21 Aug 2019 at 14:24 | Published by: PatPenguin | Views: 17750 | News search

(L to R) Justin Seymour, Tim Stratton, Dylan Koerner, Pat Sheridan  (Photo by The Putting Penguin)

Farmington, Connecticut – The 38th Annual Pat Guglielmo Memorial Farmington Miniature Golf Tournament was held on August 17-18, 2019. While the field was down to just 21 competitors this year, the upper tier still held some of the top putters in Connecticut include past winners of the event and USPMGA pros. The course is a classic “obstacle” type with windmills, wells, barns and lighthouses to compete with and the pitted concrete edging makes shooting in the high 30s an excellent score. The two rounds on day one of the tournament saw a smattering of high 30s from the top spots and Dylan Koerner would end up setting the pace for the leaders with a 35 in the second round. That would leave him two clear of Pat Sheridan and five clear of Justin Seymour.



While it threatened to rain a bit during the first day it did rain heavily overnight, meaning the course was a little damp for the final round on day 2. The combination of the dampness and new carpets, which had just been installed weeks earlier, would create slightly slower putts for the last round and there was anticipation around who could adjust to the course conditions the best. With the rest of the field sliding, it would be down to Koerner and Sheridan in the final round, which took a quick turn for the dramatic on the somewhat difficult hole 3, aptly named “Old Tuffie.” A slight miss-hit left Koerner in a difficult position and would drop his two stroke lead on that hole. Koerner would get a stroke back on hole 5 with an excellent deuce putt only to lip out of the top tier on hole 6 and give Sheridan the chance to make the stroke up. Sheridan would take the lead two holes later with his second ace of the tournament on hole 8. Rounding the turn, Sheridan would try to put the pressure on by acing the pipe-hole “The Well” only to be directly followed by Koerner’s ace. Sheridan gave the lead back with a missed deuce putt on 13 and couldn’t capitalize on go-ahead chances on 14 or 17. With an 18-hole playoff looming if the round ended in a tie, Koerner hit a good shot through the Church on 18 to set himself up for an easy second putt. It’s not an easily aceable hole due to the ridge inside the church and the break of the green coming out of the Church down to the hole, though on this day the tournament had seen a few front door aces drop. Sheridan took a different route however, giving his tee shot more power and getting a holey moley of a bounce off the back wall straight back to the hole, sealing the win with a final score of 113. It was Sheridan’s first win at this tournament after highs of 3rd place in multiple years.

“I had mentally prepared for a playoff coming into that final hole, after I missed a chance to pull ahead on 17,” said Sheridan. “I don’t think I’ve ever aced 18 in the tournament so I was just focused on getting it through the Church clean and not leaving myself a tough second shot. I’m sure they heard my yell on the nearby golf course when I saw that putt drop. It was a fun and tense final round against Dylan and I’m happy we could add some drama to the end for the folks watching.”



For this tournament, the organizers split the tiers after 2 rounds giving individuals in the middle of the pack a chance to win prizes. Carter Rion held a six shot lead at the beginning of the third round and held on to win the lower tier by one shot carding an overall 154 for the tournament.

A portion of the fees collected for this tournament go to charity and $400 was donated to The Jimmy Fund and Connecticut Children’s Hospital.

Top 4 – Upper Division
Pat Sheridan – 113
Dylan Koerner – 114
Justin Seymour – 121
Tim Stratton – 124

Top 4 – Lower Division
Carter Rion – 154
Glenda Ryning – 155
Kai Logan – 157
Chris Kulig - 158

Thank you to Farmington Miniature Golf for the photos in this article.

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