2025 St. Louis Far Oaks Golf Club Recap

On Sunday, the Amateur Players Tour headed to the Illinois side of the river, to Far Oaks Golf Club.  Far Oaks was in great shape, with its new bunkers making the course better than ever, setting a picturesque backdrop for a great day competition.  It was going to be a hot one, but an early morning double tee allowed the 109 player field to beat the heat and finish in time to watch Scottie Scheffler be crowned at The Open Championship.  Autohaus BMW was on hand with a beautiful and spacious X7, and MINI of St. Louis had a fun 4-Door Hardtop on display for APT members.  As per the usual at Far Oaks, scores were low and competition was fierce.

In Division 1, John Todd started out hot, making 3-birdies on the front nine to go out in 3-under 33.  A couple slip ups on the back, but a 1-under 71 would be enough for a trip to victory lane and a 4-shot win over Neil Ghanti who has been playing well as of late.  Ghanti finished in solo 2^nd with a 75, while Dan Busk finished in 3^rd place with a 76.  On the senior side, John Todd completed the “double-dip” and earned the victory.

In Division 2, 18 holes would not be enough in the days most competitive division, where the top 12 players were all within 4 shots of each other.  Todd Feuerhaken made a clutch birdie on the 9^th hole (his final of the day) to force a playoff with Bob Manville when both players shot 75.  The playoff hole was the tricky par-4 10^th, and Manville made a solid par to earn the victory and his first win since the fall kickoff at Crown Pointe in October, 2024.  3^rd place went to Matt Nemnich and Eric Schaetty who finished tied for 3^rd with rounds of 76.  5^th place went to Andrew Masters with a 77 as he is starting to be very competitive in D2 after his promotion from D3.  On the senior side, Manville takes home the playoff victory over Feuerhaken to earn the senior crown.

In Division 3, Paul Wilson came to play, shooting a stellar 75 to earn a 3-shot victory over Tony Arcese, who carded a 78 to take runner-up honors.  Simay Souvannarath and Dave Baxmeyer each finished in a tie for 3^rd at 79, while Chuck Schranck rounded out the top-5 with an 80.  Tony Quartuccio and Tim Leonberger finished in a 6^th  place tie with rounds of 81.  Wilson completed the double-dip and earned the senior title as well.

In Division 4, Sam Loring broke through for his first APT win, firing an 80 that featured two birdies.  The 80 was a career best for Loring, who is in his 3^rd season on the APT.  Competition was fierce in Division 4 – Jerry Anderson gave chase but fell just one shot back to earn runner-up honors at 81 while reigning Worldwide Golf Senior National Player of the Year Dolly Buenaventura finished in solo 3^rd at 82.  Allen Starnes finished in solo 4^th with a round of 85.  On the senior side, Jerry Anderson returned to the Autohaus BMW Winners Circlewith his impressive round of 81.

In Division 5, Bill McMahan continued his impressive performance the last week.  A swing change and some new equipment has certainly been the answer, as McMahan followed up a career round last week with an 84 at Far Oaks to wax the field.  Based on his recent performance, McMahan has earned a promotion to Division 4. Congrats on the great play Bill!  Jesse Cook and Chris Brockmeyer tied for the runner up honors with rounds of 91, while Wayman Declue finished in 4^th place at 94.  On the senior side, Bill McMahan earned the victory with his impressive round.

In the Net Division, competition was tight, but Sam Loring came out ahead with an impressive 3-under par 69 to beat Dolly Buenaventura and John Todd who both finished one-shot back at -2.  Dave Baxmeyer and Todd Feuerhaken rounded out the top-5 with one-under par rounds of 71.  30 players competed in the net game, with the average score being 4-over par 76.

From here, the APT takes a week off as many players are heading to French Lick for The Double Down, the last stroke-play major of the season.  Next up in St. Louis is a much anticipated trip to the highly-rated Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, MO on August 4^th.  Space is limited to 144 players, with tee times being a morning/afternoon double tee.  Registration closes a week from today, so don’t miss your opportunity to play one of the top private clubs in the Midwest with only 6 spots remaining!