Beaver and Yoder Romp to Victory in Men’s Member/Member Tournament

Simon and Garfunkel. Lennon and McCartney. Han Solo and Chewbacca.

We’ve seen some memorable duos, and at this year’s Member/Member tournament, Keith Beaver and Jeremy Yoder vied to add their names to the list. They obliterated the field in a tag team effort worthy of time’s greatest twosomes as they etched their names in the TCC history books.

The tournament was played over two days and multiple formats. Saturday began with a scramble on the front nine where teams had a chance to go low. The back nine format, alternate shot, would pose a much stiffer test – if teams made hay on the front, they hung on for dear life on the back. Sunday’s format would be “best ball”, in which each player plays their own ball and the team records the lowest of the two scores on the hole.

Beaver and Yoder jumped out to a great start making six birdies in the scramble, but Mario Mason was not to be outdone, chipping in on the par 3 8th hole to spur his team into contention. If Beaver and Yoder were going to win – they were going to earn it.

Todd Quigg and Eric Ogren fired a blistering net 61.5 on the opening day to take a narrow lead over Brian Jones and Trey Dusenbury. Reigning champs Travis Aldred and Ethan Waldman remained in the hunt just a couple of shots back, leaving everything to play for on the final day.

Dusenbury, a TCC legend and winner of multiple club championships, made an impression for reasons other than his golf game as his choice of shorts (see picture below) on day two of the tournament turned heads. It wasn’t just the electric blue color that attracted attention, but the almost impressive length – one contestant noted he hadn’t seen shorts like that since the NBA circa 1998.

By Sunday, Beaver and Yoder had built a 3-shot lead in the gross event, meaning chasing teams would need to make birdies. On the first hole, Mario Mason did just that. Having short sided himself on the left side of the green, he flopped a wedge to 20 feet and made a snaking birdie back across the green. With Yoder in for par, Beaver faced a difficult 18-footer for his birdie to avoid losing ground. In what turned out to be a statement of intent – he drained it. That putt was a harbinger of what was to come. Every time the chasing team put one close, the leaders put it closer. Every time they needed a putt, they made it.

This duo referred to themselves as the silent assassins – there was nothing silent about the famous “mud-ball” putt on the 10th hole on Sunday. Just off the putting surface, Beaver’s ball wore a notable chunk of mud after his approach. As he hit the putt, golfers on the other side of the property reported hearing “Come on mud ball! Go one mud ball!” Inevitably, the mud ball found a home at the bottom of the cup, and when Yoder drained a 45-footer on the following hole, the title was all but won. Mason made a late birdie charge, but it was too little too late.

Asked about the deciding factor over the course of the weekend, Yoder was in no doubt: “It was Tracy’s sandwiches. That was the difference maker. Not only did I feel the nutritional benefit…I felt the love. And that, really, is what life is all about.”

Man. That’s deep.

Todd Quigg and Eric Ogren held on to win the Net Member Member title with a second-day 63 to stave off the rest of the field, including a strong performance from Russ Rabenstein and George Torres.

Stroke Play Tournament Results

On Saturday July 1st, 19 players competed in a one-day, 18-hole Stroke Play tournament for which there would be net and gross prizes. With temperatures soaring into the 90’s, this would be a battle of attrition, a test of endurance.

We certainly saw some interesting things out there – one competitor played multiple shots from the tress behind the putting green, and another played his 2nd shot to the 3rd hole from the 5th fairway. Ethan Waldman was undeterred, however, as he carded an impressive 76 (net 67) to take top honors in net scoring, and Mike Bates fired a 77 to take second prize in gross.

Here are the rest of the results:

Gross:
1st Place – Simon Behan – 74
2nd Place – Mike Bates – 77
3rd Place – Keith Beaver – 79
4th Place – Jeremy Yoder – 80

Net:
1st Place – Ethan Waldman – 76 (67)
2nd Place – Travis Aldred – 79 (71)
T-3rd Place – Doug Gelbert – 80 (73)
T-3rd Place – Randy Conway – 83 (73)

Two great tournaments. Thanks to Gerald, Brian, and the whole crew for everything they do to facilitate the tournament and to have the course looking incredible.