Friday, July 24, 2009

Pelletier, MacDonald Post Record Score

HANOVER – On paper former Lebanon High School teammates Patrick Pelletier and Nick MacDonald looked like a formidable team heading into the Tommy Keane Invitational tournament at Hanover Country Club.

On a sometimes-soggy Friday afternoon the pairing looked even better.

The two Division I college players combined for eight birdies and no bogeys to card a 63 and earn the top seed of the championship flight in Friday’s stroke-play qualifying for the three-day event. The 8-under-par score is believed to be a tournament record since the course was redesigned for the 2002 season.

The team of Ted Dardani and Noel Volpe came in as the second seed with a 67, with three teams at 68. Among them: six-time champions Scott and Mike Peters.

Earning the honor of trying to take down MacDonald, a rising University of Hartford senior, and Pelletier, a redshirt junior at URI last season, is the pairing of Mark McCaddin and Rick Wetmore, who combined for a 73 in stroke play. The winners of Saturday's better ball morning matches advance to afternoon matches with the winners continuing into Sunday morning. The championship matches in all three flights will take place Sunday afternoon.

Defending champions Peter and Doug Williamson of Hanover shot a 71, tied for seventh on the day. The father-son team will square off against Hartford High School golf coach Mike Hathorn and former Hurricane standout Mitch Cable.

Among the day's highlights was a Matt Gammons hole-in-one on the fourth hole. He teamed with Dan Cole to shoot a 73.

The 2002 co-champion team of Andy Hydorn and Lebanon's Shane McDonald had a novel round, posting 18 consecutive pars to finish at even-par 71.

The Tommy Keane Invitational honors the memory of Tommy Keane, the Hanover Country Club pro and Dartmouth golf coach from 1922-1966.

No comments: