JMI #3

Scarborough, Maine, 7/24/99.

The third chapter in the storied history of this tournament started under cloudy skies which quickly turned to torrents of rain. Soon enough, the clouds cleared and under the sunny late afternoon skies was crowned a surprising new champion. Team PGL, a group of players from the Pioneer Plastics Golf League captained by Jake Turner followed the hot hand of Alan Ayer to a score of 167, 27 strokes over par.

Led by Ayer's 84, PGL used effective team play to eke out a one stroke victory in the closest Classic in history, one that also featured the largest field ever entered. Team PGL was followed at 168 by 1997 champs Team Matero and Team Fournier, led by Drig Fournier, who anchored the 1998 champion Team Merrill Squad. Teams Kwiatkowsky and Martel tied for fourth at 174, while the defending champions Team Merrill, minus their top player, fell to 179 and a sixth place finish. Team Mark, a rookie threesome, withdrew after nine holes due to the inclement weather.

The weather was the other big story of the day. Torrential downpours while most of the entries were playing the front nine slowed play and increased scores from the previous year's record-setting levels. After a brief delay, during which Team Mark withdrew, the players took to the back and were quickly met by clearing skies. Scores improved slightly as the day went along, save for the PGL team, which had made the turn at 80, a three stroke lead. Their score ballooned to 87 on the back, but in the end it was just enough to pull out the narrow victory.

Individual prizes were more evenly distributed than previously. Once again, a member of Team Matero won a long drive contest. Tim Matero edged out his brother David to take the award on the second hole. A mix-up on the 14th left no clear-cut winner, but after some debate the prize was awarded to Corey Martel, a member of Team Martel. Despite their sixth-place finish, Team Merrill swept the Closest to the Pin competitions, with Greg Collins claiming the seventh hole at 12' 10", and Brian Ketchum taking the 11th at 20' 6". Awards were presented to David Matero and Ann Martel for correctly guessing their final scores. The coveted Sandbagger award (highest round) was presented to Ann Martel for her record-setting 130. And for the first time ever an award was presented for the lowest score. The Drig Fournier Cup, named for the player who set the scoring standard in the previous two tournaments, was presented to Drig Fournier, who once again led the way with a 79.

Following are team and individual scores and awards:

Team Pioneer Golf League, 167:

Alan Ayer 84, Jake Turner 104, Suzann Milheron 104, Chuck Drinkwater 100

Team Matero, 168 (MC): Bill Higgins 105, David Matero 90, Scott Sancomb 113, Tim Matero 83

Team Fournier, 168: Dave Fournier 115, Drig Fournier 79, Alan Lipman 93

Team Martel, 174 (MC): Rick Martel 106, Ann Martel 130, Corey Martel 98, Ray Bennett 89

Team Kwiatkowsky, 174: Pat Hayes 92, Earl Conrad 102, Colt Kwiatkowsky 103, Brock Kwiatkowsky 94

Team Merrill 179: Steve Merrill 122, Joe Merrill 105, Brian Ketchum 90, Greg Collins 102

Team Mark (WD): Mark Goode, Mark Tibbets, Howie ???

Individual Awards:

Long Drive, 2nd Hole: Tim Matero

Closest to the Pin, 7th Hole: Greg Collins, 12' 10"

Closest to the Pin, 11th Hole: Brian Ketchum, 20' 6"

Long Drive, 14th Hole: Corey Martel

Sandbagger (high gross): Ann Martel, 130

Score Prediction: Ann Martel, 130; David Matero, 90

Long drive (unofficial), 18th Hole: Pat Hayes,

Drig Fournier Cup (low score): Drig Fournier, 79