After a successful inaugural year, your WP Golf League is back for a second season. In the month to come, we’ll have a new schedule posted complete with dates, courses and descriptions.
In the meantime, feel free to contact us at wspgolfclub@gmail.com to be added to our mailing list (if you weren’t on it last year), recommend a course in the Columbus area or make any other suggestions you may have.
When we last left our golfers, way back in August, the WsPGC Tour was decided but with one event to play, 3 golfers had a shot at the Rank Amateur Title. Jackie Trolio, Weston Barrett and Shawn White essentially had the course to themselves, and through 9 it was a close match as Trolio held a 2 stroke lead over the boys. But on the back 9, Shawn fell out of the competition by hole 13 and Jackie streched her lead over Weston to 4, claiming the Rank Amateur Tour championship with a final round of 94 on the day.
The W (semi) Scramble
The 2011 scramble took a different approach, featuring teams of 2 as opposed to a traditional scramble of 4. The feature match of the day was in the first pairing, as Kyle Bersnak and Adam Sleeper attempted to prevent Andy Ireton from winning everything as he dragged along Brian Phillips as his partner. Through 9, Ireton and Phillips managed to lead by 2 strokes. After the 10th the lead was pushed to 3, but Bersnak and Sleeper gained 2 strokes in 2 holes. Ireton held them off as best he could, but Bersnak was within 5 feet on every 2nd shot he had left and Sleeper and Bersnak bested Ireton and Phillips by 3 strokes.
2011 Season in Review
The Scoreboard tab has been updated with the final standings for the Leaderboard, as well as the scorecard from the Links at Groveport. You will also find a new history tab which summarizes each season’s results. And finally, browse our members tab to connect with fellow golfers and if you want your contact info on that list, send us an email at wspgolfclub@gmail.com.
Thank you for your support during our inaugural season, we’ll be back again next March. And if you’re in Gerlach, take a look at our trophy which will be showcased in the coming weeks.
(Yours truly is definitely not the priest)
Heading into the final WsPGC tour event, Andy Ireton has already locked up the WsPGC Tour Player of the Year. Weston Barrett holds onto first place in the Rank Amateur Tour with Shawn White in a close second, Jackie Trolio in third and everyone else far behind.
The Top 3 will play in the same pairing this Saturday, and the winner takes home the (trophy to be named later). For a live tweeting of the championship for the inaugural Rank Amateur Tour, go here at 10:10AM.
Pictured: Andy Ireton hoisting the Open Championship trophy
Granville Golf Course, while rather enjoyable and particularly gorgeous on the back 9, became something to endure given the weather of the day. Not to mention the occasional errant tee shot from two holes over that lands on the green next to you while you’re putting (sorry again Tim, Andy, Kyle and Chris). And while scoring from the rest of the field was impressive it wasn’t enough to keep Andrew Ireton from winning his 3rd event on the year and 2nd major. Ireton adds the WsPGC Open Cup, graciously donated by Sleeper, to his collection, which should go great with that terrible looking blue jacket.
Two Rank Amateurs broke the (Mike) Mendoza line with performances of 96 and 97, but no one remembers 2nd place so the only one who will receive mention is Weston Barrett. Granville marks Weston’s 2nd top finish and his first outright win on the Rank Amateur Tour. And if you’re still curious as to who had the 97, the place for the alternates can be found in the women’s restroom.
As we enter the final tour event of the year at Turnberry, it appears the top spot on the WsPGC Tour has been locked up. But there has been quite the shakeup in the Top 4, as Kyle Bersnak used his 2nd place finish to move into 3 and Tim Linn managed to squeeze in front of McCann. The Rank Amateur Tour tells a similar tale, with the top 3 spots pretty much secured and the rest wide open. In September the WsPGC will host a playoff for both tours, so there’s still some swag to be won.
Our final tour is August 13th at Turnberry, and the 2nd Annual WsPGC scramble is August 27th at Safari. You can RSVP for both by emailing wspgolfclub@gmail.com. For the scramble you can either ask to be paired randomly or submit a full or partial foursome and we’ll take care of the rest.
Sometimes you have the opportunity to witness greatness. Usually it’s through the TV. Occasionally it’s in the crowd. But every once in a while, you have the opportunity to stand right next to it, watch it hit a draw on 4, a 261 yd par 4, see the ball move around the trees to the left and land softly on the green WHILE THE WOMEN’S LEAGUE IN FRONT OF YOU IS STILL TRYING TO CHIP ONTO THE GREEN (Which was not visible at the time). And then, you see that tee shot followed up by a 40+ putt that drops.
So yeah, McCann eagled hole 4.
In summary, the Pro Am went as we thought. McCann played rather well, Burke stepped it up quite a bit and Weston snuck icy cool beverages into his cart. Following the event was a live concert with Esteban at Jimmy V’s in Grandview, a performance which all enjoyed.
New Scoring System
At the request of the masses, the scoring method has been revamped. We have adopted Cumulative Points, which is as it sounds, in addition to adding Average Round into the calculation where it was previously just a tiebreaker. The new scoring for the WsPGC Tour is calculated by normalizing the scores of Cumulative Points, Average Round and Average Points then taking the average score of the three. Slightly higher emphasis is placed on Cumulative Points (.45) to reward consistent superior play than Average Points (.35) and Average Round (.20).
The same method is used for the Rank Amateur Tour, although the weights have been shifted differently to account for those that cannot attend most events. Average Points (.50) receives slightly higher weight than Cumulative Points (.40), and Average Round (.10) receives small consideration.
The WsPGC Open at Granville
Our next event is this Saturday morning at Granville Golf Course, rated by Golf Digest in 2009 on their best places to play list. Some of the Pros are pretty excited for it, and there are post round festivities to be held as well. If your schedule permits, reserve a spot by emailing our Purveyor of the Sand Trap.
On the back of a stunning performance at Champions, Andy Ireton bested the field yet again and is the first member of the WsPGC Tour to break 80***. His 78 was enough for back to back tour victories and helped him offset McCann as the #1 ranked golfer on the tour.
McCann holds on to 2nd place overall, but Adam Stegemann is knocking at the door with his 3rd Top 2 finish on the season and 4th Top 5 finish. Joe Antonelli had another strong performance which helps to keep him in the Top 5 overall.
Kyle Bersnak was able to move into 7th with a 3rd place finish on the day. Two newcomers also joined the tour with a bang, as Chris Thomas shot a 92 and Ryan Calloway shot a 93, but they picked a rough day to do it given the performances of the Top 5. Tim Linn bounced back from a 100+ round at Champions to finish just above, and he rounds out the Top 10.
On the Rank Amateur Tour, Shawn White broke 100 to claim the top spot. The win moves him into 4th on the Tour. Weston jumps a spot to 6th with a 3rd place finish at Phoenix despite loss of flexibility from the airbrush tattoo.
The WsPGC takes another 2 week break but comes back like a… a… a phoenix I suppose, with our Pro Am Invitational on Saturday, July 9th. Our next stop is Wilson Road, the course where a fair amount of us learned how to slice, how to duff and a few of us actually learned how to hit. Another staple of the West Side of Columbus and the esteemed easiest muni course the city has to offer.
Hope you can join us, we’re expecting an atmosphere on par with the W (semi) P Scramble.
(It should be a rather good time)
*** It has been brought to the Club’s attention that Adam Stegemann was the first to break 80 when he put up a 79 at Airport. The Club formally apologizes and recognizes Furyk’s Stegemann’s excellent play throughout the season.
