Final Brackets

     

 

Third Time A Charm For Steck And Wilson

Craig Steckowych watches his chip head toward the pin.

QUECHEE – The die was cast Friday in Tommy Keane Invitational qualifying when Craig Steckowych and Brett Wilson shot a tournament record 61 to earn the top seed in the annual event at The Quechee Club.

It wasn’t easy the next two days, but after advancing to the final with three consecutive 2&1 match victories the veteran team from the New Hampshire seacoast  captured the 47th TKI with a 3&2 win over the team of Lebanon High School products Vince Kimball and Zach Pollard

Wilson watches his tee ball.

For Steckowych it was his first title with Wilson, and fourth overall. He teamed with Brian Doyle to win at Hanover Country Club in 1997, ’98 and ’99.

“I had a hiatus from the golf tournament for about 15-to-18 years or so, and after Brett and I talked coming back we made the final the last two years,” said Steckowych. “I guess three was the charm."

While Steckowych is no stranger to the championship, winning for the first time was special for his partner.

“This means a lot to me,” Wilson said. “If you look at the board of previous winners, all the people that I grew up wanting to emulate when I became an adult are on it. And a lot of them aren't with us anymore.

“Steck is a very good friend and to play with him, and to win it with him, means a lot.”

Steckowych and Wilson advanced to the afternoon final with a win over Pat Pelletier and Adam Pippin in their morning match while Pollard and Kimball defeated Dean Cashman and Chris Hynes, 2&1, to make to a championship final played under battleship gray skies.

In last year’s final Steckowych and Wilson fell behind early only to lose to a birdie by Scott Peters and Andy Hydorn on the 18th hole.

The teams share congratulations on a well-played tournament.

This time they won the first two holes when Pollard and Kimball made bogey, and then stretched the difference to four after seven holes.

“It definitely would have been an entirely different match if we could have just gone through the first two holes a little smoother, but that's the way it goes,” said Pollard. “What can you say about those guys? I mean, we knew what we were up against for for sure. Their track record is pretty  impressive.

“We knew we had to bring our 'A' game and didn't quite have it today.”

Kimball and Pollard, who claimed the 2013 Keane with then partner Tyler Silver, kept battling back and got to two down with a birdie on 10. But having to concede 14 after two errant shots dropped them three down, and fighting to stay in the match.

“It’s tough to go down two in two holes, but those are two of the best players in New Hampshire,” said Kimball. “We tried to come back but they are such good players.

“We didn’t win but it was great being in the championship for the first time. I love the adrenaline around it.

Kimball tries to will his ball into the cup.

Pollard chips as Steckowych looks on.

The champions share a hug while Pollard and Kimball share a handshake.

(Final brackets to come.)

Sunday Update

 As of 12:45 p.m. Sunday (click to enlarge):

Saturday Complete (Almost

Missed  the Saturday action covering Dartmouth football's stunning loss at Sacred Heart down in Fairfield, Conn.

All but two matches in the championship round were completed before darkness fell Saturday. Those matches will be finished Sunday morning before the semifinal and final matches take place.

Check back Sunday night for full brackets, a story and (hopefully) a few pictures.

Click the graphics to enlarge them.

Saturday Morning Brackets

 

A reminder: I'm out of town Saturday covering Dartmouth football for my real job. While it may be difficult to get updated brackets after the morning matches, the hope is to update these brackets after the afternoon matches.

I'll be back in town Sunday to cover the championship.

An Interesting Distinction

 QUECHEE – When it comes to the Tommy Keane Invitational, Charlie Carr has hit for the cycle.

Carr, who has played in the annual golf tournament since 1990, noted in an offhand manner – long before Craig Steckowych and Brett Wilson came in with a tournament-record 61 to lead Friday’s qualifying round at the Quechee Club – that he’s one of just two people believed to have won all four flights of the venerable event. Scott Peters is the other.

With more than 30 TKIs on his resumé and by his estimation 10 or more different partners over the years, Carr’s memories from the annual tournament have understandably blurred. But the retired orthopedic surgeon clearly remembers winning the Championship Flight in 1996.

“I managed to find someone good to play with,” he said with a laugh. “I played with Sam Brackett, who turned pro the following year.

“The thing I remember most is we didn’t have a single bogey the entire time. We played somewhere between 70 and 80 holes over the three days and there were probably only six-to-10 holes where I helped Sam.”

Although the highlight of Carr’s Tommy Keane career was 26 years ago the event holds a sweet spot for him. So sweet that when the closure of Hanover Country Club and the eventual move to Quechee last fall meant shifting the tournament from its traditional end-of-July date to late September, the former Director of Sports Medicine at Dartmouth who spent many a Saturday afternoon on the Big Green sidelines, had to make a choice.

“It was football or this,” he said. “I ended up having one of my partners cover the game for me.”

That ended a streak of more than 20 years without missing a Dartmouth football game – but kept a Keane streak alive.

“I came back to the area in 1989 and Cam Brown, who was one of the early chairs of the TKI, asked me to play with him the next year,” Carr said. “I’m not sure if I’ve missed one since. I wouldn’t have missed one because of football, because it was always in July until last  year.

“I don’t know if I missed one because of the birth of a child,” he added with a laugh. “There may have been one there, but I can’t recall.”

For Peters, who has been instrumental in keeping a tournament his father, Seaver, helped get going, that kind of dedication to the Keane is music to his ears.

“I take great pride in hearing those kind of things and what they say about the passion for the event,” he said. “I can tell you I hear from people many months in advance talking about how they can’t wait. Every year when we get together it feels like we just saw each other, and yet it’s been a year.”

Carr, whose game had improved with retirement before “falling back into my bad habits,” hopes to keep his continuous Keane streak, however long it actually is, going for years to come.

“As you get older you see the young guys taking over,” he said. “There’s a time when you realize you can no longer keep up with them. That day is coming.

“But,” he added with still another laugh, “if you keep getting a good enough partner you can hang in there.”

#

Here's the Craig Steckowych/Brett Wilson scorecard from their 61:

Final Qualifying Scores

Story to come next, then brackets. 

Craig Steckowych/Brett Wilson	61
Vince Kimball/Zach Pollard	66
Dean Cashman/Chris Hynes	67
Scott Peters/Andy Hydorn	69
Adam Pippin/Pat Pelletier	69
Frank Lombardi/Glenn Micalizio	71
Dan McGee/Rob Henley	72
Jake Obar/Tyler Kelly	72
Ryan Thorpe/Cam Thorpe	72
Nick MacDonald/Shane MacDonald	72
Mike Hathorn/Mitch Cable	73
Jim Jankowski/Dave Larrivee	74
Tom Keane/Sam Natti	74
Dillons Sass/Luke Marrinan	74
Matthew McLaughlin/Mat Smith	74
Cody Danforth/Tom Hovey	74
Justin Cash/Peter Mittendorf	74
Jay Mullen/Aaron Mullen	74
Ben Peters/Tom Peters	75
Mak Lyford/Mike Lyford	75
Griffin Kiritsy/Andrew Loney	75
Tyler Hosser/Pete Robitaille	75
Matt Keane/Johnathan Keane	75
Alex Lazerowich/Forrest Dwyer	75
Chris Broom/Jake Broom	75
Joe Yukica/Mike Yukica	75
Eric Scott/Cole Lewis	75
Bill Vielleux/Bobby Hill	76
Thomas J Keane/Kevin Keane	76
Shane Wolter/Matt Mackin	76
Pete McDougall/Rob McDougall	76
Ryan Fay/Dillan Pierce	77
Patrick Norden/Robb Cramer	77
Toby Jasmin/Todd Holmes	77
Jim Keane/Kevin Sullivan	77
Anthony Cuomo/Alex Carras	77
Robert Brown/Jack Arnold	77
Doug Daniels/Mike Pollard	77
Mike Kelley/Darren Curtis	78
Ryan Bergeron/Cody Dodds	78
Steve Hesser/Ted Sheehan	78
Charlie Carr/Mike Schafer	78
Scott Sinclair/Joe Robblee	79
Craig Maguire/Mike Sullivan	79
Mark Loranger/Kevin Delaney	79
Peter Holzberger/Nick Vuoto	79
Roger Demment/Tag Demment	79
Jeff Frechette/Fran Raggazino	80
Dan Campbell/Nick Trottier	80
Greg Hardy/Tim Winslow	81
Kevin Appleton/Dave Doyle	81
Steve Carlan/Jim Punger	81
Grant Kelly/Shane Glennon	82
Dan Elliott/Christian Wolter	82
Gary Smith/Michael Fisher	83
Marcus Green/Jared Lemos	84
Eric Maskwa/Dan Maskwa	84
Bobby Davis/Chad Frechette	84
Rick Hughes/Chris Clark	86
Tom Dupree/Mike Garvey	87
Mark McCaddin/Rick Wetmore	88
Eric Wales/Brad Coates	91
Dave Cioffi/Ron Cioffi	97
Alex Robinson/Jonathan Vogel	99

6:30 Update

Full scores, brackets and a feature story still to come but they will take some time.

Craig Steckowych/Brett Wilson	61
Vince Kimball/Zach Pollard	66
Dean Cashman/Chris Hynes	67
Scott Peters/Andy Hydorn	69
Adam Pippin/Pat Pelletier	69
Frank Lombardi/Glenn Micalizio	71
Dan McGee/Rob Henley	72
Jake Obar/Tyler Kelly	72
Ryan Thorpe/Cam Thorpe	72
Mike Hathorn/Mitch Cable	73
Jim Jankowski/Dave Larrivee	74
Tom Keane/Sam Natti	74
Dillons Sass/Luke Marrinan	74
Matthew McLaughlin/Mat Smith	74
Cody Danforth/Tom Hovey	74
Justin Cash/Peter Mittendorf	74
Ben Peters/Tom Peters	75
Mak Lyford/Mike Lyford	75
Griffin Kiritsy/Andrew Loney	75
Tyler Hosser/Pete Robitaille	75
Matt Keane/Johnathan Keane	75
Alex Lazerowich/Forrest Dwyer	75
Chris Broom/Jake Broom	75
Joe Yukica/Mike Yukica	75
Bill Vielleux/Bobby Hill	76
Thomas J Keane/Kevin Keane	76
Shane Wolter/Matt Mackin	76
Pete McDougall/Rob McDougall	76
Ryan Fay/Dillan Pierce	77
Patrick Norden/Robb Cramer	77
Toby Jasmin/Todd Holmes	77
Jim Keane/Kevin Sullivan	77
Anthony Cuomo/Alex Carras	77
Robert Brown/Jack Arnold	77
Mike Kelley/Darren Curtis	78
Ryan Bergeron/Cody Dodds	78
Steve Hesser/Ted Sheehan	78
Scott Sinclair/Joe Robblee	79
Craig Maguire/Mike Sullivan	79
Mark Loranger/Kevin Delaney	79
Peter Holzberger/Nick Vuoto	79
Roger Demment/Tag Demment	79
Jeff Frechette/Fran Raggazino	80
Greg Hardy/Tim Winslow	81
Kevin Appleton/Dave Doyle	81
Grant Kelly/Shane Glennon	82
Dan Elliott/Christian Wolter	82
Gary Smith/Michael Fisher	83
Marcus Green/Jared Lemos	84
Eric Maskwa/Dan Maskwa	84
Bobby Davis/Chad Frechette	84
Rick Hughes/Chris Clark	86
Tom Dupree/Mike Garvey	87
Mark McCaddin/Rick Wetmore	88
Dave Cioffi/Ron Cioffi	97
Alex Robinson/Jonathan Vogel	99