JMI Classic: JMI #6

Bath, Maine, August 24, 2002

With a new look and a fresh new attitude, the Joe Merrill Invitational was a stunning success in its first year at its new venue - the picturesque Bath Country Club in Bath, ME. After a five year run at the Willowdale course in Scarborough, the tournament organizers decided that a change of pace was in order for "JMI #6", and the resulting change in venue was well received by all participants.

The tournament Championship was captured by the foursome of Team Higgins (Bill Higgins, John Higgins, Drew Turnbull, Dave Marr). The Higgins brothers reunited their original lineup of ringers that had successfully captured the crown in 2000, and once again were led by Drew Turnbull, who captured his first Drig Fournier Cup (awarded annually to the individual with the lowest score) with a 79, narrowly besting his teammate Dave Marr by one stroke. Led by the two low-handicappers, Team Higgins lowered the 2000 version's tournament record score by two strokes to 151. This score represented a seven stroke victory over Team Matero, aka Team Bridesmaid, who finished in the runner-up position for the fourth time since capturing the crown in the inaugural version of this tournament in 1997. The members of Team Bridesmaid (David Matero, Tim Matero, Greg Day) played their hearts out but were unable to compensate for the late defection of their fourth.

Following Team Bridesmaid was the defending championship Team Merrill squad. The Merrill team, which also entered as a threesome this year, was handicapped by the fact that Drig Fournier (after whom the low score award is named) was recovering from surgery and unable to compete. Still, all three members of the squad managed to score below the century mark, and Team Merrill came in with a respectable 168 to capture third.

There was also a titanic competition on the other end of the spectrum between Team Ward, which had set the tournament high score record in 2001, and the latest Team Fournier entry featuring three first-time participants. In the end, it was the Ward squad who improved their play by nine strokes to finish fourth with a score of 206, while Team Fournier straggled in with a 220, the newest tournament standard for high scoring. When a 69-year-old woman is throwing her clubs into the swamp, you know things aren't going well. Despite the letdown, Team Fournier was all smiles when they returned to the clubhouse, as were all other participants! We should make special note of this year's Sandbagger Award winners. Sharry Fournier challenged the one-year-old record for most strokes in the tournament (and set one for most moose sightings in the swamp!), while Tony Ward's 119 was impaired by an injured shoulder that will require surgery. Of course, there was no problem with the shoulder in 2001, as is evidenced by the fact that Tony shot three strokes better last year!

Team Higgins (151)