Tournament Champions
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The New Jersey/Philadelphia chapter completed its third event in less-than-ideal weather on the Black Bear Golf Course, part of the Crystal Springs Resort golf circuit in Franklin, New Jersey. With a field of 47 players, the morning commenced with cloudy skies, cool weather, and a constant drizzle of rain making for a challenging day for all. Fortunately, we were 90 degrees with the carts, and the greens remained true, yet challenging.
In Division 1, Ryan Silvestri the only competitor for Division 1, carded a +9 with a score of 81 and took home the trophy, .
In Division 2, the competition was fierce, and the drama unfolded with every swing right until the end. Michael Kraft started out his round with a birdie on the first hole and continued to lead the way through the front nine, at the halfway point Michael was on top of the leaderboard +2 with Andrew Boughton, right on his tail at +3, followed closely by Bob Wallerius +5. The rains were not letting up, nor were these players. Kyle Edwards snuck up on the leaders with a string of four pars, followed by two bogies, then finishing with 2 pars carding a +2 on the back nine securing him with a chance to take home the hardware. Michael struggled on the back nine, which unfortunately took him out of the race. Bob remained consistent carding a +5 on the back, Andrew had struggled on the back nine, with a +7, however it was enough to put him in a three-way tie with Kyle and Bob. All with scores of 82. It took two playoff rounds to crown our D2 leader. On the first playoff hole Bob had an opportunity for the win, with a short 3–5-foot putt to make for the win, but the pressure was too much. With a birdie on the second playoff hole, Andrew took home the hardware.
In Division 3, The front nine holes were challenging for our D3 competitors, Stefan Thorpe came out of the gate running with back-to-back pars. At the turn it was Stefan and Leonard Viccharelli holding the lead both +7. Rich Zoon was making a sprint towards the top of the leaderboard, being +2 on the back nine, he was putting on the pressure. Dan Giovannangelo with 4 pars on the back nine, and Jeff Grubb with two pars and a birdie, they were making their presence known. It was a tight race to the last hole; Dan secured his win with a score of 85 by making par on hole 18. Followed very close in second place Stefan with 86, and Jeff in third with 87.
In Division 4, In an unexpected twist of fate, the showdown between Kyle Swensen, Bernard Epps and Dona Wallerius, unfolded with gripping intensity. Kyle started out par/birdie, Bernard had pared #2 and #3, and Dona closed out the front nine with a string of three pars. All had scores of 43 at the turn. The pressure was on, and so was the rain! Initially, coming down the stretch it was tight, Bernard and Kyle were flip flopping back and forth, and ended up both finishing with 47’s on the back with a total score of 90. Dona was going down quietly, she was back by two strokes, and just needed to par #18 to get into the playoff. Unfortunately, she came up short with a double bogey. Leaving Kyle and Bernard heading into a playoff hole. It only took one playoff hole to crown our D4 champion, Kyle whose par beat out Bernard’s bogey.
In Division 5, In a display of sheer dominance, Chairoj Raviwongi asserted his authority over the Division Five field, establishing an unassailable lead with a commanding score of 42 at the turn. Chairoj did struggle on the back none carding a 49. Frank Appaluccio mounted the pressure with a great score of 44 on the back nine, however, his overall score of 96 was not enough to beat Chairoj’s score of 91. With unwavering focus, he replicated that stellar performance on the back nine, securing a well-deserved first-place finish with a commendable total of 92.
In Open Net, Chairoj Raviwongi took the trophy with a score of Net -1, and Frank Appaluccio came in second with a score of Net +4.
In Senior Net, To produce the Trophy winner we had to go to the USGA scorecard playoff rule, between Bob Walleriu and Raymond Van Ness. Leonard Viccharelli was also tied for first as all finished Net +7 on the day. Bob and Raymond both had 40’s on the back nine, so we moved to the last 6 holes, and Bob took home the trophy by overtaking Raymond by 2 strokes.
From here, the tour moves to Echo Lake Country Club on May 13th. We have a large field of 78 players, and the weather looks like a golfer’s dream. The tour will then move to LBI National on Sunday June 2nd. Be sure to secure your spots today!
