On September 27th, 2008 the Squares Disc Golf Club held a PDGA sanctioned C-tier event. This was originally scheduled for September 6, 2008 but was postponed because of Tropical Storm Hanna which brought several inches of rain that day along with many cancellations from preregistered players. A last minute call to the PDGA allowing us to reschedule was in order. Friday September 26th saw a Nor'easter threaten again but this storm ran out of steam and we were able to get the tournament off with heavy cloud cover and thick humidity.
The Pro division held 10 players from the region with several big hitters from Sedgley Woods like Nick Schneider, Nate Krahn, Aaron Stein. Delaware's Jake Azato and Andy Vanderslice were in as well. The Squares were represented as well with Marc Schoettle and John Genter. Rounding out this division were Mike Morano, Devin Frederick, and John Henry Kane. The first round saw Jake set the tournament record of 45 for this layout to smoke the field by 6 strokes! Nick Schneider followed up with 51. The second round saw Nick S, Nate K and Mike M making a run at Jake with score of 47, 48 and 49 respectively while Jake held on to win the division by 2 strokes with a final round of 51.
The Pro Masters division had 4 players, Nick Kight (Squares), Jimi McIlvain, Tony Mastrangelo both of Delaware and Sedgley's Stu Straw. First round saw Nick K take a 2 stokre lead with a score of 53 over Jimi McIlvain. Stu Straw came in with a first round score of 59 with Tony M rounding out the division at 62. Second round saw Nick K extend his lead with a score of 54 to take the Pro Master division with a 5 stroke win.
Amy Moser was our sole female player to show with rounds of 70 and 67 to take home the womens Pro division.
The Pro Grand Masters division had long time Delaware players Bill Yerd and Paul Kelly doing battle on the course with Bill taking a first round lead with a score of 58 while Paul came in at 61. Second round saw Paul make a run of 3's at the turn (17 and 18) but came up a little short as Bill finished with a 4 stroke win.
The Advanced Masters division had a first round tie between Ted Sammons, John Spence and Tim Felton of NJ at 60! These 3 players battled all day with John Spence holding a small lead only to give it up on the last hole to Tim Felton who shot 63 over the other Adv Masters players 64! What a battle these guys had!
In the Advanced Am division, we saw our own Eric Naylor jump out to a 2 stroke lead with a 57 over Clay Roth and Gabe Bankes as both shot 59. Staying in touch with them was another Square, Tommy P with a 61. Four other players were just back another stroke or two. The second round in this division saw Tommy P abandon his Star Aviar which bounced out of the chains numerous times and went with a softer putter. This proved beneficial as Tommy shot a smokin 54 to come from behind by 4 strokes and win by 6 strokes!! Nice come back, Tommy Poprocks!!
The Kennett Square Open also had two other divisions with some newer players. In the Intermediate Division, Maryland's Dave Dietz and West Chester's James Lee Burk tied at 127 to share first place. Mike Ju and Dave Oskiera were a stroke back in second at 128. In the Recreational Division, Ben Zucco took first place with a 137 with Tim Slough and Matt Dietz tied up in second.
Full results can be seen here Results
Many thanks to our sponsors, Exton Beverage Company, Victory Brewing Company, Sly Fox Brewing Company, Penn Distributors, Yuengling Brewery and the Squares Disc Golf Club. Special thanks to the DDG, Bill Yerd, and Jake the park grounds keeper, who mowed the entire course!! And another thank you to the players who came out to play!! Until next time...........Chief
