Stell and Lee top field in BMGA Member-Guest Tournament
Is there really a wavelength linking a married couple? Or just many cases of coincidence?
Folks around the scoreboard got a chuckle out of a conjunction of events at the finish of the Beachview Men’s Golf Association Member-Guest Tournament on March 19.
Jerry Mader and his guest, Terry Pokuta, had just turned in a net 47 score. As Head Pro Scott Hatto entered the 23-under total on the board while the bystanders allowed that would be the winner, out on the adjacent street Janice Mader sailed past with her guest, seemingly on her way to a shopping spree.
Even such an astounding total didn’t give the Mader squad a clear path to the title, Jerry’s neighbor – Jay Allen, who lives a couple of doors away on the 11th fairway – came in with a 48. He was aided by guest Terry Mays.
For a few hours, you would have to say this was the toughest golfing block in Southwest Florida.
Dan Lautermilch doesn’t live adjacent to the course, but he spends almost as much time on the course as the grass. He had to settle for third after he and partner John Lesich lost a scorecard playoff at 48.
Both the men and women’s leagues had scary weather forecasts for their back-to-back tournaments… but both got lucky. The women played under cloudy skies. The men munched on breakfast during a rain shower, but as they hit the tees, blue skies rolled in and the contest enjoyed a beautiful tropical day.
Bill Stell, a BMGA member, and Jim Lee, a guest, proved to be the most accurate swingers among 32-team field, plunking their tee shots inside a 20-foot circle to share a Pot Of Gold.
In regular play on March 21, Marty Gallagher and Rene Lohser took turns helping each other on the way to a net 49.6 in a Two-Man Scramble. Barry Humphries and Stan Sheft were a point behind and Bill Blankenship and Fred St. Pierre were another two-tenths back in third.
The March 17 play was a Two-Man Best Ball and Mark Ryan and Jerry Tucker won with a 55 net, one stroke ahead of Chuck Bye and Dan Keys.