Pettinella Makes It 5 For 5

With 5 victorys in 5 starts, Tom Pettinella continued his dominance of the Sarazen Flight on the 2012 GCAmTour season and it appears that his steady play seems to be the key to his winning ways.  Trailing both Jeff Bossack of Oakville, Ontario and Richard Stein of Cheektowaga, New York by 2 two strokes after nine holes in the Battle of Mill Creek, held at the Mill Creek Golf Course in Churchville, NY, Pettinella avoided any large numbers and waited for the competition falter, the end result was a one stroke victory and to date an undefeated season.

A bad back that prompted a two month layoff from the game and a long 5 hour drive wasn't enough to prevent the 2010 Senior Hogan National Champion, Don Miller of North Bay, Ontario from blistering the Mill Creek layout with a 77 and earn him the crown in the Hogan Flight.  Alex Kurilovitch of Oswego, New York and Robert Davis of Nunda, New York finished second and third respectably.

After 3 second place finishes on the season, Michael Pogor of Burlington, Ontario finally claimed victory by carding his best round on the 2012 GCAmTour season and tying the lowest score of the day with a 77.  What makes his feat notable however is that he recognized that he had a crack in the crown of his driver on the second hole of play.  Undaunted his solid and consistant play earned him his first victory of the year in the Championship Flight.

When he puts his mind to it, Steve Wedekind of Newfane, New York can play some pretty good golf and he proved it again yesterday with his third triumph of the year in the Palmer Flight.  The victory also earned him a spot in the 2012 GCAmTour National Championships this fall.  Brian Davis of Amherst finished 2 shots back in second and Christopher Dolce earned the third spot.

A winding 20 foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole led Macedon, New York resident Jack Potter to his first win of the year in the Jones/Snead Flight.  For fellow competitor Bob Zehler of Williamson, it was his second consecutive playoff defeat.

Weather Doesn't Deter Golfers at Diamond Hawk Classic

Occasionally heavy downpours, strong, gusty winds and two lightning delays didn't prevent the field of GCAmTour golfers from completing their competition on the difficult Diamond Hawk Golf Course in Cheektowaga, New York.  Leading the way was Steve Butcher of Newfane, who bested Gary Ragar on the first playoff hole to claim his inaugural victory in the Hogan Flight.  The score of 84 shot by the 2 golfers proved to be the day's lowest on a long and miserable day.

A much coveted seed into the GCAmTour 2012 National Championships at TPC Sawgrass was granted Brian Davis of Amherst by virtue of his third victory of the season in the Championship/Palmer Flight.  His victory margin of 8 strokes proved to be the day's largest.  The rain-soaked course made scoring difficult and the multiple delays proved to be frustrating as conditions worsened as the afternoon wore on.  After an opening 9 of 41, it became a matter of just taking what the course offered as on this day Davis proved to be the better.

Tom Pettinella of Batavia, New York is making quite a habit of winning on the 2012 GCAmTour season regardless of the playing conditions and this day was no different.  Claiming his fourth crown in four tries, Pettinella's consistency proved to be too much in the Sarazen Flight as he edged his nearest competitor, Jeff Bossack of Oakville, Ontario by a 2 shot margin.

2009 Senior Snead National Champion, Pekka Ojapalo of Oakville, Ontario had to work overtime to earn his first victory of the season in the Jones/Snead Flight.  Tied with Bob Zehler of Williamson, New York, after 18 holes of play, Ojapalo proved that par can be a good score as he parred the 1st playoff hole to claim his win.  Pat Brooks of Orchard Park finished one stroke back of the leaders.



Ravenwood Classic Crowns Four Champions

An automatic seed into the 2012 GCAmTour National Championships this September at TPC Sawgrass accompanied his third victory of the season as Tom Pettinella used a blistering front nine to claim the crown in the Sarazen Flight at the Ravenwood Classic.  His 18 hole tally of 78 provided a 13 stroke margin over his nearest competitor as he cruised to the win on a mild and sunny afternoon at the Victor, NY golf facility.  His final score also proved to be the days lowest.

A heavy heart after the Amherst High School varsity baseball team that he coaches was eliminated from the Section VI playoffs the night before didn't prevent Brian Davis from claiming his 2nd victory of the season in the Championship/Palmer Flight.  His final score of 79 was just enough to hold off a hard charging Michael Pogor of Burlington, Ontario and Ken Englert of Tonawanda, NY.  Though proud of his victory, it wasn't much consolation for the feelings he holds for his young charges.

The 2011 GCAmTour Sarazen National Champion, Bradley Bishop of Alden, NY also garnered his 2nd crown of the season in the Hogan Flight. His steady play on the final 9 holes provided him with a 2 shot margin over Steve Butcher of Newfane, NY after making the turn even with each other.  The old adage "fairways and greens" was the key to his victory as he consistently kept the ball in the shorter grass.

After a 2011 season that saw the 2010 GCAmTour Senior Snead Order of Merit Champion go winless, Bob Zehler of Williamson, NY finally returned to the victory circle by shooting 40 on the back nine and cruising to victory in the Jones/Snead Flight.  After reputedly his worst year on tour, Zehler has once again found the consistency necessary to once again return him to the top of the leaderboard on a regular basis.

Congratulations to all the Ravenwood Classic winners for a great event.

Alex Kurilovitch Tops Field

Wind gusts upwards of 40 mph made scoring a bit difficult as the GCAmTour teed it up on the picturesque Seneca Hickory Stick Golf Club in Lewiston, NY.  Leading the scoring for the day was Alex Kurilovitch of Oswego, NY with an 83 as his birdie on the par 4 15th hole fueled a strong finish and led him to a one stroke victory over Chris Dopp of Collingwood, Ontario and Richard Stein of Cheektowaga, NY in the Hogan/Sarzen Flight and claim his 1st win of the year.

Steve Wedekind from Newfane, NY claimed his second victory of the season with a one stroke win over second place finisher Ken Englert of Tonawanda, NY in the Palmer Flight.  Playing on his home course provided little advantage as the hard charging Englert made a game of it but just couldn't quite catch Wedekind.

A strong back nine finish led Chris Jerge of West Seneca to a 3 shot margin of the field in the Jones/Snead Flight to claim his 2nd victory of the season.  Robert Zehler of Williamson and Marty Ground of Akron, NY finished second and third respectably.

George McLaughlin  (not shown) of Friendship, NY carded his second win of the year, cruising to a 5 shot margin over his nearest competitor in the Championship Flight