Rain washes away final day of Tony Steven’s Cup
BY GEARY DENISTON, For The Southern thesouthern.com | Posted: Monday, September 19, 2011 1:00 am |
MARION - It just wasn't meant to be as the second day of the SIGA's Tony Steven's Cup sponsored by First Southern Bank at Kokopelli Golf Club started late and was called after just 11 holes. That meant the first day's leaders, Green Hills Golf Club and Benton Country Club, won their third straight titles Sunday.
"This morning was fantastic, but it went downhill as we got closer to 1 o'clock and we had to hold until 2:50," said SIGA Director Stewart Gilmore. "We tried to get 18 holes in, but around 5, a line of showers with red in it were coming and we had to blow the horn to call them all in. We had to wash out today's round. They haven't all played the same holes, so it wouldn't be fair."
Coming into today's round, the Green Hills crew from Mount Vernon and the Red Hawk Golf Course contingent from Pinckneyville were separated by only one stroke in the 18-hole division, and Benton Country Club led Shawnee Hills Country Club from Harrisburg by three strokes in the 9-hole division.
"It's a bittersweet deal," said Brandon Bullard from Green Hills. "We played good yesterday and supposedly earned it, but we were getting beat today and were probably in third place to be honest with you. But we couldn't finish the round and the trophy stays at Green Hills and that's good."
With seven holes remaining, Red Hawk's No. 1 twosome of Barry Craig and Greg Wilson were sitting at one-over after shooting the low round of the first day 62 Saturday.
Red Hawks' No. 2 team of Larry Sims and Jordan Campanella, who had shot a disappointing 68 the first day, was rebounding with a three-under score to give Red Hawk a good chance of knocking off Green Hills.
"We made three birdies and all pars," Sims said. "The only hole I bogeyed Greg pared, so we were a good team. There were some incredible shots out there today. I knocked it in from 150 and my insides haven't stopped since. This was my best round and I, myself, was 2-under par. I really wanted to play the round out and break par, but that's the way it goes."
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MURPHYSBORO - Tom Portner and Brandon Bullard did their part, and the Green Hills Golf Club team got a great second score from Jerry Hale and Ryan Bradshaw to lead the 18-team field in the SIGA's Tony Steven's Cup Matches after one round of play Saturday at Jackson Country Club.
Portner and Bullard carded a 7-under 64, while Hale and Bradshaw finished with a 6-under 65 to give Green Hills a score of 129 and a one-stroke lead over Red Hawk Golf Club heading into today's final round at Kokopelli Golf Club in Marion.
"It's a difficult format because you can't get into any kind of a rhythm," Portner said. "You may go awhile without putting, you're in spots you're not normally at and you put a lot more pressure on yourself in this because you're playing for a partner."
Saturday's round featured alternate shot play, where each golfer teed off and the best ball from each pairing was selected to be played by both partners in alternating shots. Today's round is four-ball play, where each golfer will play their own ball, but only the two best scores in each team will count. If there are ties, the team's third-best score will be used as the tie-breaker.
"I don't think we'll play much different than we normally do," Bullard said. "If you start leaning on your partner too much or worry about him too much, I think it will cost you."
Portner and Bullard recorded eight birdies and two bogeys in their round, in which they faced off against Franklin County Country Club's Jeremy May and Marsh Sheffer. Teams from as far away as Mount Carmel and Salem are participating in the event, which awards trophies on both 18-hole and nine-hole play.
"I've known Brandon since he was a little kid," said Portner, a SIGA Hall of Famer. "I used to help him out when he was growing up and now he's beating my brains out.
"I've played a lot of golf with him and we pair up together every year in this."
Green Hills is the defending champion after beating the Mount Carmel Golf Course team by 12 strokes in 2010, but the top five teams are separated by just one stroke in 2011. Indian Hills Golf Course, the in-city rival to Mount Vernon-based Green Hills, sits in third place with a 131, while the Benton Country Club team is fourth and Mount Carmel fifth.
"Literally, every team out here can say ‘What if?'" Bullard said. "Everybody left some shots out there, but 64 is a good round for us and we can build on that a little bit."
The pairing of Barry Craig and Greg Wilson brought in the day's lowest score of 62, but Red Hawk's second score of 68 wasn't good enough to give the team first place. In total, 26 pairings broke par.
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