resort's Robert Trent Jones Course at Spidel Golf Club.  The event was held on an overcast cool morning with temps only in the 40's to low 50's as the crowds of grazing deer were an interesting gallery addition.  23 players battled the cold temperatures and little to no roll on very wet grounds to see who would win the 4 flights in competition.

     In the Palmer Flight, it was Jeff Mast who picked up where he left off in the 2011 season as he won his 1st event in the Palmer flight by 6 shots over D. J. Shaffer.  Mast shot an 11-over par 83 to Shaffer's 89.  Jeff Mast took an early lead on the par-3 4th hole by making birdie and gained a quick 4-stroke advantage as Shaffer made a triple-bogey.  Mast then held on to the comfortable lead throughout the remainder of the round.  Tom Betras finished in 3rd place with a 91. 

     The Sarazen Flight, saw a most entertaining finish as 4 different players had at least a share of the lead at some point during their round.  The 4 players battled to the last hole as they all finished only 2 strokes apart at the end.  Daniel Wood and Ben Hall ended up tied at 13-over par 85 and headed to a playoff for the championship.  Charles Blasdel finished in 3rd place 1 shot back at 86.  Charles held the lead going into the last hole, but was unable to par the par-5 18th.  Blasdel triple-bogied the last hole and that slipped him to his 3rd place finish.  Jeff Esper finished 4th with an 87, but he cleaned up on the skin money as he won 2 of the 3 flight skins and also one of only two giant skins awarded on the day.  And after a playoff... Daniel Wood was the winner of the Sarazen flight over Ben Hall.

     In the Jones Flight, Jerry O'Brien was trying to start the new season off on the right foot as he had built a 4 stroke lead well into his round.  John Neff however, had other ideas as he stood on the 15th tee.  Neff down by 4 on the 15th hole chipped away at O'Brien's lead by winning the 15th and 16th holes by 1 stroke each.  Then on the par-4 17th hole Neff made par to O'Brien's triple bogey and that 3 shot swing was all that was needed to give Neff the 1 stroke victory.  John Neff won with an 87 and Jerry O'Brien finished 2nd with an 88.  Mark Bobak finished in 3rd place with a 93. 

     And in the Snead Flight,  Ron Shoemaker and Charles Burger resumed their friendly rivalry on the course as the two battled out for the top 2 positions in the Snead flight.  It was Shoemaker (96) who bettered his friend Burger (101) by 5 shots.  Jim Laprade finished in 3rd place with a 106.

     It was a great day to start off the 2012 Golf Channel Am Tour season for the Cleveland and Pittsburgh tours.  We hope to see you soon when the full schedule is announced and local play will resume in April.  Please enjoy the winter season majors which are scheduled between now and then. 

     They are: December- Innisbrook Resort Island and Copperhead Courses (Home of the Transitions), January- TPC Sawgrass Stadium and Dye's Valley Courses (Home of the Players Championship and Winn-Dixie Classic), February- Duel in the Desert in Las Vegas, March- Myrtle Beach Regional at Caledonia and True Blue Golf Courses.

Please check out www.gcamtour.com/cleveland or www.gcamtour.com/pittsburgh for all the schedule information and scores. 

Golf Channel Am Tour of Cleveland and Pittsburgh Make Donation Goal!

The Golf Channel Am Tours of Cleveland and Pittsburgh made their goal of $2000 raised to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.  The money will be donated at the Cleveland JDRF's Walk for Diabetes event on Sunday, September 18th, 2011 at the Cleveland Zoo.  Anyone who wishes to attend can contact Matt Blum and we can make sure you get a ticket for the event. 
There will be a short check presentation around 9am when the walk kicks off at the zoo. 

Thank you to all the players who helped make our goal and our donation of $2030 will be much appreciated!

Tour Championship a Splendid Way to End...

Warren, OH- Avalon Lakes Country Club has had a great history of hosting a few big events in its time.  They have hosted the LPGA's event in Northeast Ohio for many years.  For the last 3 years now, the Country Club has hosted the Tour Championship for the Golf Channel Am Tour of Cleveland and Pittsburgh.  This 2-tour combined year end championship looked to send as many players as possible to the upcoming 2011 National Championships at PGA West in a few weeks. 

Under great sunny weather with temps in the 80's play on the course was pristine.  Many of the pins were tucked near water and other trouble that made it a great test of golf before the season ended. 

In the Palmer Flight, it was John Hilinski who shot an 85 to defeat Dustin Cramer (90) by 5 shots.  Hilinksi built an early lead but couldn't hold it around the turn as his lead twice went down to 1 shot early on the back nine over Cramer, but then lengthened it out over the final few holes and was able to take home the trophy.  Tom Betras finished in 3rd with a 94.

In the Hogan Flight, it was Jeff Mast who took the title shooting an 80.  Abram Boyd (81) finished 2nd 1-shot back and Dale Thompson (83) was 3-shots back.  It was Thompson who had the early round lead taking a 2-shot lead at the turn.  As the 3 players headed down the stretch they were all tied going into the 14th hole where Mast closed by making 2 pars down the stretch while Boyd was only able to make 1.  That amounted to the difference in the score and Mast held on.  It was James Huber who took the Senior Hogan Flight by shooting a 91. 

The Sarazen Flight saw Ben Hall victorious by shooting an 86 which was 2-shots better than Chris Ramaglia (88) and 3 better than Matt Blum (89).  Both Ramaglia and Blum saw their rounds undone by triple bogeying the par-5 11th hole.  But they were still only 1-shot back going into the closing holes.  It was Hall who edged them both out on the last hole with a par. 

In the Senior Sarazen Flight, it was Charles Blasdel and Charles Worth Jr. who would need extra holes to decide who was the Tour Champion.  both players shot 89 on their regulation round then played the 1st, 18th, and then the 1st hole again in a 3-hole playoff that finally decieded the title.  It was Charles Blasdel who came out on top of the 3-hole playoff.  Keith Miller finished in 3rd place with a 91.

The Jones Flight saw Johnny Owens shoot an 84 to clinch his Tour Championship trophy by 6 shots.  Tied for 2nd was Pat Herron and Charles Dozier

And rounding out the competition the Senior Snead flight was captured by Ronald Shoemaker who defeated Charles Burger by 1-shot.  Burger held a 5-shot lead during the round that Shoemaker cut into on the closing holes to tie the match going to the 18th.  It was Shoemaker who bogied the last hole to win and take home the trophy. 

Thank you to all players who came out and played this season on the tour.  Much fun was had by all and we look forward to having those who qualified during the season do well out at PGA West in La Quinta, California September 18-27th. 

Good Luck! And for those who did not qualify or can't go to Nationals, we shall see you soon for the start of the 2012 season in October!

Remember the 2012 season starts at Oglebay in October.

Pittsburgh Tour seeks revenge on the Castle... Olde Stonewall Recap

Ellwood City, PA- The Golf Club at Olde Stonewall was the venue this weekend for the Pittsburgh Golf Channel Am Tour once again as a fall event was added to the schedule.  Those players who attended the spring season opener were looking to better their scores or seek revenge on the course as they prepare to close out the season and look forward to nationals.  A dreary morning of heavy fog blanketed the area and at times only allowed players who would have been playing early morning rounds just limited visibility on the hilly course.  The fog would subside however before our event started and play would be held in beautiful weather and moderately warm temperatures.

In the Hogan Flight, Michael Yates shot an 86 to win the flight.  He was playing with David Faller, a guest at the event, who's wife is a regular in the Sarazen Flight.  Faller also shot an 86 on the very challenging course. 

The Sarazen Flight saw Nora Faller shoot a great medalist round of 79 to take the win coasting over her male counterparts.  Daniel Woods was 12 shots back in 2nd place with a 91.  Matt Blum finished in 3rd place with a 98.  Faller was very consistent in her round making 10 pars and had a streak of 5 pars in a row during her front 9 leading to her 3-over 39. 

And in the Jones Flight, Peter Gitnik proved that home course knowledge paid off as he took the title in his flight.  Gitnik, a member who plays Olde Stonewall many days a week, shot an 85 and won by 11 strokes over Charles Burger who shot 96.  Ronald Shoemaker and Jerry O'Brien tied for 3rd place shooting 97's.  The key to Peter Gitnik's round was his back to back birdies on the par-4 8th hole and par-5 9th hole to close his front nine in 42.

Thank you to all the Pittsburgh Tour members who have played this season on tour.  We have really enjoyed your support.  We close out our season on Saturday, August 27th at Avalon Lakes Golf Club in Warren, Ohio.  The course at Avalon Lakes is a very popular course which use to host the LPGA when they came to Northeastern Ohio.  It is another challenging layout that is a great warm-up for those who plan to attend the 2011 National Championships.  The highest placed finisher in each flight who has not already qualified for the 2011 Nationals will earn a spot in the Championships from this event. 

A Grand Time at Greenbrier...

White Sulphur Springs, WV-18 players on the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Tours of the Golf Channel Am Tour went to White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia to test their skills against other amateurs and the PGA Tour.  The Old White TPC and Greenbrier Courses at the Greenbrier Resort hosted the Greenbrier Open Major the weekend of August 13-14th.  It was just 2 weeks after the PGA Tour came to town for the Greenbrier Classic, and the course showed no wear.  Players were anxious to see how they compared versus the Tour. 

In the Hogan Flight, Jeff Mast and Michael Yates competed and it was Jeff Mast who was consistent in his 2 rounds shooting a pair of 78's (156) from the blue tees and winning the Greenbrier Open in his flight!  Jeff had previously qualified for nationals with a 3rd place finish at the Swan Lake Major in the Sarazen flight, but now further validated his move to the Hogan flight with this win.  Michael Yates shot rounds of 85-88 (173) to finish in a tie for 12th. 

In the Sarazen Flight, Christopher Casto and Matt Blum were competing and although both had bad rounds on one of the 2 days of the tournament they still had lots of fun.  Casto shot rounds of 103-90 (193) for an 18th place finish and Blum shot 93-107 (200) for a 22nd place finish. 

In the Jones Flight, Jerry O'Brien competed and was tied for the lead after day 1 with a 91.  He couldn't hold on to the lead as he played the more difficult Greenbrier Course and shot a 2nd day 100 (191) which was still good for 5th place. 

In the Snead Flight, K Steven Wiley and Ben McDonald competed.  Both fared well on the courses and Wiley shot rounds of 106-94 (200) which was good enough for 3rd place earning him an automatic qualifying spot in the 2011 National Championship.  McDonald wasn't far behind as he shot rounds of 107-108 (215) as he finished in 9th place.

In the Senior Hogan Flight, James Huber shot consistent rounds of 89-88 (177) to finish in a tie for 8th place.

In the Senior Sarazen Flight, Keith Miller, Nora Faller, and Dallas Kelley all competed.  Miller and Faller had good showings as they finished 5th and 6th place respectively.  Miller shot rounds of 85-94 (179) and Faller was 1-stroke behind at 91-89 (180).  Dallas Kelley withdrew after a 1st round 94.    

In the Senior Jones Flight, Russ Hittle had a stellar weekend as he shot rounds of 89-93 (182) to take 2nd place.  He earns a 2011 Senior National Championship automatic qualifier spot for his play.  Peter Gitnik had solid rounds of 92-97 (189) to finish 6th.  Johnny Owens was 4 strokes back of Gitnik as he shot rounds of 96-97 (193) for a tie for 8th place.  And Jon Neff was 12th with scores of 102-97 (199). 

And in the Senior Snead Flight, Ronald Shoemaker earned a 3rd place finish shooting rounds of 96-107 (203) and earning his 2nd automatic qualifying spot of the year to the 2011 Senior National Championship after finishing in the top-3 of the Swan Lake Major.  Michael Scuro finished with rounds of 100-106 (206) to finish in 5th place.  And Charles Burger rounded out the competition with scores of 113-94 (207) to finish in a tie for 6th place.

A great time was had by all Cleveland and Pittsburgh Tour players at this great facility.  We look forward to finishing the season in the next couple of weeks and wish all those who qualify for the 2011 National Championships good luck as they travel to La Quinta, California in September.

Glengarry Recap...

Latrobe, PA- Across town from Arnold Palmer's house and club lies Glengarry Golf Links.  A course with extremely wide fairways and tall fescue grass to ease the golfers shots stands as this weeks host for the Golf Channel Am Tour of Pittsburgh.  An interesting par-69 layout with a handful of deep bunkers and water comming into play on just 7 holes was a treat for the 13 participants.

In the Hogan Flight, it was a 2-way battle between James Huber and Michael Yates.  Both went back and forth grabbing the lead from each other but never were able to lead by more than 2 strokes.  The match was again tied going into the 16th hole where Yates was steady and finished with 3 straight pars while Huber bogied the 16th and 17th before trying to rally and made birdie on the 18th hole.  This gave Yates the 1-stroke victory shooting a 78 while Huber was just behind finishing with a 79.

The Sarazen Flight saw Christopher Casto pick up his 1st win as he carded an 83.  Casto took the lead away from Jeff Meyers (85) and Mike Trupo (90) on the 13th hole with a par and finished on a streak of 6 straight pars to defeat Meyers by two strokes for 2nd and Bob Swann by 4 strokes (89) for 3rd place.  Trupo finished in 4th.  

And in the Jones Flight, it came down to the closing par-5 18th hole again as Steven Wiley held a 2 stroke lead on Johnny Owens and Jerry O'Brien.  Wiley was able to make par while both Owens and O'Brien weren't able to and took triple bogies to allow Owens to win by 2 over them.  Owens shot an 84 to take the win.  Wiley finished 2nd with an 85 and O'Brien shot 87 which earned him 3rd place.

We hope to see everyone at our last regular season event on Saturday, August 20th at Olde Stonewall.  A good way to finish the regular season back where we started it all on this challenging layout to prepare for nationals. 

Don't forget the Tour Championship is Saturday, August 27th at Avalon Lakes Golf Club in Warren, Ohio.  Please sign up for this event.  The highest finisher not already qualified in their flight will earn an exemption to the 2011 National Championships at PGA West in La Quinta, Californina. 

Mylan Classic comming up very soon... Volunteer!

Look who made the email of the day yesterday!  Looking forward to seeing everyone there volunteering or watching the tournament action.