17 Aug 2016 at 14:41 | Published by: PatPenguin | Views: 12573 | News search

LtoR (Front) Pat Sheridan - 2nd, Ken Bowley - 1st. LtoR (Back) John O"Leary - 5th, Elmer Lawson - 4th, Jerod Mutter - 3rd  (Photo by Putt U Facebook)

Two months ago the top USPMGA pros tried to tame the Putt U courses in the U.S. Open and on August 13th, a group of those players, along with many locals, tried to take the Putt U Course Championship for 2016. It was a hot and humid few days in Center Valley and Saturday morning was no different as it felt like putting in a sauna by the 9am tournament start time rolled around. The course championship differs form the US Open in that it is only one round and alternates between the red and blue courses depending on the year. This year it was played on blue course, which provided a slight bit more shade for the players. In addition, players must use the course minigolf balls and not regular golf balls for this tournament.

In the end, the top 5 were all comprised of players who had previously putted during the U.S. Open and all with scores that would have rivaled some of the top spots in that tournament. Thanks to one ace during this round, Ken Bowley took the top spot with a 42, one stroke better than our own Pat Sheridan and two better than 3rd place Jerod Mutter. Interestingly enough, all three medalists also finished within 5 strokes of each other after the six round US Open so the players were all very close in skill. The three-way tie for 5th place was broken after a five-hole playoff in the worsening summer heat.

This was also the first year that the Putt U Course Championship featured a women's division. There was another playoff in that division for first place which was won on the first hole by Nicole Sauter.

Sheridan had this to say about the tournament: "A one round tournament is always difficult. There is no room for error and we all knew that a low-40 score would be needed to win this one. With no easy aces, consistency was needed to finish in the top 5."

2016 Putt U Open Overall place winners
1st Place: Ken Bowley - 42
2nd Place: Pat Sheridan - 43
3rd Place: Jerod Mutter - 44
4th Place: Elmer Lawson - 45
5th Place: John O'Leary - 46*
John Trackim - 46
Michael Trackim - 46
*Won 5-hole playoff

2016 Putt U Open Womens place winners
1st Place: Nicole Sautner - 50*
2nd Place: Heather Heckman - 50
3rd Place: Donna Iobst - 51
*Won playoff

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