Saturday, July 30, 2016

Saturday's Final Brackets

Click brackets to enlarge. For all brackets, including consolation, CLICK HERE.




Local Coaches Like What They See

HANOVER – For Hartford High School golf coach Mike Hathorn and Hanover High counterpart John Donnelly the Tommy Keane Invitational has always been special.

As each year passes, however, it becomes even more so.

Each of the longtime coaches can claim a handful of their former players in the field and they couldn’t be happier about it. And not just because they are playing well.

“Winning is great, but I don’t feel that’s my main role,” said Donnelly after Saturday’s afternoon round. “It is a nice fringe benefit, but my job is to get my players exposed to the game and competitive golf, and doing things the right way with rules and etiquette. To see them continuing to play out here the way they are and enjoying the game is very special.”

Teamed up again this year with former Hartford player Mitch Cable, Hathorn was happy to move into the semifinals of the Championship flight Saturday afternoon, but he admitted to mixed feelings that his team’s 20-hole win came at the expense of his former players Zach Temple and Mak Lyford.

“It is really cool to have guys you coach continue to play and become your golf friends,” said Hathorn. “It’s disappointing that we have to knock heads against each other out here because you want your old players to advance, but it’s great to see them playing the way they do.”

Hathorn and Cable will square off Sunday morning against the team of Nate Choukas and Benny Hayes, a pair of former Hanover players under Donnelly.

“The thing that makes me happy is their love of the game,” Donnelly said. “They play it very well but what’s more important is that they enjoy it in the best possible spirit. It’s obvious they are going to play it for a long, long time and that’s what we love to see as coaches.”

Bidding to face the winner of the Hathorn half of the Championship flight bracket are defending champions Nick and Shane MacDonald, who will square off against yet another Hartford pairing in Jake Obar and Bill Vielleux.

“Jake was on the first team I ever coached,” said Hathorn. “That was 20 years ago. It’s great seeing guys like Jake and Mitch, Zach and Dillon Sass out here. They are all great kids.”

For Donnelly, having a large contingent of young players including people like Lebanon grad Nick MacDonald says something not just about the Tommy Keane, but about the venue that hosts it.

“ Young kids are the future of the game,” he said. “It is really sad at some other courses when junior golf is not fostered the way it is here.

“I always say goes back to (former Hanover pro) Bill Johnson and Tommy Keane before him. The culture here is, juniors are welcome. Unfortunately, that’s not the case everywhere, and golf is suffering because of it.”

Because Vermont plays high school golf in the spring and New Hampshire plays it in the fall, the Tommy Keane can be the first time players from the opposite sides of the Connecticut River compete against each other. That, however, will change if a push to move the Vermont season to the fall goes through.

“I’ve been talking with John about it and we are hoping that in the fall of 2017 if things go well we will be able to play Lebanon and Hanover,” said Hathorn, who notes that the increase in kids playing lacrosse in the spring has had an impact on Vermont golf participation. “If we move to the fall and can play them it would be awesome.”

And it might just be a preview of Tommy Keane competitions to come.

DIVOTS
Play continues Sunday morning in three flights (plus consolation matches). The winners will continue play in the afternoon. . . . The father-won team of Shane and Nick MacDonald is bidding for a three-peat and their fourth title overall. They also won in 2010. . . . The MacDonalds defeated Choukas and Hayes in last year’s championship. . . . Obar won the 2006 championship with former Hanover High player Rex Whitney.

Brackets With One Match To Go

6:15 Update

Not much new to report. Obar and Vielleux with a 5&4 win to set up a cross-the-Connecticut semi with the MacDonalds in Sunday's semifinals.

Next update to come when the entire field is in.

5 p.m. Update

Click brackets to enlarge.

4:15 First Afternoon Groups In

We interrupt our regular programming for a few results (brackets to come around 5 ;-)

In the Championship flight, MacDonald/MacDonald over Peters and Hydorn, 3&2.

In the First flight, Peraza and Jasmin over Taylor and Norden, 2&1. And in the same flight, Chris Keane and Sass over Thomas and Kevin Keane, 1-Up.

4 p.m. Update . . . Still Waiting

First of the afternoon scores haven't been posted yet but it's close. Hang in there ;-)

3 p.m. Update

Click brackets to enlarge.




2 p.m. Update

Click brackets to enlarge.




1 p.m. Brackets




Click brackets to enlarge. No third-flight scores in as of 1 p.m.

Noon Brackets

All the scores posted so far are from the first flight. Click the graphic to enlarge it.

How To Access Match Scores/Status

As always hourly brackets will be posted here but this year there is another alternative:

For updated brackets directly from the clubhouse using the Tournament Pairing Program Online Scoring will be posted HERE.

Status of matches will be HERE.

Friday, July 29, 2016

Brackets With Tee Times

(CLICK BRACKETS TO ENLARGE)

Checking Off The Boxes With The Jankowskis


Andrew Jankowski watches dad Jim's chip on 18.
HANOVER – It’s not unusual to have father-son teams teeing it up in the Tommy Keane Invitational tournament, the annual end-of-July clambake whose namesake served as Hanover Country Club pro and Dartmouth golf coach from 1922-66.

It’s not unusual to have a few Dartmouth alums in the field, and there’s even the occasional team made up of former Big Green players.

Only Jim and Andrew Jankowski check off every last one of those boxes. Oh yeah, and one more. Wife/Mom Shari also graduated from Dartmouth.

Jim played ice hockey and golf at Dartmouth before graduating in 1981. Andrew considered one of the Division III NESCAC schools where he might have been able to play hockey and golf, but in this age of sport specialization instead followed his father’s footsteps and teed it up for the Big Green, graduating in 2013.

Father and son share a moment on 18.
Jim made his TKI debut in 1979, its fourth edition. Andrew had to wait until 2008 when he turned 18, although that was hardly his first Tommy Keane rodeo.

“My mom had me out here in the backpack when I was six months old,” he said after Team Jankowski finished off a two-over-par 72 to earn a spot in the Championship flight. “There came a point when I started counting down the years until I could play.”

He was counting the years and I was counting the years,” said Jim, who played his first few Keanes with classmate and former Dartmouth basketball player Jim McGannon, and then paired up for many years with former hockey teammate Rich Ryerson.

Jim, who lives in New London, missed a couple of Keanes when he lived in Toronto in the early 1980s but has been a regular with just one exception ever since.

“I was in Ireland with Rich Ryerson and (former teammate and current Dartmouth hockey coach) Bob Gaudet, so that was an excused absence,” he said with a laugh. “I think that’s the only one I’ve missed since the mid-‘80s.”

Andrew, who drove up from his home in Providence, R.I. for this year's event, is pretty sure that streak will keep going.

“We’ve played in a good number of father-son events,” he said, “but this is the family staple, and it has been for as long as I can remember. I worked from New London yesterday and then came out and played nine holes to get ready. This is my vacation.”

The Jankowskis were invited speakers for the Keane dinner banquet Friday night and sitting under the tent behind the clubhouse after finishing his round Jim sketched out what he planned to say.

“To me what makes this unique is you’ve got things that you do with your family, like Thanksgiving, or you’ve got things you do with your friends, like college reunions every five years,” he said. “Here you have families getting together, and you have a lot of friends getting together. You’ve got a good, serious-but-friendly competition. You put all those together and you’ve got something really special.

“It was 37 years ago I played my first TK. How do you imagine that you are going to spend every year here in Hanover at the end of July with the family, and playing with your own son? You just can’t imagine that, with so much stuff going on these days. But this has a permanent place in our family. The last weekend in July, this is where we are always going to be.”

DIVOTS
While Jim Jankowski made it to the semifinals of the Championship flight twice with other teammates, the first time he advanced to the finals was with Andrew two years ago. The Jankowskis lost that match to the father-son team of Shane and Nick MacDonald, 2&1. They will square off in Saturday's morning around against Mak Lyford and Zach Temple.

Hanover High School grads Nate Choukas and Benny Hayes, who made it to the Championship flight final last year, shot 29-35–64 to earn medalist honors Friday. They had threes on the first seven holes and eight birdies on the day . . . Seven teams were in the “march” for the last slot in the Championship flight. The march lasted well over an hour with Brendan Doyle and Ethan Gage earning the privilege (?) of taking on the No. 1 seeds Choukas and Hayes . . . Match play in four flights begins Saturday morning. Teams winning their morning and afternoon matches will square off in the semifinals Sunday morning with the championship matches slated for Sunday afternoon.

The 18th green was a mob scene during the "march" with a large group looking on from the tent. (Click photo to enlarge.)


7:30 p.m. Update

It's been an hour and 15 minutes and they keep marching on . . .

Seven teams were playing off for one last spot in the Championship flight and they weren't going down easily. To quote the late Kathy Slattery, it looks like "red flag berserko" with golf balls all over the green, a mob on the fringe and carts zooming here and there as the march goes on . . . and on . . . and on.

Final Qualifying Scores

64 Nate Choukas/Ben Hayes
66 Jake Obar/Bill Vielleux
67 Scott Peters/Andy Hydorn
68 Mak Lyford/Zach Temple
68 Mike Hathorn/Mitch Cable
68 Nick MacDonald/Shane MacDonald
69 Joe King/Lance Pelley
69 Dan Cole/Matt Keane
70 Chris Lincoln/Jay Harvey
71 Torrey Viger/Matt Wood
71 Josh Hildebrand/Josh Wilson
72 Jim Jankowski/Andrew Jankowski
72 John Donnelly/Rowland Hazard
72 Nick Stern/Matt Spruck
72 Charlie Carr/Steve Lyon
74 Ben Peters/Tom Peters
74 Chris House/Ryan Fay
74 Brendan Doyle/Ethan Gage
74 Mark McCaddin/Rick Wetmore
74 Chris Keane/Dillon Sass
74 Todd Becker/Matt Madore
74 Craig Maguire/Mike Sullivan
74 Dan Campbell/Nick Trottier
76 Mike Kelley/Adam Pippin
76 Alex Lazerowich/Jeff Lazerowich
77 Chris Taylor/Patrick Norden
77 Dan Peraza/Toby Jasmin
77 Tom Keane/Kevin Johnson
77 Thomas Keane/Kevin Keane
77 Tyler Kelly/Jared Rice
77 Cody Dodds/Ryan Bergeron
78 Tim McNeil/Jack Lamborghini
78 Scott Sinclair/Joe Roblee
79 Mike Pollard/Mike Garvey
79 Taylor Fittro/Adam Hartford
79 Jim Keane/Kevin Sullivan
79 Terry Hall/Jeff Frechette
80 Eric Maskwa/Brendan Joosten
81 Zach Taylor/Austin Taylor
81 Kevin Appleton/Dave Doyle
81 Tim Wyand/Grant Kelly
82 Ben Gardner/Jason Gardner
82 Greg Genest/Steve Considine
84 Rick Hughes/Chris Clark
84 Gary Smith/Matt Lane
85 Greg Hardy/Cooper Hardy
85 Dan Fitzgerald/Bob Jacobs
86 Bob Donahue/Tim McCarthy
86 Dom Candido/Brian Tracy
86 Dave Cioffi/Ron Cioffi
87 Charlie Arnold/Breck Taylor
88 Andy Mellow/Dexter Bucklin
89 Mike Noonan/Charlie Mandrachia
92 Jon Vogel/Mark Loranger
94 Alex Robinson/Patrick Norton
103 Stuart Williams/Eric Wales

Brackets to come. Check back later.

6 p.m. Update

64 Nate Choukas/Ben Hayes
66 Jake Obar/Bill Vielleux
67 Scott Peters/Andy Hydorn
68 Mak Lyford/Zach Temple
68 Mike Hathorn/Mitch Cable
69 Joe King/Lance Pelley
69 Dan Cole/Matt Keane
70 Chris Lincoln/Jay Harvey
71 Torrey Viger/Matt Wood
71 Josh Hildebrand/Josh Wilson
72 Jim Jankowski/Andrew Jankowski
72 John Donnelly/Rowland Hazard
72 Nick Stern/Matt Spruck
72 Charlie Carr/Steve Lyon
74 Ben Peters/Tom Peters
74 Chris House/Ryan Fay
74 Brendan Doyle/Ethan Gage
74 Mark McCaddin/Rick Wetmore
74 Chris Keane/Dillon Sass
74 Todd Becker/Matt Madore
74 Craig Maguire/Mike Sullivan
74 Dan Campbell/Nick Trottier
76 Mike Kelley/Adam Pippin
76 Alex Lazerowich/Jeff Lazerowich
77 Chris Taylor/Patrick Norden
77 Dan Peraza/Toby Jasmin
77 Tom Keane/Kevin Johnson
77 Thomas Keane/Kevin Keane
77 Tyler Kelly/Jared Rice
78 Tim McNeil/Jack Lamborghini
78 Scott Sinclair/Joe Roblee
79 Mike Pollard/Mike Garvey
79 Taylor Fittro/Adam Hartford
79 Jim Keane/Kevin Sullivan
80 Eric Maskwa/Brendan Joosten
81 Zach Taylor/Austin Taylor
81 Kevin Appleton/Dave Doyle
81 Tim Wyand/Grant Kelly
82 Ben Gardner/Jason Gardner
84 Rick Hughes/Chris Clark
85 Greg Hardy/Cooper Hardy
85 Dan Fitzgerald/Bob Jacobs
86 Bob Donahue/Tim McCarthy
86 Dom Candido/Brian Tracy
87 Charlie Arnold/Breck Taylor
88 Andy Mellow/Dexter Bucklin
92 Jon Vogel/Mark Loranger
94 Alex Robinson/Patrick Norton
103 Stuart Williams/Eric Wales

5 p.m. Update

66 Jake Obar/Bill Vielleux
67 Scott Peters/Andy Hydorn
68 Mak Lyford/Zach Temple
68 Mike Hathorn/Mitch Cable
69 Joe King/Lance Pelley
70 Chris Lincoln/Jay Harvey
71 Torrey Viger/Matt Wood
71 Josh Hildebrand/Josh Wilson
72 Jim Jankowski/Andrew Jankowski
72 John Donnelly/Rowland Hazard
72 Nick Stern/Matt Spruck
72 Charlie Carr/Steve Lyon
74 Ben Peters/Tom Peters
74 Chris House/Ryan Fay
74 Brendan Doyle/Ethan Gage
74 Mark McCaddin/Rick Wetmore
76 Mike Kelley/Adam Pippin
77 Chris Taylor/Patrick Norden
77 Dan Peraza/Toby Jasmin
77 Tom Keane/Kevin Johnson
77 Thomas Keane/Kevin Keane
78 Tim McNeil/Jack Lamborghini
79 Mike Pollard/Mike Garvey
79 Taylor Fittro/Adam Hartford
79 Jim Keane/Kevin Sullivan
81 Zach Taylor/Austin Taylor
81 Kevin Appleton/Dave Doyle
82 Ben Gardner/Jason Gardner
84 Rick Hughes/Chris Clark
85 Greg Hardy/Cooper Hardy
85 Dan Fitzgerald/Bob Jacobs
86 Bob Donahue/Tim McCarthy
86 Dom Candido/Brian Tracy
87 Charlie Arnold/Breck Taylor
88 Andy Mellow/Dexter Bucklin

4 p.m. Update

Roughly half of the teams are in:

66 Jake Obar/Bill Vielleux
67 Scott Peters/Andy Hydorn
68 Mak Lyford/Zach Temple
68 Mike Hathorn/Mitch Cable
69 Joe King/Lance Pelley
70 Chris Lincoln/Jay Harvey
71 Torrey Viger/Matt Wood
71 Josh Hildebrand/Josh Wilson
72 Jim Jankowski/Andrew Jankowski
72 John Donnelly/Rowland Hazard
72 Nick Stern/Matt Spruck
72 Charlie Carr/Steve Lyon
74 Ben Peters/Tom Peters
74 Chris House/Ryan Fay
74 Brendan Doyle/Ethan Gage
74 Mark McCaddin/Rick Wetmore
76 Mike Kelley/Adam Pippin
77 Chris Taylor/Patrick Norden
77 Dan Peraza/Toby Jasmin
78 Tim McNeil/Jack Lamborghini
79 Mike Pollard/Mike Garvey
79 Taylor Fittro/Adam Hartford
81 Zach Taylor/Austin Taylor
84 Rick Hughes/Chris Clark
85 Greg Hardy/Cooper Hardy
85 Dan Fitzgerald/Bob Jacobs
86 Bob Donahue/Tim McCarthy
87 Charlie Arnold/Breck Taylor
88 Andy Mellow/Dexter Bucklin

3 p.m. Update

66 Jake Obar/Bill Vielleux
67 Scott Peters/Andy Hydorn
68 Mak Lyford/Zach Temple
68 Mike Hathorn/Mitch Cable
69 Joe King/Lance Pelley
71 Torrey Viger/Matt Wood
71 Josh Hildebrand/Josh Wilson
72 Jim Jankowski/Andrew Jankowski
72 John Donnelly/Rowland Hazard
72 Nick Stern/Matt Spruck
74 Ben Peters/Tom Peters
74 Chris House/Ryan Fay
74 Brendan Doyle/Ethan Gage
76 Mike Kelley/Adam Pippin
79 Mike Pollard/Mike Garvey
79 Taylor Fittro/Adam Hartford

2:15 Update

66 Jake Obar/Bill Vielleux
67 Scott Peters/Andy Hydorn
68 Mak Lyford/Zach Temple
68 Mike Hathorn/Mitch Cable
71 Torrey Viger/Matt Wood
71 Josh Hildebrand/Josh Wilson
72 Jim Jankowski/Andrew Jankowski
72 John Donnelly/Rowland Hazard
72 Nick Stern/Matt Spruck
74 Ben Peters/Tom Peters
74 Chris House/Ryan Fay
79 Mike Pollard/Mike Garvey

1:30 Update

Scores have been slow coming in. Just three posted so far . . .

67 Scott Peters/Andy Hydorn
72 Jim Jankowski/Andrew Jankowski
74 Ben Peters/Tom Peters

Noon Update

First groups are getting close but aren't in yet. Keep coming back for hourly updates but you could also check ONLINE SCORING for regular updates.

And They Are Off

Under gun metal gray skies the first groups are on the course and the parking lot is filling up. Check back through the day for updated qualifying scores and be sure to stop by tonight for the brackets and a story.

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Hanover On A Roll



The tent and scoreboard are in place and it won't be long now! 
HANOVER – It’s not exactly news for Hanover Country Club regulars, but out-of-towners teeing it up Friday in qualifying for the 41st Tommy Keane Invitational could be in for a surprise.

The ball is rolling. Like, really rolling.

“This is my 11th year and the course is in the best shape it has been in since I’ve been here,” said Alex Kirk the HCC head professional. “I think the greens are going to be the fastest we have ever seen them.”

Credit new rollers, green covers, a mild winter, Superintendent Mike Pollard and his crew, and the super of supers, Mother Nature.

Kirk is confident that the 56 two-man teams who will be split into four flights after qualifying will find the condition of the course and the greens to their liking.

“I think so,” he said. “You just have to adjust to the speed. Overall, I think it will bring out the best championship golf.

“We’re playing the ball down in the fairway. We are playing real golf. Between that and the caliber of play I think it will bring out the best in the field.”

The father-son team of Shane and Nick MacDonald is back to defend the championship they won in the annual tournament honoring Tommy Keane, the HCC pro and Dartmouth golf coach from 1922-1966.

“This is probably the top weekend of our summer,” said Kirk. “It is fun for all the people who come back from all over. It is a good melting pot of different groups and ages and talents, and there’s some good golf being played.”

The MacDonalds captured last year’s edition of the Four Ball match play event with a 3-and-1 win over recent Hanover High School graduates Benny Hayes and Nate Choukas. The championship was the fourth overall for Shane MacDonald, the third overall for Nick, and their second playing together.

Hayes and Choukas figure to be just one of the teams pushing to dethrone the champions.

“The McDonalds are always a powerhouse between Nick’s firepower and Shane’s consistency,” said Kirk. “Billy Vielleux is playing really well and Jake Obar is always a solid competitor so they will be tough. But you just never know. You have those guys but then you also have college kids in there like Choukas and Hayes, and Zach Temple – who is playing pretty good – with Mak Lyford again.

 “It’s easy to make predictions but the fun thing is they have to go out and do it. That’s why you’ve got to swing the club and see who gets it in the whole the fastest.”

DIVOTS
If there are teams tied for the final spot in the championship flight Friday they will gather at the first tee at 6 p.m. With the rest of the field watching from the Hanover porch, the teams will “march” down the fairway to determine which will be in the championship flight.

“That’s one of the best spectator things here at HCC all summer,” said Kirk. “It’s almost disappointing where there isn’t one. The march is always fun to watch.”

Match play begins Saturday morning with teams needing to keep winning Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning to make it to Sunday afternoon’s championship matches.

Friday Qualifying Tee Times

All off first tee:

8:30
Scott Peters/Andy Hydorn
Ben Peters/Tom Peters

8:40
Jim Jankowski/Andrew Jankowski
John Donnelly/Rowland Hazard

8:50
Torrey Viger/Matt Wood
Mak Lyford/Zach Temple

9:00
Nick Stern/Matt Spruck
Josh Hildebrand/Josh Wilson

9:10
Mike Hathorn/Mitch Cable
Mike Pollard/Mike Garvey

9:20
Jake Obar/Bill Vielleux
Chris House/Ryan Fay

9:30
Mike Kelley/Adam Pippin
Joe King/Lance Pelley

9:40
Brendan Doyle/Ethan Gage
Taylor Fittro/Adam Hartford

9:50
Chris Taylor/Patrick Norden
Rick Hughes/Chris Clark

10:00
Greg Hardy/Cooper Hardy
Andy Mellow/Dexter Bucklin

10:10
Charlie Carr/Steve Lyon
Dan Peraza/Toby Jasmin

10:20
Bob Donahue/Tim McCarthy
Tim McNeil/Jack Lamborghini

10:30
Zach Taylor/Austin Taylor
Charlie Arnold/Breck Taylor

10:50
Chris Lincoln/Jay Harvey
Dan Fitzgerald/Bob Jacobs

11:00
Mark McCaddin/Rick Wetmore
Dom Candido/Brian Tracy

11:10
Kevin Appleton/Dave Doyle
Ben Gardner/Jason Gardner

11:20
Jim Keane/Kevin Sullivan
Tom Keane/Kevin Johnson

11:30
Thomas Keane/Kevin Keane
Eric Maskwa/Brendan Joosten

11:40
Dan Cole/Matt Keane
Chris Keane/Dillon Sass

11:50
Tyler Kelly/Jared Rice
Todd Becker/Matt Madore

12:00
Alex Robinson/Patrick Norton
Jon Vogel/Mark Loranger

12:10
Alex Lazerowich/Jeff Lazerowich
Craig Maguire/Mike Sullivan

12:20
Scott Sinclair/Joe Roblee
Tim Wyand/Grant Kelly

12:30
Dan Campbell/Nick Trottier
Stuart Williams/Eric Wales

12:40
Dave Cioffi/Ron Cioffi
Mike Noonan/Charlie Mandrachia

12:50
Nate Choukas/Ben Hayes
Greg Genest/Steve Considine

1:00
Terry Hall/Jeff Frechette
Nick MacDonald/Shane MacDonald

1:10
Gary Smith/Matt Lane
Cody Dodds/Ryan Bergeron