Mortensen Goes Back to Back
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Sunday June 7, 2009 - After waiting eight years to win his first event on the Nevada Bob's Men's Tour, it certainly didn't take long for Frank Mortensen to notch his second.
The affable Mortensen, a member of Lookout Point CC, shot a two over par 74 on a cool, windy day at the picturesque St. Catharines Golf and Country Club to win his second consecutive event on Tour by a shot over rookie Bradley Cassidy.
Mortensen, shown above receiving congratulations from Nevada Bob's Bob Allan, made three birdies, three bogeys, a double and eleven pars on the way to posting nines of 38 and 36. The win was a historic one, as Mortensen becomes the ninth person in Tour history to win multiple events and only the third person to win multiple events in one season, joining Stephen Billyard, who won two events in 2003 and also Tour Co-Chairman Jim Briggs, who won a record three events in 2006. Cassidy, a member of Rolling Meadows GCC, shot an excellent three over round of 75 (36-39) to finish second all alone, the rookie's top finish thus far on Tour. There was a four-way tie for third place, with Matt Bosela of St. Catharines GCC (38-39), the GAO's Bob Goss (42-35), Tony Ravenda from Thundering Waters (39-38) and Niagara-on-the-Lake GC's Rob Reimer (38-39) all shooting 77 on the day. Finishing tied for seventh with scores of 78 were rookie Cal Goodman of St. Catharines GCC (38-40) and public players Wes Juzsku (37-41) and Todd Turonski (39-39). Rounding out the top ten with scores of 79 are Tour rookie Jesse Bedard from Royal Niagara GC (40-39), co-chairman Bernie Bodogh from Links of Niagara (41-38), Lookout Point's Ryan Gidney (42-37) and Joe Spiler (37-42) and Rick Henderson from Twenty Valley GCC (38-41). There were four skins on the day, each worth $135.00. Winners were Cassidy, who made a birdie three on the 3rd hole, Brad Fleguel from Freedom Oaks GC, who made an eagle three on the par five 10th, Curtis Webb from Niagara-on-the-Lake GC, who made the day's only birdie on the par five 15th and Bill Lipsett from Twenty Valley GCC, who made an eagle three on the par five 16th. The closest to the hole winners were St. Catharines GCC's Harris Nepon, who hit his tee shot on the par three 4th hole to 5'5" and LochNess Links' Mike Bedard, who hit his shot on the 17th hole to 7'4". Nepon wins a gift certificate from Tour sponsor 13 Mountain Street Restaurant while Bedard takes home a gift certificate from Briggsy's Sportswear and Promotions. Juzsku won the 50/50 draw and takes home $88.00.
There is finally some movement in the overall standings, as two-time winner Mortensen moves into the top spot with 351 points. Peninsula Lakes event champion Kyle Smith slips to second place with 311.5 points. Jim Briggs also falls one spot to third while Cassidy shoots all the way up to fourth position. Rounding out the top five is Bodogh, who sits with 250 points.
Smith stays on top of the Niagara Golf Report Rookie of the Year standings, followed closely by Cassidy. Jesse Bedard sits in third, Fox Run's Adam Briggs is in fourth and Brad Butler from St. Catharines GCC is in fifth position. In the Senior of the Year race, Mortensen leads over Jim Briggs, with Ravenda in third, Goss in fourth and Bridgewater's Gord Henderson in fifth place.
It was a privilege to play the event at St. Catharines and the course was in absolutely tremendous shape, with greens rolling fast and true and the setup difficult but fair. Many thanks to Steve Gruhl, the assistant superintendant at St. Catharines and a Tour member, for the great setup. Thanks also go out to Jeff Germond, the General Manager at St. Catharines and another Tour member, for welcoming the Tour to the club and for opening a cash bar for the players. Thanks also go out to the Board of Directors and specifically James Price for welcoming us with open arms and Lisa Hunt in the administration office. Finally, many thanks to Head Professional Drew Smythe and especially to assistant Cameron Thin for doing the wonderful and thankless work on the scoreboards. We're all looking forward to returning to St. Catharines again soon.
The fourth event on the schedule takes place on Sunday July 19th at Twenty Valley Golf and Country Club in Vineland. Tee off times will be made available here on the website about two weeks prior to the event. Please let the Tour Committee know if you are unable to attend the event or if you have a specific tee time request.
ST. CATHARINES G&CC
STATISTICS -Average Score: 82.46
Most Birdies: Jim Briggs (Fox Run GC), Bradley Cassidy (Rolling Meadows GCC), Bob Goss (GAO), Wes Juzsku (GAO), Frank Mortensen (Lookout Point CC) & Andrew Wood (Rockway Glen) - 3
Most Pars: Tony Ravenda (Thundering Waters GC) - 13
Best Par 3 Performance: Kyle Griffis (Bridgewater GCC) & Willie Ormerod (Links of Niagara) - 3.00 average
Best Par 4 Performance: Matt Bosela (St. Catharines GCC), & Bradley Cassidy (Rolling Meadows GCC) - 4.00 average
Best Par 5 Performance: Brad Fleguel (Freedom Oaks GC) - 4.20 average
Most Difficult Par 3: #12 & #17 - 3.93 average
Most Difficult Par 4: #9 - 4.80 average
Most Difficult Par 5: #16 - 5.83 average
Easiest Par 3: #14 - 3.37 average
Easiest Par 4: #11 - 4.20 average
Easiest Par 5: #10 - 4.96 average