Results from Saturday

What a beautiful image… newly enthroned Masters Champion Dino Camomot slipping on his jacket for the first time.

Here are the final results from the play at Covered Bridge:

Points as of the Indiana Open:

Great action and a beautiful day of golf yesterday at Oxmoor.

Kickoff Results:

Brown over Camomot 3&2
Geer over Nett, 2^nd hole playoff (story below)
Quintana over Herp 3&2
Gibson over Buzz, 1 up
Walton over Boeving 5&4

The following groups need to get their Play-in matches scheduled and completed before May 9^th or risk forfeiture:

Wolf and Corso
Deetsch and Irwin
Weining and Holtzmann

Additionally, the following can schedule their Round 1 matches at their convenience, preferably by May 9th:

Rone vs Geer
Cummins vs Quintana
Nacrelli vs Watson

Geer vs Nett Match Summary:

Having not drawn a match for Sunday, I was still hoping to be part of some serious Tournament golf action and the Geer/Nett billing provided endless drama until the final putt dropped- well, actually until the final drive hooked hard OB… Geer came out firing- Birdie, Birdie, Par- to instantly go 3up. Undeterred, Nett began to grapple back and a rifled 7-iron from 190 out over the trees and onto the green at #5 signified “game on!”. Nett would take 4 straight holes and eventually finish the front 1 up.

The back and forth continued on the second nine- Geer showcased his short game and putter and prevented Nett from gaining any separation on the scorecard. When Geer dropped another birdie-birdie barrage on 14,15 the match was brought back to all square. A strong 2 putt for Par on 16 had Joe back in the lead, when the real drama began to unfold- Geer’s round had been relatively error-free until his 17^th tee shot dove hard left and out-of-bounds. With Joe threatening to close out the match Geer managed to get his second tee shot down the left hand side and then busted his fourth shot to just short of the green. His chip shot came bounding up the slope of the green and then barreled right into the hole for a Par save! Joe’s 12ft birdie putt just missed the edge and it was on to the 18^th!

Paralyzed by Geer’s stunning Par, Nett promptly blew, not 1, but 2 drives OB left and the match was set for extra holes. Both players played #10 like semi-professionals: Joe tapping in for Birdie and Geer draining another steely 6ft putt for a matching Birdie- his 5^th of the day! On 11 Geer laced another drive down the middle and Nett blew another one hard left and OB to finally end the match- well played, with 7 birdies on the day between the two players- well worth the price of admission!

Congrats to Adam Rone, 2015 champion of The Bluegrass.  Adam edged out Peter Kremer in a scorecard playoff & picked up right where he left off in 2014.  Typically, there would have been an on-course playoff, but due to Kremer’s early departure, the scorecard tiebreaker was used.  Steve Brown & newcomer Andrew Walton, rounded out the money winners.

Thanks to our sponsor CH Robinson for providing some serious swag & thanks to all who participated.  Next stop, Match Play Kickoff & Indiana Open.  Stay tuned for details.

In spite of the cold a group of KAGT elders gathered recently around a warm fire and a UL game to map out the 2015 schedule, and to mentally prepare for birdies and championship titles. Here are a few notes and the schedule/venues/hosts.

After his dismal 2014 showing we’ve determined Casey Weber needs some time off to focus on his game, so Brian Fetter pay his dues and take a stint as your faithful Commissioner. We thank Casey for his wisdom, energy, and dedication as he provided his steadfast leadership to the Tour these past few seasons.

Membership Roll Call– please confirm your interest in competing on Tour this season. Additionally, if you have any new candidates please send their information to Weber and I so we can reach out them to explain the Tour, handicaps, etc.

Handicaps– be sure to get your handicap up to date. Active Season begin March 1.

Additionally, this is the final year of our handicap step-down program. After capping at 22 in 2013 and 20 last year, Handicap Indexes will be capped at 18 for the 2015 season. The highest Course Handicap permited will be based off a max 18 Index.

Dues– will remain the same at $165 for the season. We will again ask that the full amount be paid up front at the beginning of the season. We will continue to refund money for any tournaments not played and to those who do not qualify for the Tournament of Champions. Casey will take over for me as Treasurer and banker.

Schedule– we’ve essentially kept the same weekends and days last year. Hosts will need to confirm their intention to host and also confirm courses, dates, Sat vs Sun, etc. We’ll be in touch about that. If anyone is interested in hosting, please advise.

Congratulations to Robbie Tindall! Going into Saturday, it was difficult to say which player was the populist favorite to win it all for 2014- but it was unanimously not Tindall. The man who considered retirement to start the year and even had a sluggish start to the 2014 campaign, turned it around with solid golf to end the season: Top 5 finishes in each of the last 5 tournaments, including victory at the RWI and second place finishes in the QCGCDFCI and the TC- the latter being the difference maker as he overtook Cummins and Gibson and repeats as Season Champ, and that means a lot more Cowbell will be ringing out from the Tindall home.

 Congratulations to Mitch Gibson- while he could not fend off Tindall at Oxmoor, the tour Rookie glides into second place in the Season Points standings- powered by 3 Victories, including 2 Majors in 2014.

Congratulations to Brian Fetter- 5 years of unrelenting dedication, hard work, and unwavering focus culminated on Saturday with a record 10 stroke victory at the Tournament of Champions. Fetter tied for low gross on a challenging day in the elements at Oxmoor. Fetter grabbed the early lead, pushing through the first 5 holes at only 1 over par. The lead was 6 at the turn and still 6 heading into the final 4 holes. After splitting the fairway on 18, a laced 4-iron into the wind found the fat of the green, 40ft left and hole high. To the delight of the gallery, that putt rolled in for a birdie, 86, net -5. The margin of victory immediately drew comparisons to some of the most dominant performances in recent golf history- Woods at Pebble Beach in 2000, McIlroy at Congressional in 2011. The victory, complimented by the most Top 3 Finishes on Tour in 2014, moved Fetter all the way up to number 3 in the Season Points standings, just ahead of Cummins who dropped from first all the way to fourth.

Casey:
Fetter wins first Kagt event of his career.
Robbie Tindall repeats as points champ.

Mitch:
A HUGE shout out to Tindall for his repeat – he played a solid round at Oxmoor and stayed consistent through-out!

Fetter’s win was no small feat, he played a solid round in sustained 20 MPH winds that felled the entire field. A 41 on the front was quite a feat and pretty much sealed the deal. Nice work man – you deserve it after playing that well in those conditions.

Sad it’s over – I had a blast this season and look forward to next!

Well, you guys missed an Epic KAG-Tour Match Play Showdown at Hunting Creek! The weather was mild and breezy and the course was in incredible shape for the Powell v Gibson final match (6 strokes to Gibson)

It opened with Powell jumping ahead +2 right off the bat starting a back and forth battle that lasted until the end. The man knows the course well and putted lights out all day and crushed it off the tee. Gibson fights back to All square after the par 5 #5 where Gibson knocks his approach to the back of the green and Powell to within 15 feet. Gibson’s 40 foot birdie putt rolls to within a foot only to have Powell sink his birdie to snag the stroke and tie the hole when Gibson parred.

Gibson wins #7, a stroke halves the #8 and Powell puts us at all Square at 9.

The back nine goes back and forth each hole through 13: Gibson +1, Powell E, Gibson +1, Powell E). Gibson again goes 1 up on on the par 4 #14 and a stroke halves the long dogleg Par 5 #15. They again halve the hole on #16. But Gibson’s 10 foot approach on the par 3 #17 allowed a two putt win with Gibson 2up with 1 left.

A grueling match till the end – I don’t think I remember what a single hole looked like, just that they were all long and all the greens were difficult…

Powell, nice round and nice course too. I appreciate the info from start to finish ~ it helped it not be so much of a circus with all the craziness Hunting Creek throws at a golfer.

Mitch

It was a beautiful day for golf, and despite the solemnity of the occasion (the remembrance of “the fallen”), Old Capitol provided some serious golf excitement. Playing tough as always, with trouble lurking at every turn, Old Capitol once again proved itself a worthy KAGT challenge. The KAGT faithful expressed their delight with the course conditions and especially the greens. Newcomers Camomot and Gibson both stamped the course with their approval- obviously it was a joy for Gibson as he cruised to a 5 stroke victory- including a 39 on the back and pars on the last 4 holes as he strolled up the 18th to the stunning new Old Cap gazebo.

Who’s Hot:
Mitch Gibson- winner of 2 of the last 3 events and still alive in the Match Play Finals this week, rookie Gibson is taking the second half of the season by storm and could be #1 in the season points standings after this week.
Buzz- hanging on to a TC Qualifying lifeline, Buzz needed 2nd place or better to unseat Weber from the final TC spot and he did just that with a -1 performance and solo 2nd.
Brian Fetter- don’t look now, but Fetter has finished consecutive events in the money and has more Top3 finishes this year than any other player and has qualified for the TC for the first time since 2010. Not bad for perennial bottom dweller.

Who’s Not:
Jeff Cummins- after a fiery start to the season, Cummin’s game has cooled considerably down the stretch. The tank might just be empty as the TC looms and the Season Points Title remains up for grabs.
Casey Weber- a tough season for the former Champion. His last place finish in the Memorial sealed his demise and he’ll miss the 2014 TC, left only to lament about wasted time and money.
Peter Kremer, Steve Herp, Matt Nacrelli, Rob Holtzmann, Johnny Q, Jake Wolf, Eric Weining and JO- gentlemen, we hope you’ve enjoyed the season, but your KAGT 2014 adventure is OVER. I owe several of you a refund for the missed TC and any other events you skipped. I’ll follow up with you individually to get your money back to you. Of course, you are still welcome to come and play and view the action on Oct 4th…

After consensus discussion on Sunday, the Tournament of Champions will return to Heritage Hills on Saturday October 4th. I’ll look to schedule times for mid morning. Once Match Play completes this week, we will have the final standings and set the groupings. Looks like anyone in the last group will have a shot at the Season Points Title this season. Should be a barn burner…

A four week long Derby Festival City Invitational concluded Sunday with Rone’s pre-play -2, standing 4 shots clear of the competition. Both Fetter and Tindall stepped to 18th tee tied for the clubhouse lead, only to hang dualing dogballs and finish tied for second.  No one else entered the equation, allowing Cummins to sneak into the top 5 in solo 4th, with Buzell and Herp tying for 5th.

The peanut gallery will call it a historic implosion for Fetter, but the drive on 18 just fell into trouble and the miracle shot was not available this day. Too many missed short putts, but a solid round overall and the Srixon PGA Tour ball lasted all 18 holes. Of course the missed from 18″ putt on 18 hurt, but it was nice to see Tindall miss the EXACT SAME putt just minutes later to force the tie. Tindall must have played a fine front nine, taking the West in just 39 strokes. But a 9 on 1 East set the tone for a disastrous back nine, limping in with 54.

And no one else contended. The Quail rough was down right nasty and the rain brought no joy. Rone wins his second tourney of the year, and the points at the top of the Season Standings must be getting tight. One more event left in regular season play.