A Home Away From Home

A crowd watches the "march" of three teams playing for one spot in the championship flight.

The putt that gave the Lazerowich team the final spot in the championship flight is halfway down the hole.

NEW LONDON – The closing of what once figured to be its forever home added an ironic symmetry to the Tommy Keane Invitational golf tournament, which relocated this year from Hanover Country Club to Lake Sunapee Country Club.

Tommy Keane was the Dartmouth golf coach and head professional at Hanover for 45 years. With the closing of the college facility this spring, the 45th renewal of the event that honors his memory is being conducted at the club where he, too, landed after his run at HCC ended.

That the tournament moved to same course where Keane taught for three years after he finished his tenure at Hanover didn’t surprise Scott Peters, who heads up the Keane organizing committee. That it was able to do relocate and not miss a beat in the COVID-19 era did.

“A lot of people thought the tournament wouldn't happen for a lot of reasons, not only because of Hanover Country Club, but the pandemic,” Peters said. “Last fall I floated the idea of coming down here to Craig Gardner (the LSCC pro) sometime in the future because I saw the handwriting on the wall about Hanover. I just didn’t realize the future would be now.”

While Peters figured days were limited at the only home the Keane had ever known, little did he foresee that a world-wide pandemic would make keeping the four-ball tournament going that much more challenging.

“At first I thought there was no way we were having a tournament this year,” he admitted. “There were a lot of things out of our control that needed to happen, and the fact that New Hampshire is in a pretty good place with the pandemic was invaluable.”

Portsmouth’s Tommy Keane, grandson of the man the tournament honors, was relieved when he learned the tournament would live on.

“We were very disappointed by the decision the college made about Hanover Country Club but this is a fantastic golf course,” he said. "They have treated us tremendously and to allow us to come down and carry on this tradition means a lot to not only our family, but to all of the participants.”

Just as Lake Sunapee was a godsend to the TK, hosting the three-day event was a boon to the club at a difficult time according to Gardner, the head pro.

“We lost all our corporate outings this summer,” he said. “I read an article the other day that said if your club isn’t doing something to make up for all that you lost, you are paying for it at the end of the year.”

The way former champion Jake Obar sees it, the Keane-Lake Sunapee marriage is a win for all sides, most importantly the golfers.

“I think we have more amped-up people this year because everybody has been locked up in their house,” he said.  “Everybody here is cognizant of what’s going on and being smart about it. This is a safe way to have a really great time on a lot of people’s favorite weekend of the year.”

DIVOTS

First-time Keane team Jim Cilley and Bobby Williams earned medalist honors with a 7-under 63. Cilley is a former New Hampshire Amateur champion from Belmont, N.H., while Williams is a former Lake Sunapee champion. Craig Steckowych, who has won multiple New Hampshire Amateur titles and played in the U.S. Senior Open, teamed with Brett Wilson to shoot 64 with the team of Ben and Tom Peters holding down local honors with 65. The tournament continues through Sunday.