Seymour Goes Back-to-Back at the Matterhorn
25 Sep 2019 at 13:56 | Published by: PatPenguin | Views: 22671 | News search
Top 4 Pro (L to R) Sheridan, Seymour, Novicki, Koerner (Photo by The Putting Penguin)
|
Canton, Connecticut – The weather was outstanding as the field of 14 pros and 13 amateurs lined up to take their first putts of the 3rd Matterhorn International Pro-Am on September 21st, known as Miniature Golf Day. The pros came from 4 different states to see if they could take on this challenging course and win the coveted goat trophy and top prize of $500. Professionals played 5 rounds over the course of the day while the amateur field would play 3 rounds in the morning for their tournament. The five rounds is one of the longest “local” tournaments in the country.
The morning 3 rounds were a close bunch at the top for the pros as only 3 strokes separated the top 5 places. Justin Seymour, the reigning Matterhorn champ and coming off the win at Dolphin Mini Golf in Maine 2 weeks earlier, lead the pack with a 117 tying the tournament record 37 in the first round. He was being chased by Mark “Highlighter” Novicki, the first champion of this tournament, and Dylan Koerner who recently nicked Seymour for second place at the Farmington Miniature Golf tournament, both 1 stroke behind. Just behind them was tournament director, and Holey Moley contestant, Pat Sheridan at 119, who beat Seymour for the top spot at Farmington and then came in second to him in Maine, and Brian Coscina at 120, a perennial challenger for the top spots.
As the day heated up after lunch, so did the Seymour, carding a 36 in the 4th round and setting a tournament record. This would leave him 4 clear of Novicki, 6 clear of Sheridan and 7 clear of Koerner. The great thing about miniature golf is a four stroke lead in one round isn’t always safe. An ace and a three can make a quick two stroke swing on a hole and there are plenty of chances at Matterhorn for that to happen.
Justin Seymour on Hole 5
This proved to be true on this day as well, as after dropping one stroke on hole 3, a bad bit of luck on hole 8 left Seymour in a run of threes and watching his lead over Novicki tighten up. The race really got interesting once the players cleared hole 13 where Seymour took another three and Koerner aced it. At that point Seymour’s lead over Novicki dropped to only one stroke, with Sheridan one additional back and Koerner now only one behind Sheridan. It was setting up an intense final few holes, made even more interesting after Sheridan aced 17 to pull into a tie with Novicki. While it is possible to ace the 18th hole at Matterhorn, most players look at taking a 3 as a solid par with the winding turns and tough second putt placements if you don’t make it down the very narrow channel of the meadow on your first stroke. Sheridan did his best to put the pressure on, missing his second putt by mere inches and with Novicki also shooting a 3 it was at least guaranteed a playoff for second place. Seymour would keep his cool with a conservative tee shot and finish up with a short 3rd putt, putting a cap on the tournament. Novicki would finish Sheridan off in the sudden death playoff on the ironically named Hole 3 (Holey Moley). In the other two playoffs for playing spaces, Robert Boisvert would nip Anna Wallace on the 2nd hole for 3rd and Jonah Hurly would squeeze into 8th place after a one-hole playoff with Holey Moley contestant Randy Rice.
In the amateur division, the tournament saw its 3rd winner in three years as Brian Hogan held on to win by one stroke despite a 47 in the final round and card a 127. He just edged out Heather Garvin who became the first woman to crack the top 4 of either of the divisions in the tournament. Dan Hurley, the 2018 amateur division champion, would edge out Jacob Yale by one stroke for third place.
The Putting Penguin team of Sheridan and Mandy Ranslow were directors of the tournament. Sheridan had this to say about the tournament, "I couldn't ask for a better day. Weather was beautiful, participants had fun and there was some drama in the top division. It was what you want to see from a tournament."
Top 8 Pro
1st – Justin Seymour – 196 ($500)
2nd – Highlighter Novicki – 197 ($250) (3 hole playoff)
3rd – Pat Sheridan – 197 ($150)
4th – Dylan Koerner – 200 ($100)
5th – Brian Coscina – 201 ($50)
6th – Robert Boisvert – 208 ($50) (2 hole playoff)
7th – Anna Wallace – 208 ($10 gift card)
8th – Jonah Hurley – 211 ($10 gift card) (1 hole playoff)
» Final Pro Scores » Final Amateur Scores
|