2016 Hanson Memorial Champion....LARRY BARRON
Our last weekend event of 2016 crowned our 2005 Senior Club Champion Larry Barron as our 2016 Hanson Memorial winner! Lucky Larry has been on a hot streak recently. He didn't get into the Wednesday T of C until winning the last event, and now he is the first guy to qualify for both the Wednesday and Weekend T of C's at the end of next season. The scorecard didn't tell the tale, so I'll sum it up for you. After 3-putt bogies on the first two holes, he rolls in a lengthy one for birdie on 3. Two more bogies on 4 and 5 were followed by a closest to the pin tee shot on 6, which he also converted for a bird. Another birdie on 7 got his regular playing partners wondering if "Sybil" was ever going to make a par. That thought was erased on 8, as he followed a drive left near the hazard with a couple of fluffed shots, leaving him about 40 yards away. Third time was the charm, as this pitch looked great in the air, and once it hit the green, was destined for nowhere but the bottom of the cup. Then he flat-lined, making nothing but pars, some boring, some colorful. The end result was a near age-breaking 73, producing a net 69, good for a one shot win over Tim Nou, who if not for an unfortunate 7 on number 10, might have taken down "Mr. Happy" Barron. Larry's play of late, which has been great, in spite of how he has felt while doing it, has inspired me to contemplate renaming both my boys Laurence Barron Grassa, because they need all the luck they can get.
The scores were a bit high in the 1st flight, with the unusual low net win by Tom Woliver, and a low gross win by Bob Grassa. In distant second were Joe Tinsley (net?), and Andrew Fitzgerald gross.
Low net in the 2nd flight was captured by Tim Nou, with his fine round of 70, beating Craig Robertson by 2. Gross went to the returning money man Larry Chvatal, who almost played well enough to cash in the go-low guys flight, earning a 4 shot win over President's Cup champ Jeff Harris.
The 3rd flight net was captured by the always dangerous Charles Walker. His net 71, although losing the big prize by 2, was good for a 1 shot flight win over Vic Poeuv and Jeff Middlebrook. Low gross was captured from the last group on the course by Robert Rapista, nipping Barry Finnerty by 1, and Senthil Sivaswamy by 2.
The 4th and final flight saw another net 71 by Tom Withers, who brought it home strong with a net 32 on the back nine, good for a 2 shot win over Mark McVeigh. Low gross wound up going to Jim Tiensvold, who held off John Parks by a fairly comfortable margin.
2016 Hanson Memorial Overall Net Champion: Larry Barron 69 / $100
!st Flight / Net
71....Tom Woliver / $65
77....Joe Tinsley / $40
1st Flight / Gross
73....Bob Grassa / $65
77....Andrew Fitzgerald / $40
What else was found in the Net
77...Gary Matthews
79...Paul Rathbun
80...Chris Lawson
81...Rob Mills
2nd Flight / Net
70....Tim Nou / $65
72....Craig Robertson / $40
73....Mike McHugh / $30
2nd Flight / Gross
78....Larry Chvatal / $65
82....Jeff Harris / $40
What else was found in the Net
74...Andy Pozniak
76...Kirk Williamson
78...Dan Walters, Zach Manuel
79...Scott Billion
81...Joey Busalacchi, Scott Guthrie
3rd Flight / Net
71....Charles Walker / $65
72....Vic Poeuv / $40
72....Jeff Middlebrook / $30
3rd Flight / Gross
84....Robert Rapista / $65
85....Barry Finnerty / $40
86....Senthil Sivaswamy / $30
What else was found in the Net
73...John Varner
75...Sergio Panduro
77...Rick McGaffigan, Greg Gillespie
78...John Hensley
80...Hedges Capers
81...Gregg Aubrey
83...John Sewell, Bill Guetz
4th Flight / Net
71....Tom Withers / $65
73....Mark McVeigh / $40
75....Ray Prazen / $30
4th Flight / Gross
90....Jim Tiensvold / $65
94....John Parks / $40
What else was found in the Net
77...Johnny O'Brien, Sam Burt, Rod Billingsley, Lonnie Lucas
80...Ron Johnston
81...Josh Ginsburg
82...Charlie Chance
86...Don Ouk
Closest to the Pins / $40 each
# 6....Larry Barron
# 9....Joe Tinsley
#13....Tom Woliver
#17....Craig Robertson
A couple of thoughts to leave you with as we close out 2016.
If you have not renewed your membership for 2017, please DO IT NOW!. Contact Larry Chvatal at northrimrealty@aol.com $80, you can use your club credits if you have some, but whatever you do, do it before the end of this month / year!
Once you've done that, you need to be at the annual dinner at Busalacchi's A Modo Mio on Tuesday January 10th. It will be bigger and better than last year, and anyone who was there last year knows how great that was. Great food, drink, and friendship with your fellow club members, with lost of prizes and CA$$H to give away! All for the low price of $25 dollars, a price I can only guarantee for about another day or two (after the last Wednesday event on 12/14?), so once again, contact Peter Berk at berkabee@happyaccidents.net right this minute!!
And to everyone who played a weekend event this year, THANK YOU!
2017 promises even more, with a soon to be launched new website that will make it easier for everyone to see upcoming events, enter those events, get results quicker, and overall provide a long awaited improvement to our great Balboa Men's Club.
Almost forgot. Our first weekend event for 2017 is actually before the annual dinner, on Sunday January 8th. More on that before Christmas, I promise.
Bob Grassa
Weekend Tournament Director