Tony Ravenda Takes Crown at Whirlpool; Kyle Smith Wins Overall Title for 2009

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Saturday August 29, 2009 - Tour veteran Tony Ravenda notched his second career win on the Nevada Bob's Men's Tour, firing a one under par round of 71 at Whirlpool Golf Club to win the sixth and final leg on the 2009 schedule by three shots over Mike Bedard from LochNess Links.

Ravenda, who plays out of Thundering Waters GC, had to endure rainy conditions for the first five holes in an early morning tee time and put together nines of 35 and 36, making eagle on the last hole, two birdies, twelve pars and three bogeys.

Interestingly enough, Ravenda's other victory on Tour also came at Whirlpool back in 2004.

Bedard notched three birdies in his round of 74 (36-38) to finish in second all alone and garner his second top five finish of the season. Lookout Point's Ryan Gidney (40-35), Bridgewater's Kyle Griffis (39-36) and Rick Henderson from Twenty Valley (38-37) all tied for third with solid rounds of 75. Bridgewater's Gord Henderson (39-37), the winner of the last event at LochNess Links, finished in sixth all alone with a 76. Tying for seventh with rounds of 77 were Tour co-chairman Bernie Bodogh (37-40) from Links of Niagara, Brad Butler (36-41) from St. Catharines GCC, Port Colborne's Bob Goss (40-37) and Twenty Valley's Bill Lipsett (38-39).

For the second event in a row, there were six skins on the day, with each worth $90.00. Wes Juzsku made the only birdie three on the tough but picturesque 2nd hole, Goss made an eagle three on the 5th, Bodogh made a deuce on the par three sixth, Mike Bedard made a birdie three on the long par four 10th, Gidney made an eagle three on the 13th and Ravenda's eagle on the last hole also held up. Closest to the Hole winners were Rick Henderson, who wins a prize from Briggsy's Sportswear for his tee shot on the 3rd hole and Kyle Griffis, who knocked one in close on the 14th to win a gift certificate from 13 Mountain Street Bistro. The 50/50 draw winner for the second consecutive event was Bill Puckering from Pelham Hills, who takes home $70.00.

The race for the Jim McNeil Award is finally complete and Tour rookie Kyle Smith was able to hold on and claim the coveted prize in 2009!

Smith, shown above, shot a 79 in the final event of the year, finishing off with 581.5 points to take the Nevada Bob's Men's Tour Overall Championship for 2009. Smith also was awarded at the Niagara Golf Report Rookie of the Year for his splendid initial season on the Tour. Ravenda's big win at Whirlpool moved him up to second overall with 557 points and also propelled him to the top of the standings for the 2009 Senior of the Year honours.

Finishing in third in the overall race was Lookout Point's Ian Penney with 507.5 points. Tour co-chairman Jim Briggs from Fox Run, the three-time defending Overall Champion, finished in fourth in 2009 with 484 points while Bridgewater's Gord Henderson claimed the fifth spot with 478.5 points. Rounding out the top ten were Lookout Point's Ryan Gidney in sixth, rookie Bradley Cassidy from Rolling Meadows in seventh, Bernie Bodogh from Links of Niagara in eighth, Port Colborne's Bob Goss in ninth and Lookout Point's Frank Mortensen, a two-time winner in 2009, finishing tenth overall.

Finishing in the top five behind Smith in the Niagara Golf Report Rookie of the Year race were Bradley Cassidy from Rolling Meadows, Jesse Bedard from Royal Niagara, LochNess Links' Mike Bedard and Brad Butler from St. Catharines GCC. In the senior points race, Ravenda was followed closely by Fox Run's Jim Briggs, Bridgewater's Gord Henderson, Port Colborne's Bob Goss and Lookout Point's Frank Mortensen.

The Tour also named Willie Ormerod (shown below with Jim Briggs) as the recipient of the 2009 Grant MacMillan Award, given to the Tour participant who best exemplifies the qualities of an ideal playing partner and Tour ambassador, including sportsmanship, camaraderie and gentlemanly conduct both on and off the course.

All players finishing in the top 30 of the overall standings are exempt from qualifying for the 2009 season. Also exempt is Sparrow Lakes' Kenny Molkoski, who despite missing out on the top 30 maintains his exempt status due to his win at Grand Niagara in 2008

The Tour committee would like to thank the staff at Whirlpool Golf Club for their hospitality. It's a wonderful layout and we expect to be back there sometime soon.

The Tour committee would also like to thank their sponsors for the 2009 season. Many thanks once again to Bob Allan and Tony Haney at Nevada Bob's on Ontario Street, the Tour's title sponsor once again. We couldn't do it without your support! Thanks also go out to Josh Groom at 13 Mountain Street Bistro and Jim Briggs of Briggsy's Sportswear and Promotions for sponsoring the Closest to the Hole competitions this year. Finally, many thanks go out to Mike Cressman of the Niagara Golf Report for sponsoring the Rookie of the Year award. We'd also like to thank Dave Reid from FORE Golfers Only, along with all the staff at the Welland Tribune and the St. Catharines Standard for their great support in their publications.

The Tour's Fall Qualifier will take place on Sunday September 20th at Riverview Golf Club. Online Entry Forms are available and there are also hard copies available at Nevada Bob's Golf on Ontario Street. Please have your forms submitted by Monday September 14th if you are interested in participating.

WHIRLPOOL GOLF CLUB STATISTICS -

Average Score: 81.11

Most Birdies: Bradley Cassidy (Rolling Meadows) - 5

Most Pars: Jim Briggs (Fox Run), Mike Garcia (Queenston), Gord Henderson (Bridgewater) & Tony Ravenda (Thundering Waters) - 12

Best Par 3 Performance: Bob Goss (Port Colborne) - 2.80 average

Best Par 4 Performance: Mike Bedard (LochNess Links) - 4.00 average

Best Par 5 Performance: Bradley Cassidy (Rolling Meadows) - 4.20 average

Most Difficult Par 3: #17 - 3.68 average

Most Difficult Par 4: #2 - 4.89 average

Most Difficult Par 5: #15 - 5.62 average

Easiest Par 3: #14 - 3.36 average

Easiest Par 4: #9 - 4.38 average

Easiest Par 5: #5 - 5.06 average

Leaderboard

   PLAYERS  CLUB SCORE POINTS
1  Ravenda, Tony  Thundering Waters 35 36 71 175
2  Bedard, Mike  LochNess Links 36 38 74 150
T3  Gidney, Ryan  Lookout Point 40 35 75 118.5
   Griffis, Kyle  Bridgewater 39 36 75 118.5
   Henderson, Rick  Twenty Valley 38 37 75 118.5
6  Henderson, Gord  Bridgewater 39 37 76 105
T7  Bodogh, Bernie  Links of Niagara 37 40 77 92.5
   Butler, Brad  St. Catharines 36 41 77 92.5
   Goss, Bob  Port Colborne 40 37 77 92.5
   Lipsett, Bill  Twenty Valley 38 39 77 92.5
T11  Bedard, Jesse  Royal Niagara 39 39 78 70
   Briggs, Jim  Fox Run 37 41 78 70
   Cassidy, Bradley  Rolling Meadows 38 40 78 70
   Juzsku, Wes  GAO 40 38 78 70
   McLean, Chris  GAO 38 40 78 70
   Rodwell, John  Beechwood 37 41 78 70
T17  Arrowsmith, Randy  Long Beach 41 38 79 55
   Penney, Ian  Lookout Point 41 38 79 55
   Smith, Kyle  Sawmill 39 40 79 55
T20  Bosela, Matt  St. Catharines 40 40 80 44
   Childs, Ken  GAO 39 41 80 44
   Hunermund, Mark  Sparrow Lakes 40 40 80 44
   Ormerod, Willie  Links of Niagara 38 42 80 44
   Ragats, Andy  GAO 41 39 80 44
   Robertson, Pete  GAO 40 40 80 44
T26  Jackson, Jeff  GAO 41 40 81 35
   Odegaard, Jon  Queenston 41 40 81 35
   Strachan, John  GAO 41 40 81 35
T29  Elsley, Taylor  GAO 40 42 82 27
   Garcia, Mike  Queenston 40 42 82 27
   McEachern, Stew  LochNess Links 41 41 82 27
   Puckering, Bill  Pelham Hills 42 40 82 27
   Spiler, Joe  Lookout Point 42 40 82 27
T34  Bolton, Mark  GAO 42 41 83 19.5
   Mortensen, Frank  Lookout Point 41 42 83 19.5
   Nepon, Harris  St. Catharines 41 42 83 19.5
T37  Abrams, Dave  Sawmill 42 42 84 15.5
   Briggs, Adam  Fox Run 42 42 84 15.5
   Gruhl, Steve  St. Catharines 42 42 84 15.5
   Turonski, Todd  GAO 45 39 84 15.5
T41  Egerter, Don  Fox Run 44 41 85 11
   Germond, Jeff  St. Catharines 43 42 85 11
   Lowrey, Wes  Queenston 41 44 85 11
   Webb, Curtis  Niagara-on-the-Lake 47 38 85 11
   Widner, Doug  LochNess Links 41 44 85 11
T46  Goodman, Cal  St. Catharines 41 45 86 6.5
   McCulligh, Kevin  GAO 39 47 86 6.5
   Molkoski, Kenny  Sparrow Lakes 46 40 86 6.5
   Stouffer, Phil  Twenty Valley 43 43 86 6.5
T50  Joon, Nick  GAO 44 44 88 3
   Lord, Paul  Lookout Point 45 43 88 3
   Rollick, Brent  GAO 44 44 88 3
53  Carr, Barry  GAO 43 46 89 1
   Bedard, Donny  Royal Niagara DID NOT FINISH
   Fleguel, Brad  Freedom Oaks DID NOT FINISH
   Foster, Josh  Whisky Run DID NOT START
   Reimer, Rob  Niagara-on-the-Lake DID NOT FINISH
   Waldbroel, Kyle  Twenty Valley DID NOT START
   Wood, Andrew  Rockway Glen DID NOT START

Vouchers, Skins and Prizes

 VOUCHERS    
1  Tony Ravenda   $180.00
2  Mike Bedard   $130.00
T3  Kyle Griffis   $76.66
T3  Rick Henderson   $76.66
T3  Ryan Gidney   $76.66
 SKINS    
1  Wes Juzsku #2 - Birdie 3 $90.00
2  Bob Goss #5 - Eagle 3 $90.00
3  Bernie Bodogh #6 - Birdie 2 $90.00
4  Mike Bedard #10 - Birdie 3 $90.00
5  Ryan Gidney #13 - Eagle 3 $90.00
6  Tony Ravenda #18 - Eagle 3 $90.00
 CLOSEST TO THE HOLE    
1  Rick Henderson #3 Briggsy's Sportswear
2  Kyle Griffis #14 13 Mountain Street
 50/50 DRAW    
1  Bill Puckering   $70.00