2024-HARBOUR CUP/STATracker Weekly Report
Sunday, August 4, 2024
***MULHALL GETS HOLE-IN-ONE!!!***
~BEDENBAUGH SCORES EAGLE… KOONCE MOVES PAST 1200… WELCH WINS~
Week-23 of the 2024 STATracker season completed all 3 of its scheduled rounds.
Well… it was 87 year old HPGC Legends Of Golf member, SEAN MULHALL getting the first hole-in-one of the 2024 season! His 45 point shot occurred during Wednesday’s MGA individual playdate round. Mulhall stepped up to the tee on the #3 par-3 hole with a 7 iron in his hand, facing a 110 yard shot. He launched his tee shot towards the green. It bounced two times and then curved into the hole for the Ace!! This was the 4th H.I.O. in STATracker history here at Harbour Point GC and the first one since WAYNE BEDENBAUGH’s ace in the middle of the 2022 season. The other two owners of aces are JIM ROSANIA, getting the very first ace in ST history at HPGC, during the 2021 season, and JOE PILLOW getting one during the 2022 season. As a result of all those points, Mulhall has jumped up in the Combined standings into the top ten at the #10 spot!! He remains a force to be dealt with. Mulhall is a two-time major winner and has been to the Winners Circle 29 times in his ST career… 5 individual wins and 24 team wins.
Now… speaking of Wayne Bedenbaugh, the wily veteran from upstate New York, scored an eagle also during Wednesday’s MGA round. Bedenbaugh achieved his big bird when he holed out from 136 yards on the par-4 13th hole, using a 5-wood. Bedenbaugh’s shot sailed high up and when it came down it hit the flagstick and dropped straight in. That earned Bedenbaugh 30 points for that one shot. Bedenbaugh is currently ranked #12 in the field and is on his way to one of his best seasons in his ST career.
Elsewhere… defending Harbour Cup champ, STAN KOONCE, seems to be well on his way to repeating as the Harbour Cup champ after another solid week of play scoring 55 points (19-18-18).
Those points pushed him past the 1200 points mark for the season settling in at 1204. It’s only the second time in ST history that anyone has hit that mark… Koonce owns both of those times.
Winners of the week for week-23 include… on Monday, #2 ranked DAVE FAHRMEIER along with teammates DAVE LANGE, PJ GUERIERRO and 2021 Playoffs champ JOE PILLOW.
On Wednesday, in the individual tourney, it was C.A. SMITH and TOM CARUSO getting their first I-wins of the season as each player eeked out a one stroke victory in their respective flights. For Smith, it was his 10th career I-win. Smith is one of only 5 players who have achieved double-digit career I-wins. Further, SMITH, an HPGC Legends Of Golf member, beat his age. For Caruso, the cyclone from Brooklyn, it was his 8th career I-win. Only 7 players have that many career I-wins or more. On Friday, it was Winners Circle leader, TIM WELCH helping his team to a Bald Eagles T-win along with JOE BARNHART, JOHNNY HARREL and emerging rookie TAYLOR PEQUIGNOT.
Some other notable achievements during week-23 included Stan Koonce getting his 30th holeout of the season… MARK CARMICAEL scored his 30th birdie of the season and passed the 800 points mark for the 4th season in a row… Joe Pillow passed the 500 points mark for the 3rd time in his ST career… and finally, BOB GILLHAM, another HPGC Legends Of Golf member, beat his age twice last week.
Sunday, August 11, 2024
***THE RAIN REIGNS!!!***
~WASH-OUT WEEK GRINDS SEASON TO A NEAR HALT ~MATCH PLAY SET TO START~
Week-24 of the 2024 STATracker season completed ONLY one of its scheduled rounds.
For the first time in ST history, an official week of play had two rainouts in the same week. While there were 2 other times in the storied history of STATracker at the HPGC, where only one round was contested during an official week, those had been due to scheduling. With North Carolina bearing the load of Mother Nature’s wild and wet gala, the recent exuberant rainfall has played havoc with scheduled play. With only one round completed in week-24, not much has changed in the way of the standings. Week-24 was to include an MGA tournament with a lot on the line. DAVE FAHRMEIER is clinging to a 7 point lead over STAN KOONCE in the Tournaments standings. It would have been interesting to see where things would have stood after that tourney BUT… we’ll just have to wait.
The season is 2/3 done with just 11½ weeks to go. Koonce maintains his nearly 370 point lead in the Combined standings. TIM WELCH is hanging on to a 2 point lead over in the Winners Circle competition. Welch has lead the way from week one. Welch is currently the #8 ranked player.
As far as what happened in week-24, it was MARK CARMICHAEL, rookie LARRY CARKNARD, BRIAN McDOWELL and TOM CARUSO getting the team win (T-win) in Monday’s Bald Eagles game. In the case of Carmichael, it was his 70th career trip to the Winners Circle for the two-time, Double-Crown winner from Indiana. Carmichael is currently ranked #3 in the Combined standings and is just 24 points out of first place in the Tournaments standings, where he is defending his 2 years in-a-row title.
Elsewhere, native North Carolinian JOHNNY HARREL scored his 30th birdie of the season in Monday’s round. Harrell is currently ranked #9 in the field. Now… one has to keep in mind that this was the same Johnny Harrell who took last season’s Match Play championship. This year, the HPGC sponsored tournament is part of the STATracker season with loads of points to be had. Harrell seems to be ready to defend his title as this exciting 2-month long tourney is set to get under way on Monday, August 12th. Harrell’s first opponent will be Don Shutts.
It is our understanding here at STATracker Central that the “Freight Train” is due back in the station here at HPGC come Wednesday. Healing up for most of the summer, ED EDMUNDSON is ready to resume his season. Edmundson is currently ranked #21. He had been sitting in the top 16 before he had to curtail his play. Edmundson is looking to get a playoff spot for the second year in-a-row.
And speaking of the playoffs… while still 12 weeks away, perennial playoff contestants RICK WOLFE, Brian McDowell and Tom Caruso are chasing down 3-time major winner MARK NOLAN for that 16th spot in the Combined standings.
BRIAN HARRINGTON is currently leading all rookies for the Rookie-of-the-Year honors. He has a 43 point lead over his nearest contender, KEVIN FITZPATRICK.
Just a quick note… when you play in the MATCH Play events, be sure to grab an official STATracker scoresheet for your round. You and your opponent must sign each other’s sheet before turning it in.
Sunday, August 18, 2024
***ANOTHER WET WEEK!***
~MATCH PLAY BEGINS ~FURMAN GETS 1st I-WIN of SEASON ~The COMET FLIES AGAIN
Week-25 of the 2024 STATracker season completed 2 of its 3 scheduled rounds.
Once again, rain put a kahbosh on the 2024 season. But… not too badly this time as only the Monday’s Bald Eagles round had to be cancelled because of the unplayable course conditions still lingering from the previous week’s record rainfall. That made 3 consecutive cancellations of official STATracker rounds, for the first time ever.
However, things did seem to reach a tentative homeostasis when play resumed on Wednesday with the MGA’s individual playdate round. It was the former Master’s champ of 2022, getting his 1st I-win of the season as JIM FURMAN nailed down the victory with an overwhelming 6-stroke win over runnerup rookie, KEVIN FITZPATRICK, in the B-flight. While it was Furman’s first I-win of the season, it was his 11th career I-win, tying him for second on the All-time Winners Circle list with 3-time major winner MARK CARMICHAEL. Stan Kooce leads all players, historically with the most career I-wins with 14. Over in the A-flight, it was RICK WOLFE getting his 2nd I-win of the season and 5th in his career as he pulled out a 3 stroke victory over runnerup Mark Carmichael. The Wolfe-Man has been slowly making his way up the Combined standings over the last couple of months. Along with his win he scored a birdie and snared a CTP. He now sits in the #18 spot in the standings only 8 points out the last playoff spot, the #16 position, currently occupied by the Cyclone… Tom Caruso.
Elsewhere… the Comet started heating up again. STAN KOONCE continued his dominance atop the Combined standings as he scored 56 points in week-25 (x-13-43). Koonce’s big day in Friday’s Bald Eagles round included a “trifecta” (birdie-holeout-sandy combo in same round) with 2 birdies and also scored his 9th ‘PENpar” of season. He is now only 195 points away from tying his own record setting points total from last year’s campaign.
Other winners last week included BRIAN HARRINGTON, BOB REIVIK and GUS VILLANOVA.
These 3 players comprised the winning team in Friday’s Bald Eagles round. In the case of Harrington, the rookie from Vermont from is currently the highest ranked among this season’s rookie crop, sitting in the #22 position. Each year, since its inception, a rookie has made it to the prestigious STATracker Playoffs at the end of the season. As we roll on towards the end of August, Harrington, as of now, shows the most promise of keeping that streak alive… but he is currently about 50 points from that final #16 spot. Although, he is, at the time of this report, making a very strong showing in the HPGC Match Play tourney as he has vanquished his first two opponents. He could very well pick up a bunch of points if he can grind it out to the end. In the case of Bob Reivik, he is having his best STATracker season in his career. This win put him in 5th place in the Winners Circle competition. Last year, the 3-time major winner and career Grand Slam achiever, along with Stan Koonce, were on the brink of getting their 6th I-wins of the season… a number, no one has yet to achieve. Reivik has 3 I-wins thus far and Koonce has 4. Finally, there’s Gus Villanova. The big guy from New Jersey got his 10th team win on Friday. Villanova, at 83 years of age, is enjoying his best STATracker season in his career. He is in striking distance of a playoff spot with plenty of golf still to go. Villanova has been to the Winners Circle 19 times in his career with 11 of those all-time trips occurring this season.
Sunday, August 25, 2024
***SEISMIC STANDINGS SHAKEUP***
~KOONCE MOVES PAST 1300 ~VILLANOVA TIES RECORD ~McDOWELL MAKES MOVE~
Week-26 of the 2024 STATracker season completed all 3 of its scheduled rounds.
As we have arrived at the final week of play for the month of August, a dynamic shift in the Harbour Cup standings has occurred. Firstly, during last week’s play, it was STAN KOONCE continuing his march towards a second consecutive Harbour Cup. Koonce’s 86 point week (50-36-0) moved him past the 1300 points mark for the 2nd time in his career… actually, for the 2nd time ever, by anyone. His round on Monday is what did it. He scored his 59th & 60th birdies of the season. Then it was his first of two holeouts that day, that pushed him past 1300 points. They were his 34th and 35th holeouts of the year. Next, on Wednesday, during the 11th MGA tournament of the season, the Team Stableford, Koonce enjoyed a team win along with scoring a trifecta. Those 36 points helped him move past DAVE FAHRMEIER, back into first place in the Tournaments standings with a four point lead over Fahrmeier. Speaking of Fahrmeier… the big guy from Maryland became only the 4th player STATracker history to reach the 900 points mark in a single season. During play in week-26, Fahrmeier scored 56 points (16-25-15). He continues to have a firm hold on being the #2 ranked player in the 2024 field. He ended the week with a 2024 season total thus far of 939 points. The other players who have reached that level have been Stan Koonce (twice), Mark Carmichael (twice) and Paul Cormier (once). Fahrmeier becomes part of that elite club. He now has a very realistic chance of hitting that next level of 1000 points in a season. This is Fahrmeier’s second season in STATracker play.
Now, not to be outdone by these elitists… and we were just was talking about this player in last week’s report, GUS VILLANOVA tied a single round record on Wednesday during the MGA tourney, when he scored 3 holeouts during his round. Villanova along with Ed (the Freight Train) Edmundson, and the “Cyclone” Tom Caruso, have all achieved 3 holeouts in one round. For Villanova, it was part of another great week of play as he racked up 97 points for the week (20-53-24), leading ALL scorers. Between his play the previous week and now this past week, Villanova has screamed up the Combined standings and is now parked as the #14th ranked player in the field, his highest ranking in his career. That puts him in a playoff position… for now… as we embark on the final quarter of the season. This could be Villanova’s first playoff appearance of his career, come season’s end.
Another player that has plowed a scorched trail into a playoff position is the big guy from Pittsburgh, PA, BRIAN McDOWELL. McDowell showed up on the radar screen around mid-summer. But that little blip has turned into an undeniable ping on the playoff map. McDowell had a 58 point week (x-43-15) which included that great round in Wednesday’s MGA tourney. He scored a trifecta which included 2 birds and 2 sandies to go along with the holeout, as his team finished second in the competition. McDowell has now pushed himself as the #13th ranked player in the field…HIS best ranking ever and also, a solid playoff spot. One surely remembers his late season heroics last year when he scored a difficult sandy in the final tourney of the season, to gain a wildcard berth in last year’s playoffs. He is positioned very nicely right now and has his game going extremely well.
Sunday, September 1, 2024
***PILLOW GETS HOLE-IN-ONE!!!***
~KOONCE MOVES PAST 1400 ~FAHRMEIER GETS TO 1000 ~CARKNARD WINS TWICE~
Week-27 of the 2024 STATracker season completed all 3 of its scheduled rounds.
The 2024 STATracker season at the HPGC has officially concluded its 6th month of play as of the close of business this past Friday. The final quarter of the season commences on Monday, Sept. 2nd.
It was a wild and wooly ride last week with history being made with nearly every stroke by the top players in the field. But… let’s start with the Hole-in-One by the 2021 Playoffs champ JOE PILLOW.
The big guy from Texas scored the 2nd hole-in-one in his ST career, fittingly, in Friday’s Bald Eagles round. The achievement occurred on the difficult par-3 11th. Teeing off from 138 yards away, Pillow sent his 5-iron shot on a fly to the green bouncing twice and then rolling about 6 feet into the hole.
It was the 5th HIO in ST history, with Pillow now owning 2 of the 5. A quick review of all the HIOs in ST history at the HPGC include JIM ROSANIA (retired) in 2021, scoring the first one ever… in 2022, Pillow got his first HIO followed by Wayne Bedenbaugh later that same season… there were no HIOs in 2023 and now here, in the 2024 season, its been SEAN MULHALL and now PILLOW. Pillow had an eagle as well, earlier this season. Pillow enjoyed quite a day on Friday as he scored the aforementioned HIO but also had 2 birdies for the round and helped his team to a 1st place finish. That 45 point shot for the HIO contributed to Pillow’s 54 point day and a top scorer for the week (0-5-54). By the way… that team win on Friday was just another part of the story for him. Pillow had two trips to the Winners Circle in week-27. Pillow pulled off an I-win in Wednesday’s MGA playdate round as well. He is now positioned just 2 points behind the Winners Circle leaders STAN KOONCE and TIM WELCH. It was Pillow’s 2nd I-win of the season and his 13th T-win of 2024. Friday’s win was Pillow’s 45th trip to the Winners Circle all-time (6/I - 39/T…45).
The Comet, Stan Koonce, has pulled to within 21 points of his own points record. Koonce passed the 1400 points mark for the 2024 season during his round in Wednesday’s MGA competition. His holeout on #15 put him over the mark for the second straight season. He is headed towards setting a new record for sure, at this point. Koonce put together another fabulous week totaling 74 points (34-18-22). Koonce continues to sit in 1st place in the Combined standings with 1449 points on the year. Further, last season’s Rookie-of-the Year, DAVE FAHRMEIER, landed in new territory for him as he topped the 1000 points mark in a season, on Wednesday as well. In dramatic fashion, Fahrmeier holed out for eagle on the par-5 12th sending his 50 yard gap wedge shot into the hole on two bounces. For Fahrmeier, it was his first official eagle of his ST career. Fahrmeier also had a big points week getting 77 for the week (33-30-14). Another big point-getter last week was the surging BRIAN HARRINGTON, the leading candidate for Rookie-of-the-Year honors. Harrington added a total of 96 points to name in his 2 rounds when he scored back to back trifectas including a double sandy round on Friday (x-35-40), plus an additional 21 points coming from his latest win in the HPGC Match Play major. Speaking of which, the rookie from Vermont is gliding through the brackets as he now won 3 times there. All this has pushed Harrington up the Combined standings where he now sits just outside the top ten, at #11. While we’re on the subject of the Match-Play event, another player plowing his way across the brackets is PAUL CORMIER. In a battle of titans, Cormier took his match against the ST #2 ranked player Dave Fahrmeier, yesterday in 2 up. Cormier, this season’s Club Champion, continues his inexorable march across the brackets. Also on Saturday, the defending Match-Play champ JOHNNY HARRELL had his hands full with the #36 ranked player in the STATracker field, P.J. GUERIERRO. Harrell eventually won the match 2 up. Harrell is once again making his way across the brackets from the 2nd chances pool. That’s how he won it last year. Harrell will be tough to beat despite having an early loss in the event which dropped him into the 2nd tier. His next opponent is the “Cyclone…” TOM CARUSO (currently ranked #14 in the ST field). Harrell is the #9 ranked player in the STATracker field.
In another historic moment from week-27, for the first time ever, a rookie has hit the Winners Circle twice in the same week. Rookie LARRY CARKNARD achieved the first time ever feat when he helped his team on Friday secure a 5 stroke victory. Earlier in the week, on Monday, as a result of his best round of the season, Carknard helped his team to an astonishing 12-stroke victory. His teammates on Monday were Dave Fahrmeier, former Masters Champ JIM FURMAN and Stan Koonce. For Furman… that was his 55th trip to the Winners Circle all-time. On Friday, Carknard played together with Tom Caruso, Dave Lange and hole-in-one boy, Joe Pillow.
WAYNE BEDENBAUGH rounded out last week’s crop of winners as he scored an individual win in Wednesday’s MGA round. It was Bedenbaugh’s 2nd career I-win and his 40th career team win (T-win).
Elsewhere… Legends of Golf players LARRY ERVIN and BOB GILLHAM both added another notch to their Age Warrior belts as they both shot better than their age. In the case of Ervin, the 90 year old scored an 89. For the 80 year old Gillham, he shot a remarkable 67 which included 5 birdies, in Friday’s round.
As September dawns upon the 2024 STATracker season, beginning tomorrow, Monday, Sept. 2nd, the final STATracker major of the season, will commence… the Broad Creek OPEN. The month long competition will run its course and conclude on Monday, Sept. 30th this year. The OPEN is similar to the STATracker Masters major held every April. Everytime a player competes in a sanctioned Bald Eagles or MGA event that includes a postable score, that player’s net score for that round will be recorded during the entire month of September. The player with the 4 lowest net scores recorded during the month of September, will become the next Broad Creek OPEN champion and get all the perks that come with that title which may include an all-expense paid trip to the fiords of Greenland this year… but... that is still in negotiations. BOB REIVIK enters this competiton as the current defending champion. Reivik, as you may remember won the OPEN last season. It was his first major. He then followed that up by winning this year’s Masters and then the MGA to complete his career Grand Slam. Should he win this time, it would be a Grand Slam in one season!!
…Sooooo… more fun to come as we head for the 2024 final quarter of play…
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