Friday, March 8, 2024
***FAHRMEIER FLIES INTO FIRST PLACE***
~THE “JIMS” JUMP INTO THE SEASON WITH BIG FIRST ROUNDS~
Mother Nature made STATracker history last week as bad weather shut down 2 of the 3 rounds in Week #2 of the 2024 season. Never before have the first 2 weeks of a STATracker season featured only one round in each week!!
That’s right… believe it or not, but only two rounds have been played after the first two weeks of the new season! In any event, we’ll have to see what the long-term effects, if any, will be from such a trepidatious start.
Still… plenty to talk about… so here it is… Last season’s Rookie-of the-Year, DAVE FAHRMEIER, piled up the points in his second round of the season. So many in fact, that he has currently opened up an early 29 point lead in the Combined standings, as he vaulted into the top position after the sole round of Week-2, this past Friday. The big guy from Maryland led all scorers on Friday with a total of 44 points. Besides helping his team to a 3rd place finish, he hit the “trifecta” as he scored a birdie, 2 holeouts and a sandy. Fahrmeier had had a pretty good opening day as he had scored 15 Opening Day points in Week-1. He has officially reached first place for the first time in his young career.
HPGC club pro JIMMY ADAMS made his debut in the STATracker field, this past Friday. He made an immediate impact on the proceedings as scored his first career points… AND, it was a bunch. Adams scored 4 birdies, a CTP, a holeout and was part of the team along with Fahrmeier that snared the 3rd place finish for the round. He has shot right up into 2nd place in the standings after his debut performance of 30 total points for the day.
Rounding out the top 3 scorers on Friday, was former 2022 Masters Champ JIM (The “Furnace”) FURMAN. Furman made his season debut on Friday scoring a holeout and a sandy for 25 points. Furman is entering the 2024 season recovering from knee surgery he underwent during the off season. In talking with him after the round, he indicated he was OK but he was quick to note that it will still be something he’ll be dealing with here in the early going. He moved right into 4th place.
Elsewhere… The team of DAVE LANGE, BRIAN McDOWELL, JOE PILLOW and STAN KOONCE took first place. For each of these players, it was their first trip to the Winner’s Circle in 2024. For Pillow and McDowell, it was their first round of the new season. JOE BARNHART finds himself in the top 5 in the early going. Barnhart scored a holeout as well as a 2nd place team finish.
Rounding out the current top 5 is PAUL CORMIER. Cormier had another solid round scoring 18 points on a birdie and a holeout. Last season’s Broad Creek OPEN champ, BOB REIVIK, scored 17 points on Friday as did DAVE SEYERLE. JOHNNY HARRELL made his season debut, quietly. He was part of the Fahrmeier team that took 3rd place.
2024-HARBOUR CUP/STATracker Weekly Report
Friday, March 15, 2024
***THE FAHRMEIER FIRE STILL BURNIN’***
~Takes Top Spot in Tournament & Combined Standings…The Comet Ignites…Welch Wins Again~
FINALLY!!!... A full week of 3 rounds was completed in Week-3 as the weather finally cooperated… AND… week-3 also included the first MGA tournament of the season. When all was said and done on Friday, it was last season’s “Rookie-of-the-Year” DAVE FAHRMEIER finding himself sitting on top of things here in the opening month of the 2024 season. Fahrmeier continued to pile on the points in week-3 as he owns first place in the Combined standings and with a big round in the MGA tournament on Wednesday, he also snared the first place spot in the Tournaments standings as well. His week-3 achievements (1-43-38) racked up 82 points on 4 birdies, 3 holeouts, a sandy and the first “PENpar” in STATracker history! The PENpar was introduced just this season. If a player can manage a par or better after taking a penalty drop, that achievement will get you 12 points. Fahrmeier’s PENpar happened after he put his 2nd shot in the water on the par-5 #2 hole. He took his drop and landed his 4th shot on the green 8ft from the flag, then nailed the putt. In the tournament, his 43 point total for that round included 2 holeouts and a sandy. So after 3 week into the season, he has a healthy 35 point lead in the standings.
BUT WAIT…!!!... What’s that sound you’re hearing?? Why it’s the sound of the Koonce Comet core combusting!!
Say that 3-times fast during your first nine holes. STAN KOONCE after an uncharacteristic quiet start to the 2024 season, has finally heated up. In week-3, the Comet lead all scorers piling up 91 points for the week (14-37-40). That catapulted him right up the Combined standings and into second place, as last year’s record-setting Harbour Cup champ, chases down Fahrmeier at the top. Koonce’s week saw him score 3 birdies, 3 holeouts, 2 sandies, a CTP and the second PENpar in STATracker history. His 37 point day in Wednesday’s MGA tourney put him in second place in the Tournaments standings, again, just right behind Fahrmeier… by 6 points to be exact. So some early interesting developments there.
ELSEWHERE… other big point-getters for the week included 2023 MGA champ PAUL CORMIER. Cormier had 52 points for the week (16-8-28) on 4 birdies, a holeout, 2 sandies and a CTP. Two-time major winner BRUCE HICE had a 44 point week (3-15-26) scoring a birdie, 2 holeouts and a sandy. JOE PILLOW got into the act with another productive week with 40 points (22-16-2) with a birdie, a holeout, a sandy and 2 CTPs in the same round in Wednesday’s tournament.
AND… speaking of the first MGA tourney of the season… the team of Cormier/Lange/Bedenbaugh/Kopec took the top prize with their one stroke victory over the team of Pillow/Villanova/Mulhall/Edmundson.
Other winners for week-3 included Bob Stewart, Kevin Fitzpatrick, Joe Barnhart, Tom Caruso and winning twice during week-3 were JOHNNY HARRELL and TIM WELCH. In the case of Welch, winning on Friday was his 3rd trip to the Winners Circle in the first 5 rounds of the new season. Welch currently sits in the top spot in that Winners Circle championship standings. Welch had 16 wins last season and has 25 all-time.
The sign-up sheet for the next MGA tournament, The MARCH Chiller, scheduled for Wed., 3/27/24, will be posted on Monday. This will be a 4-man team event featuring the team totals for the gross score on the front 9 and the net scores on the back 9… it should be interesting… computer-picked teams.
2024-HARBOUR CUP/STATracker Weekly Report
Sunday, March 24, 2024
***PILLOW PUSHES PAST 100***
~FAHRMEIER HOLDS 1st PLACE 4th WEEK-In-A-ROW…Welch Wins Again… CORMIER in 2nd~
Another full week of play occurred during Week-4 which included the first opportunity this season, for an individual win (I-win), in Wednesday’s MGA playdate. It was last season’s MGA champ PAUL CORMIER capturing the first individual win of the season firing a stunning 73 gross/69 net for his 3 stroke A-flight victory over season favorite JOHNNY HARRELL. Cormier had a very even week with the 2nd highest point total for the week at 45 points (12-17-16). He has now moved into 2nd place in the Combined standings. Cormier snared 10 birdies during week-4 as he leads all players in that category. The other individual winner on Wednesday was TIM (Timbo) WELCH. Keep in mind, Welch has now hit the Winners Circle 4 times in these first 8 rounds of the young season. He leads in the Winners Circle Championship standings. Welch fired a 70 for a one stroke victory over 2022 MGA champ SEAN MULHALL and 2023 Playoffs champ, KEN PLANTIN, in the B-flight. Welch sits just outside the top ten in the standings just 4 points behind #10 ranked player DAVID LANGE.
Other big point-getters for the week included JOE PILLOW who lead all scorers for the week with 53 points (12-5-36). His big round was on Friday as he scored the “Trifecta” (scores in the Birdie, Holeout and Sandy categories in a single round). Pillow’s 36 points on Friday pushed him past the 100 points mark and joins Koonce, Cormier and Fahrmeier as the only players to reach that mark here in the first month of the season. Also scoring well during week-4 was rookie KEVIN FITZPATRICK who snared 29 points during his two rounds (19-x-10). Fitzpatrick finds himself in the top ten at the #8 position in the Combined standings.
DAVE LANGE made the most of his Wednesday round in the playdate scoring 25 points on a single stroke. Check this out… Lange puts his tee on the par-3 11th into the leftside bunker up by the green. His sand shot from the bunker left his next lie just off the green. Lange then proceeded to holeout from there for his par giving him a holeout and a sandy on that single stroke, good for a 25 point play.
Elsewhere… A big welcome back to C.A. Smith, who returned to the field this past week after missing the first 3 weeks. Smith got back into the swing of things scoring his first birdie of the season. In Wednesday’s MGA playdate round 89 year old LARRY ERVIN beat his age with his score for the 2nd time this season carding an 86. Also, on Friday, 87 year old SEAN MULHALL beat his age with a crisp 85.
Other winners in week-4 were… Monday’s Bald Eagles team event, the team of JOE BARNHART, MARK CARMICHAEL, P.J. GUERIERRO and JOE PILLOW scored a 2 stroke victory. In Friday’s Bald Eagles team event it was the team of #1 ranked DAVE FAHRMEIER, JIM ROBINSON, KEITH SWAN and GUS VILLANOVA powering to a 4 stroke victory. In the case of the Friday victors, it was the first trip to the Winners Circle for each of those players.