HANOVER – For the past 10 years and in 18 of the last 23 editions of the venerable Tommy Keane Invitational golf tournament there has been at least one graduate of Hanover, Lebanon or Hartford High School on the winning team.
If Friday’s qualifying is any indication of what’s to come, it might just happen again.
Lebanon grad Tyler Silver and Hooksett’s Matt Paradis – who won the New Hampshire Amateur championship at Hanover just a couple of weeks ago – claimed medalist honors by shooting an eight-under 63, with six of their nine birdies coming on the back nine.
Hartford products Jake Obar and Bill Vielleux teamed up to shoot 64 while Pat Pelletier – the Lebanon grad who fell to Paradis in the State Am final – joined with onetime Hartford Hurricane Mak Lyford to qualify third with a 65.
For all the Upper Valley players who perform well in the TKI, however, don’t get the wrong idea. The tournament, now in it’s 43rd renewal, is more than just a gathering of former Upper Valley prep standouts. This year the event has attracted players from no fewer than 15 states as well as Washington, D.C.
Among those drawn to Hanover for the four-ball tournament played each year on the final full weekend of July are four players who captained the Dartmouth golf team in successive years.
“We have had coming back on our radar since we graduated and finally made it,” said Jamie Wallace, a 2008 graduate of the college. “I have such a connection to Dartmouth in general, but specifically to the Hanover Country Club.
“It may not be the best course in the world,” added Wallace, who as manager of rules education and digital content for the United States Golf Association has the kind of connections to play on some of them, “but I enjoy playing here as much as I do anywhere. I have such good memories. It is an awesome environment.”
Chaki Kobayashi, a 2006 Big Green captain, first played in the TKI with teammate Kenan Yount in his eponymous Sophomore Summer and won it the next year with Matt Uretsky, his teammate again this time around.
“We’ve been meaning to get back here but it’s just one of those things that never happened,” Kobayashi said. “We finally thought of it ahead of time this year, instead of a few weeks out when it was too late.
“This is such a great format. There’s just something about playing with good friends as a team. Match play on this course is especially fun because you can take more risks. There’s a lot of bad stuff that can happen to an individual playing stroke play.”
Like his former teammates, 2009 graduate Rob Henley is no stranger to the Keane which honors legendary Dartmouth coach and HCC pro Tommy Keane.
“The first time I played it was with my dad,” Henley said. “I lived in California for six years and moved back two years ago. When Jamie asked if I wanted to play and the weekend worked for me it was perfect. I’m always looking for a good excuse to come back here.”
For as much as they are enjoying the return to their alma mater to play in the Tommy Keane the visit this time around has a touch of the bittersweet for the former Big Green captains who wonder about the fate of the course where they made so many memories. Last fall a committee was formed to consider the future of the club, which according to a Dartmouth press release lost an average of almost $600,000 each of the previous four years.
Uretsky, for one, felt blindsided when he learned the college was mulling options that included possibly shuttering the course, which dates to 1899.
“I had no idea and was upset and disappointed,” he said. “I felt like there has to be some other option to fill whatever budget gap is being cited as the rationale for whenever they want to do with this place. For us, as golf team guys, but also for a lot of the general alumni and students on campus this place feels like an important part of Dartmouth and the community.”
There was a time not long agon when “It’s different at Dartmouth” was a popular slogan at the school. By Uretsky’s way of thinking, HCC is one of the reasons why that thought still holds.
“When I was looking at schools it was Dartmouth and Harvard,” he said. “Those were the only two. One of the crucial distinctions for me, other than general culture here compared to there, was the fact that Hanover Country Club is a walk away from wherever I am at any time.
“Dartmouth already faces enough difficulties recruiting students up here. This course is a huge selling point. You have to hit all the shots and despite its quirks – and maybe some of them can be ironed out a little – it is a good test that definitely helps you become a better golfer.”
While the former Dartmouth players each have their own opinions about the various options HCC members have raised to potentially save the course – building a new clubhouse with banquet facilities and more parking on the Lyme Road, rerouting the course to make it more convenient to play nine holes instead of 18, and making it easier for the high-handicap players are three often cited – they are of one mind regarding the value of the course to the college.
“It is huge for Dartmouth golf but I think it is also huge for the community,” said Wallace. “This is not just a golf course. Every time you play golf out here there are people walking. There are people running. That can be a little dangerous I guess, but overall it is a great thing for the community. Keeping it open is super important.”
DIVOTS
Wallace and Henley tied for fourth in qualifying with a 66. Kobayashi and Uretsky had a 73. … The eyebrow raiser for many was a 66 shot by super seniors Jay Leonard and Tom Monahan. … Defending champions Scott Peters and Andy Hydorn carded a 67 in the first group of the day. … Two lightning delays forced players off the course. The second lasted 75 minutes. … There were no fewer than three hole-in-ones, believed to be a one-day TKI record. Chris Hynes aced the fourth whole, Greg Eikle turned the trick on the 12th and Alex Lazerowich on the 14th. … While lightning threatened the qualifying round, the Keane has been fortunate with the weather over the years. Only once has the tournament been forced to call an audible because of a washout. Art Bemis and John Donnelly won that year when the format was changed to 54 holes of stroke play. … Play continues with morning and afternoon matches Saturday with the winners advancing to Sunday’s semifinals and finals.
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