The team of Kyle Snell and David Rawlinson, in their first-ever sojourn to the Joe Foster Open, brought home the event championship over the weekend, posting a two-day score of 66-70-136 in the tournament’s best-ball format - eight under par.
Second place in the tournament went to Mike DeRuiter and Chris Griffin, who have won the event together several times. They shot a 68-69-137. In all, 112 pairs participated.
Saturday featured strong winds across the course through much of the round, as well as a threat of stormy weather, though the round did go off as planned. Sunday brought light rain and cooler temperatures, but less wind.
One notable aspect of Snell and Rawlinson’s win, according to the course, was that they walked for both their rounds rather than use the luxury of a golf cart.
“Perhaps walking really is the secret to success,” the course wrote in its wrap-up. “Their steady play across both rounds earned them a well-deserved victory.”
The top five finishers in the tournament each received a cash prize in the form of club credit - Mike Buckner/Ryan Mouw, Trevor Boyd/Chris Sherburn, and Nic Morano/Joe Sherburn rounded out the top five.
The top eight in each of the other three flights also received a prize - with the notable exception of Titan and Ivan Carter, who after all are minors and are not legally allowed to receive cash prizes. The two brothers teamed up and shot an impressive 69 on day two, which paired with their day-one 77 earned them first place in the second flight.
First flight winners were a pair of former Shelby High School golfers, Keaton Inglis and Andrew McConnell, who shot a 72-70-142. Jeff Hentschel and John Weaver won the third flight, and Andy Spears and Kaleb Klotz took the fourth flight.
Cody Tubbs, who teamed with Tyler Murak to take third place in the first flight, provided one of the tournament’s highlights when he made a hole-in-one on the seventh hole, using his 8 iron.
Joe Foster’s sons, Tim and Tom, were both on hand for the tournament to celebrate the Joe’s Juniors golf program, which is the beneficiary of the event’s proceeds. The program hosts events to help develop younger golfers’ skills in the county.
