Rookie Kerry Howe Prevails at Ussher's Creek
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Sunday July 11, 2010 - The freshman class on the Briggsy's Sportswear and Promotion Men's Tour in 2010 is shaping up to be the best in its history.
This was proven once again at Legends on the Niagara on the Ussher's Creek GC when Kerry Howe, who plays out of St. Catharines G&CC, became the third rookie to win already this year after a tremendous round of one under par 71.
It is the first Tour win for the 24-year old Howe, who is shown above receiving congratulations from Tour committee member Bob Goss. That said, he proved he has the explosive game to contend for years to come after overcoming both a double bogey and a triple bogey on consecutive holes in the middle of his front nine. Howe made two eagles and four birdies during his tumultuous round, where he went out in 38 shots but shot a sizzling incoming score of 33 to win the event, sponsored by Chris Lewis and Lakefront Windows, by one shot over Tour veteran Tony Ravenda.
This win by Howe continues the tremendous run of success for players who weren't on the Tour last year, as all four winners of this year's events are either rookies (Evan Angi, Dave Toulouse and Howe) or players who returned after an extended absence (Stephen Billyard).
Thundering Waters' Ravenda shot two even par nines of 36 to finish second all alone while Tour rookie Mark Armitage of Sawmill and veteran Frank Mortensen of Lookout Point both shot matching scores of 74 with identical nines of 37-37 to tie for third position. Tying for fifth place with scores of 75 were Fox Run's Adam Briggs (39-36) and Lookout Point's Ian Penney (36-39). Rounding out the top ten and finishing tied for 7th with scores of 76 were Evan Angi from Lookout Point (37-39), Matt Bosela from St. Catharines GCC (37-39), GAO Public Player Jeff Jackson (37-39) and Roger Perry from Sparrow Lakes GCC (41-35).
Despite a difficult golf course, scoring was low on an absolutely ideal summer day and there were five skins awarded, with each worth $100.00. Kerry Howe continued to pile up the money, winning three skins himself for his eagle three on #2, his birdie 3 on #8 and his birdie 3 on the short par four 11th. Also winning skins were Matthew Hopper, a GAO Public Player, who made the only birdie on the tough par four 6th and Lookout Point's Joe Bisson, who made a birdie two on the long par 3 16th hole.
The Closest to the Hole prize from 13 Mountain Street Restaurant went to Chris McLean, a GAO Public Player for his shot on the 3rd hole which settled only 2' 6" away from the cup while Brandon McGregor from St. Catharines GCC won the Closest to the Hole award from Briggsy's Sportswear and Promotion for his shot on the aforementioned par 3 16th, which ended up a little more than 11' away. Port Colborne GCC's Bob Goss won the 50/50 draw and took home $70.00.
The race for the Jim McNeil Award gets very interesting, as Adam Briggs, pictured above, takes over the lead from idle Stephen Billyard and now sits with 437.5 points. Briggs is followed by rookie Dave Toulouse from LochNess Links, the winner at the last event at Sawmill. Toulouse is 26.5 points back of the lead. Rounding out the top five in the overall standings are Lookout Point's Ryan Gidney, event winner Kerry Howe and Billyard. Expect things to change after the next event, as the points will be reset before the final event that takes place at LochNess Links, with every player's worst event by point total thrown out. Dave Toulouse continues to lead the way in the race for the Gary Bos Academy Rookie of the Year award. Moving into second is Howe, with Evan Angi moving into third. Mark Armitage holds onto fourth spot and falling to fifth is Evan Olsthoorn from St. Catharines GCC. In the Niagara Golf Report Senior Division race for players 50 & older, newly-turned 50 year old Ian Penney grabs the lead, with Bob Goss now sitting in second place. Bridgewater GCC's Gord Henderson is tied for third with Frank Mortensen and moving up into fifth spot is Tony Ravenda.
The Tour committee would first like to thank event sponsor Chris Lewis and Lakefront Windows in St. Catharines for their great support. We'd also like to thank Dennis Randall and everyone at Legends on the Niagara for their help in putting on the event.
The Tour's fifth event will be held on Sunday August 8th at highly-esteemed Whirlpool GC in Niagara Falls. The event will be sponsored by Tour member Ryan Buckner and Buckner's Source for Sports, the region's best choice for sports equipment and apparel.
USSHER'S CREEK
STATISTICS -Average Score: 79.91
Most Birdies: Chris McLean (GAO - Public Player) - 5
Most Pars: Tony Ravenda (Thundering Waters GC) - 14
Best Par 3 Performance: Willie Ormerod (Links of Niagara) - 2.75 average
Best Par 4 Performance: Mark Armitage (Sawmill GC), Brad Butler (St. Catharines GCC) and Kerry Howe (St. Catharines GCC) - 4.00 average
Best Par 5 Performance: Kerry Howe (St. Catharines GCC), Jeff Jackson (GAO - Public Player) and Stewart Law (Whirlpool GC) - 4.00 average
Most Difficult Par 3: #16 - 3.70 average
Most Difficult Par 4: #11 - 4.93 average
Most Difficult Par 5: #9 - 5.28 average
Easiest Par 3: #3 - 3.39 average
Easiest Par 4: #1 and #5 - 4.20 average
Easiest Par 5: #12 - 4.63 average