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Syracuse
District Two Man Better-ball Championship
The opening 2004 SDGA golf event, the 54 Hole Better Ball Championships was won, in a close finish, by the team of Lenny Rauch and Gary Gosson. Rauch and Gosson, playing out of Lake Shore CC, captured their first SDGA 54 hole BB win, over the waterlogged Par 71 CC of Syracuse layout -- formerly known as LaFayette CC -- located on Syracuse’s East side.
Gosson and Rauch teamed for a final round score of 4-under-par 67, which was preceded by their rounds of 69 and 68, for a 3 day winning total of 204, 9-under-par, and good enough to best the 74 team field.
The team of John Sangster and Dave Doing, both playing out of Drumlins CC, closed with a strong 5-under-par round of 66, birdieing the final 3 holes, good for a 205 total, which captured second place.
First and second round leaders, as well as two-time defending champions, Jim Roy and Dave Smith, both playing out of Bellevue CC, played in the last round final pairing, with Gosson/Rauch, and led the event by two shots entering the last 18, over eventual champions Gosson /Rauch, and, led by three over John Hanus/Neil Greeson (72-66-138). Roy and Smith had leapt to their “customary” spot, atop the field’s leaderboard, after opening rounds of 66 and 69, for a 6-under-par 135 score, after the 36 hole cutoff. However, Smith/Roy could do no better than even par 71 in the closing round, and, that placed them third in the field, with their 206 total.
The second day field of 32 teams, cut from the opening field of 74, -- the cut fell at 72 -- faced a rain delayed second round, which was eventually postponed, in mid round, with the leaders on the 10th tee, when play was called due to thunder and lightning in the area, as well as due to rain water “pooling” on the greens and tees, after several heavy downpours had rendered the course unplayable. SDGA BB Tournament chairman Gary Peters, assisted by SDGA past president John Passonno, along with CC of Syracuse head PGA Professional Todd Manderson and new Club owner Chuck Hart, made the joint decision to halt Saturday play, as well as re-scheduling Sunday member play, around the completion of the second round and the playing of the final round, both on Sunday.
Course Superintendent Matt Delly and his staff did a superior job getting the course ready for the 7:30am Sunday tee time, as well as following the players, as they finished Round 2, and, changing pin placements for the playing of the final Round 3 of the competition.
The field that had not finished second round Saturday play, at the time the Saturday rains had forced play to be called off, were required to return early Sunday morning, and, had to be in position at 7:30 AM at the spot where each had halted their previous day’s play, to finish round 2.
Following completion of the second round on Sunday morning 36 hole scores were tabulated, and, the field was again cut, this time to the low 20 teams and ties -- with the final cut falling at 2-under-par 144 -- before beginning final round play. Exactly 20 teams began the final round, shortly after 10 AM, Sunday morning. FINAL SCORES:
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= previous champions of this event
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