Mark Heptig presents the Stroke Play Championship Trophy to Curtis Mitchell for the Fifth time.
On a beautiful warm sunny day with only a breeze ruffling the Dollar Ranch course Curtis Mitchell again proved he is the best player in the RMGC. Only two other players, Brent Atkins and Rod Lee chose to challenge Mitchell in the Championship flight played from the blue tees. This tournament is a two-day tournament and requires play of your own ball on both days. You can’t rely on a team mate to bail you out. You are flying solo. This type of tournament requires resiliency, perseverance and over coming nerves when facing a difficult 3 or 4-foot putt. Mitchell proved once again he is a master of all three. On opening day, he was on fire having put together a round of one under par through 13 holes. Then came the fateful 14th. Hole. He managed an uncharacteristic 7. However, after consultation with Mark Heptig and Brent Mulanax after the round concerning a drop taken in the hazard he was awarded a two-stroke penalty. So, his recorded score became a 9, this on a par 3. Mitchell had righted himself after the 7 and finished with pars on the remaining four holes. His final posted score became a 77 and if you do the math you realize he played 17 holes 1 under par but one-hole cost him 6 strokes. He then came back on the final day of the tournament to fire a respectable 79 to finish at 156. His nearest opponent Brent Atkins could do no better than 167, 11 strokes behind Mitchell.
Simon Park holding the Directors Cup Trophy
Simon Park captured the Directors Cup for the best low net score – gross score less handicap. Park carries a 20-stroke handicap on the Dollar Ranch course when played from the white tees. Park is not a big person, but his distance off the tee is a topic of much conversation in the RMGC. Park utilized his long tee shots and reduced other mistakes as he shot two rounds of net 67 for a two-day total of 134. He won the Directors Cup by 1 shot over Chuck Leong who finished at net 64-71 – 135.
Besides the Championship flight, there were five flights within the Directors Cup.
left to right 1st and 3rd Flight Winners Chuck Leong and Richard Jones – 2nd Flight Winner Dallas Amos not available for photo
left to right 4th and 5th Flight Winners Simon Park and Frank Quallen
First Flight: 1 – Chuck Leong (135); 2 – Pat Kelly (138) and 3 – Ed Manning (139)
Second Flight: 1 – Dallas Amos (137); 2 – John Newman (143) and 3 – Bart Moore (143)
Third Flight: 1 – Richard Jones (136); 2 – Jay Meaden (136) lost in back nine card off) and 3 – Jim McCann (144)
Fourth Flight: 1 – Simon Park (134) Directors Cup winner; 2 – Jae Shin (142) and 3 – Seung Hong (144)
Fifth Flight: 1 – Frank Quallen (138); 2 – Roger Bass (139) and 3 – Colin Ferrett (142)
It was a real test of golf with the course in excellent condition. The RMGC wishes to thank Mark Heptig and Brent Mulanax for their administrative assistance in running the tournament. They also professionally handled a very difficult ruling on a rules situation that occurred. Stan Gedeon and his staff provided a great lunch and the RMGC furnished its fantastic camaraderie as the scores were posted and announced.