Scarborough, ME August 18, 2001
Under the sunny skies of southern Maine, the Championship Crown for the Joe Merrill Invitational Golf Classic returned to the rightful heads of Team Merrill today. In one of the closest tournaments on record, the squad of Joe Merrill, Drig Fournier, David Fournier and Brian Ketchum eked out at two-stroke victory over perennial bridesmaids Team Matero. Led once again by Drig Fournier, who captured the Cup carrying his name as the low scoring individual, Team Merrill captured its second crown in four years with a score of 163 in the unique best-two-of-four balls format.
The Matero squad, revamped for 2001 with the addition of Becky Perry and Greg Day, was once again led by the Brothers Matero, Tim and David. Their typically strong play led the team to a narrow second place finish ahead of the upstart Team LaFrance. The Matero team was, however, able to salve their wounds with two individual awards - long drive (Becky Perry) and closest to the pin (Tim Matero) on the front nine. One member of the LaFrance team, Bob Langlois, also was able to capture a long drive award as the upstart entry finished at 166, a mere three strokes off the pace.
The defending champion Team Higgins also submitted a revamped entry but was unable to match its previous success despite another strong round from team ace Drew Turnbull, who carded a round of 85. Alas, it was for naught, and the defending champs finished with a pedestrian score of 173. However, another new entry kept the Higgins foursome from finishing at the bottom of the list. Team Ward, comprised mainly of Oxford Hills High School alumni, straggled home with a tournament record high score of 215, as no member was able to best the century mark. Alas, two members of Team Ward also took consolation in the receipt of MI5 hats for their long day on the course.
Team Merrill (163) :
Brian Ketchum (93); David Fournier (123 ); Joe Merrill (104 ); Drig Fournier (82)
Team Matero (165): Becky Perry (114 ); David Matero (90); Tim Matero (85); Greg Day (99)
Team LaFrance (166): Brian LaFrance (127); Bob Langlois (91); Steve deCastro (88); Rick Martel (95)
Team Higgins (173): Andrea Higgins (125); John Higgins (112); Drew Turnbull (85); Bill Whitmore (91) Team Ward (215): Sue Robinson (167); Tony Ward (117); Penney Ward (147); Greg Collins (100)
Individual Award winners:
Drig Fournier Cup (Low Score): Drig Fournier (82)
Sandbagger (High Score) : Brian LaFrance - 127; Sue Robinson - 167; Penney Ward - 147 (honorary)
Long Drive, 2nd hole: Becky Perry
Closest to the Pin, 7th hole: Tim Matero
Long Drive, 10th hole: Bob Langlois
Closest to the Pin, 15th hole: Bill Whitmore
B. Langlois, T. Matero, B. Lafrance, S. Robinson, P. Ward, B. Whitmore, B. Perry
