Midwest Deaf Golfers Association
2003 Fall Newsletter

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Robert Ritch – MDGA Champion
 
     Robert Ritch, from North Carolina, claimed his first MDGA championship by three strokes over defending champion William Tonigan.  Ritch is the second golfer in history to win both the MDGA and SEDGA tournaments in the same year.  Roland Stetson in 1980 was the first to do so.
 
     After two rounds, Ritch had a three-stroke lead over Darrell Hovinen from Michigan.  There were three other golfers within 8 shots of the leader.  Blankenburg was 6 behind.  Bosworth and Tonigan both were 8 behind.  Tonigan had the advantage because he was not in the final group, the same situation as Doug Schnoor in 1999.
 
     The final day, on the first hole, a short 320 yard par 4, Hovinen hit a horrible tee shot, lost the ball in the woods and made double-bogey.  Ritch three-putted for bogey.  Blankenburg and Bosworth both also made bogey after missing the green.  It was obvious all four golfers were feeling nervous.
 
     After nine holes, Ritch (with 40 strokes) led Hovinen (39) by two shots.  Blankenburg and Bosworth both shot 44 to fall back.  Tonigan shot 36 his first nine holes, so he was only four shots behind.  Hovinen then played the next six holes in 8-over par to fall out of it.  With two holes to go, Tonigan, the only golfer left for Ritch to beat, was just two shots behind.  Ritch parred the last two holes to finish off his hard-earned win.
 
Flight Champions
 
     Bryan Jendra from Illinois won the First Flight by five strokes with a wonderful final round of 79.  It was the first time he broke 80 in MDGA tourneys.  Tim Tesner from Ohio was the first flight runner-up.  John Kaleta, from Wisconsin, won the Second Flight by one stroke over Terry Henderson from Indiana.  Both golfers played well on the last day, Kaleta with 86 and Henderson with 87.  David Costa from Illinois claimed the Third Flight championship for the THIRD year in a row.  He won by two shots over Gary Johnson from Ohio, who was penalized two strokes on the last day because he hit the wrong ball.
 
     Arthur Gendreau from Minnesota won his fourth straight Senior Flight championship, this time by 20 shots over runner-up Pete Wahl from Arizona.  Lester Arnold from Tennessee shot a final round of 89 to come behind and win the Senior First Flight championship by three shots over Donald Phelps from Maryland.
 
Handicap Champions
 
     The first handicap champions in MDGA history were Mark Venz from Wisconsin and Hubert Ruessman from Michigan.  Venz shot three rounds under 90 to win by ten shots over Patrick Arnold from Indiana.  Venz had never broken 90 in the MDGA tourney before.  Ruessman won by just one shot over Dale Johnson from Minnesota and Harry Larson from Maryland.
 
50 Straight Tournaments!
 
     Arthur Gendreau from Minnesota just played in his 50th straight MDGA tournament.  He has never missed an MDGA tourney since 1954.  Jack Kunz is the only other golfer to hit the half-century mark.  Kunz played in 52 straight tournaments from 1948 to 1999.  Dale Johnson has the second longest current streak with 25 straight years since 1979.  50 straight years may never happen again.
 
Most Amazing Round of MDGA Golf – Maybe all of Deaf Golf, too?
 
     Wilbur Sawhill from Iowa took 83 shots on the Eagle Creek - Sycamore golf course in the second round.  Why is this a "most amazing" round, you may ask?  It is because Wilbur is 83 years old himself.  He is most definitely the oldest golfer in MDGA history to shoot his age.  He might be the first golfer in MDGA history to shoot his age.  Does anybody else remember anyone shooting his age in MDGA tourneys?  What about other deaf tournaments?
 
New MDGA Hall-of-Famer
 
     Congratulations to Marvin Tuttle from Iowa who was elected to the MDGA Hall of Fame.  He is now the 47th member out of more than 860 golfers since 1947.  Marvin participated in 16 tournaments since 1958.  He was the tournament chairman and Vice-President in 1987.  Since 1999, he has been one of the delegates from Iowa.
 
Hall of Fame State-by-State Information
 
     This counts only the original (home) state of each Hall of Fame member.  The state of Wisconsin leads with 17 members.  Minnesota follows with 10, then Illinois with 7, Iowa with 4, Michigan with 3, Missouri with 2 and Colorado, Maryland, Nebraska and Ohio with 1 each.
 
Third Annual MDGA Putting Contest
 
     65 golfers entered the contest this year.  Eight golfers won three matches the first day to advance to the second day.  Remember that prize money goes to the Elite Eight putters only.  The Elite Eight putters were Rick Aylesworth, Dan Blessing, Bob Dramin, David Froehle, Bob Graf, Darrell Hovinen, Gerald Lentini and Richard Sarkisian.
 
     There was a new twist in this year's contest.  The matches on the second day were based on double elimination.  This did not happen the first two years of the putting contest.  Before the matches on the second day, Bob Dramin made a prediction that "Bob" was going to win the putting contest for the third straight year, either himself or Bob Graf.  Bob Dramin won two years ago and Bob Graf won last year.
 
     Hovinen won three matches, beating Lentini, Froehle and Aylesworth to await the survivor of double elimination.  Lentini and Sarkisian both lost their first two matches.  They faced off in a match for 7th place, won by Sarkisian.  Blessing and Graf faced off in a long and tough opening match, won by Blessing.  Unfortunately, Blessing lost his next three matches to finish in 6th place.  Blessing admitted that the first match with Graf wore him out.
 
     Graf beat Sarkisian, lost to Dramin, and beat Blessing for 5th place.   Froehle won his first match over Dramin, then lost to Hovinen, beat Blessing, then lost to Dramin for 4th place.  Aylesworth won his first two matches over Sarkisian and Blessing, then lost to Hovinen and Dramin to finish in 3rd place.  Bob Dramin earned the right to face Darrell Hovinen in the final match and try to make his prediction come true. 
 
     The final match was over very quickly.  Hovinen three-putted the first hole to lose the first match and send it to one last match.  Dramin then three-putted the first hole of the final match to finish in 2nd place.
 
     Bob Dramin, Bob Graf and Darrell (not Bob) Hovinen all made their second appearance in the Elite Eight.  In addition, Dramin and Hovinen made their second appearance in the championship match.  In three years, a total of 21 golfers have made it into the Elite Eight.  This putting contest should be around for a long time since anybody can be the putting champion.
 
Future Golf Tournaments
 
     Lincoln, Nebraska will host in 2004.  Red Wing, Minnesota (southeast of Minneapolis) will host in 2005.  Gaylord, Michigan will host in 2006.  Springfield, Illinois will host in 2007.  Where will we go in 2008?
2003 MDGA Tournament Results
Eagle Creek (Sycamore) Golf Course – Indianapolis, Indiana
106 golfers (69 regular, 37 seniors)
Championship Flight First Flight
1. Robert Ritch (NC) 75 - 72 - 79 = 226 1. Bryan Jendra  (IL) 89 - 87 -  79 = 255
2. William Tonigan (MD) 78 - 77 - 74 = 229 2. Tim Tesner  (OH) 94 - 83 -  83 = 260
3. Darrell Hovinen (MI) 78 - 72 - 81 = 231 3. Mark Gessinger  (IN)  93 - 89 -  84 = 266
4. Curtis Blankenburg  (IL) 78 - 75 - 84 = 237 4. Stephen Coppock  (IA) 90 – 93 -  84 = 267
4. David Bosworth  (MD) 77 - 78 - 82 = 237 4. John Dyreson  (WI)  90 - 89 -  88 = 267
6. Patrick Arnold  (IN) 81 - 78 - 79 = 238 6. Jeff Prince  (OH) 89 - 88 -  93 = 270
7. Robert Graf  (WI) 83 - 80 - 77 = 240 7. Wallace Riege  (WI)  90 – 89 -  92 = 271
8. Cory Horan  (IN) 86 - 78 - 79 = 243 8. David Froehle  (IA) 89 - 89 -  95 = 273
9. Robert Dramin  (IL) 82 - 81 - 82 = 245 9. Lewis Fowler  (KY) 93 – 91 -  92 = 276
10. Mark Venz  (WI)  82 - 87 - 80 = 249 10. Tom Bachtel  (OH) 93 - 92 -  93 = 278
11. Thomas Perkins  (IN)   81 - 82 - 87 = 250 11. Mark McAlear  (MN)  89 - 95 –  94 = 278
12. Greg Gantt  (IN) 81 - 85 - 87 = 253 12. Willie Miller  (IA) 90 - 91 –  97 = 278
13. Michael Lewis  (WI)  90 - 83 - 82 = 255 13. Barry Froehle  (IA) 95 - 87 -  99 = 281
14. Troy Anderson  (MN) 82 - 84 - 91 = 257 14. Andrew Lisac  (OH) 99 – 87 - 102 = 288
15. Charles Peckham  (IL)  88 – 82 - 92 = 262        Dick Chadwick  (MN) 87 - 89 = WD
       Stephen Blair  (MI) 88 = WD
Long Drive – Robert Dramin
Closest To Pin – Cory Horan
Lowest Putts – Mark Venz – 30
Long Drive – Mark Gessinger
Closest To Pin – Mark McAlear
Lowest Putts – David Froehle – 30
 
Second Flight Third Flight
1. John Kaleta  (WI)   92 - 95 - 86 = 273 1. David Costa  (IL)    95 – 103 -  96 = 294
2. Terry Henderson  (IN)   95 - 92 - 87 = 274 2. Gary Johnson  (OH)   99 -  99 -  98 = 296
3. Joseph Otis  (WI)   96 - 91 – 90 = 277 3. Mike Rentschler  (NE)   98 - 105 -  96 = 299
4. Bill Stricklen  (IL)    95 – 94 - 89 = 278 4. Clayton Claiborne  (IA)  103 - 101 – 101 = 305
5. Bill McGee  (OH)   93 – 97 - 90 = 280 5. Robert Ryan  (IL) 107 –  92 – 107 = 306
6. Charles Crandall  (KY)    92 – 95 - 94 = 281 5. Ethan Sachs  (MI) 100 –  99 – 107 = 306
7. Richard Sarkisian  (NJ)    95 - 95 - 92 = 282 5. Charles Schwan  (IN) 102 -  99 - 105 = 306
8. Tim Anderson  (MN)   98 – 93 - 93 = 284 8. James Todd Sr  (IL)   99 – 107 – 103 = 309
8. David Catt  (IN)   94 - 94 - 96 = 284 9. David Sommers  (WI) 105 - 105 - 100 = 310
10. Ronald Swartz  (MI) 102 – 90 - 93 = 285 10. Gerald Lentini  (MD) 114 –  99 - 100 = 313
11. Bernard Newman  (WI)   92 - 98 - 97 = 287 11. Mitchell Russell  (IL) 114 - 101 – 100 = 315
12. Edwin Carlson Jr.  (IL)   94 - 96 - 98 = 288 12. Robert Hagman  (WI) 107 - 107 - 106 = 320
13. Daniel Kriesel  (IN) 103 - 89 - 97 = 289 13. Robert Lawson  (IA) 104 - 104 - 113 = 321
14. Chris Burhart  (OH)   96 - 98 - 98 = 292 14. Robert Lilac  (NY)  109 -  98 - 117 = 324
15. Richard Aylesworth  (MI)   96 – 98 - 99 = 293 14. Alan Kayser  (MN) 109 - 102 - 113 = 324
14. John McPhee (MN) 102 - 112 - 110 = 324
Long Drive – Bill McGee
Closest To Pinno winner – mistake – wrong flight
Lowest Putts – Bill Stricklen – 32

 

17. Ricky Kraus  (IL) 118 - 104 - 107 = 329
18. David Buntin  (WI)  109 - 121 - 101 = 331
19. Steve Kaufmann  (OH)  112 - 117 - 103 = 332
20. Bobby Locke  (IA)   117 - 121 - 102 = 340
21. Carlos Martinez  (IL)  114 - 108 - 124 = 346
22. Dan Blessing  (OH) 128 - 108 - 115 = 351
23. Jim Butler  (IL) 111 - 122 - 125 = 358
Long Drive – Ricky Kraus
Closest To Pin – Robert Hagman
Lowest Putts – David Buntin – 30
       
Senior Championship Flight Senior First Flight
1. Arthur Gendreau  (MN)  80 -  79 -  81 = 240 1. Lester Arnold  (TN)  105 -  95 -  89 = 289
2. Howard Wahl  (AZ)  87 -  85 -  88 = 260 2. Donald Phelps  (MD) 102 -  96 -  94 = 292
3. Wilbur Sawhill  (IA) 93 -  83 -  88 = 264 3. Robert Scribner  (MD)   99 – 102 -  94 = 295
4. Harry Larson  (WI) 89 -  83 -  93 = 265 4. Richard Caswell  (MD) 105 -  94 -  97 = 296
5. David Bailey  (IN) 93 -  91 -  90 = 274 5. Roger Dempewolf  (IA) 104 -  96 - 105 = 305
5. Patrick Sweeney  (OH)  94 -  88 -  92 = 274 6. Richard Appleyard  (MI) 100 – 103 - 105 = 308
7. Dale Johnson  (MN) 96 -  88 -  93 = 277 6. Fred Sund  (MN) 107 - 100 - 101 = 308
8. Warren Downey  (MD) 97 -  88 -  99 = 284 7. Robert Byington  (WI) 103 - 108 - 105 = 316
9. James Potter  (MN) 96 -  97 -  93 = 286 8. Patrick Cleveland  (WI) 112 - 109 -  99 = 320
10. Ronald Deschler  (MI)  99 -  97 - 100 = 296 9. Lee Frazier  (WI) 117 -  97 - 109 = 323
11. Floyd Malone  (TN) 95 - 101 - 102 = 298 10. Guy Kelly  (WI)   102 – 108 - 114 = 324
12. Delbert Boese  (NE) 98 -  99 - 109 = 306 11. Marvin Tuttle (IA) 108 - 111 - 106 = 325
12. Hubert Ruessman  (MI) 109 - 108 - 113 = 330
Long Drive – David Bailey
Closest To Pin – Dale Johnson
Lowest Putts – Dale Johnson – 30

 

13. Robert Wollard  (MI) 111 - 115 - 109 = 335
14. Leonard Peacock (WI) 107 - 112 - 117 = 336
15. Joe Siudzinski  (IL)  112 - 113 - 118 = 343
16. Alex Rubiano  (WI)  118 - 124 - 126 = 368
Lowest Putts – Lester Arnold – 32
       
Senior 9-Hole Flight Third Annual Putting Contest Results
1. Larry Baker  (IN) 48 - 50 - 46 = 144 1.  Darrell Hovinen
2. Bill Lawson  (OH) 53 - 47 - 53 = 153 2.  Robert Dramin – 2001 Putting Champion
3. Howard Davis  (WI)  56 - 52 - 53 = 161 3.  Richard Aylesworth
4. Ken Murray  (IN) 53 - 60 - 51 = 164 4.  David Froehle
5. Francis Thompson  (MN) 53 - 55 - 57 = 165 5.  Robert Graf – 2002 Putting Champion
6. William Reineck  (WI) 52 - 52 - 64 = 168 6.  Dan Blessing
7. Ted Myhre  (IN) 60 - 56 - 58 = 174 7.  Richard Sarkisian
8. Roland LeDuc  (WI)  61 - 53 - 61 = 175 8.  Gerald Lentini
 
State 4-Man Team Competition Results
 
Champion:   Indiana      (984) – P. Arnold (238), C. Horan (243), T. Perkins (250), G. Gantt (253)
 
Congratulations to the golfers from the Hoosier State!  Indiana claimed its 1st MDGA State Team title.
 
Runner-up:  Illinois         (999) – C. Blankenburg (237), B. Dramin (245), B. Jendra (255), C. Peckham (262)
3rd Place:     Wisconsin (1011) – R. Graf (240), M. Venz (249), M. Lewis (255), J. Dyreson (267)
4th Place:     Maryland   (1015) – W. Tonigan (229), D. Bosworth (237), H. Larson (265), W. Downey (284)
5th Place:     Minnesota (1052) – A. Gendreau (240), T. Anderson (257), D. Johnson (277), M. McAlear (278)
6th Place:     Ohio          (1082) – T. Tesner (260), J. Prince (270), P. Sweeney (274), T. Bachtel (278)
7th Place:     Iowa          (1082) – W. Sawhill (264), S. Coppock (267), D. Froehle (273), W. Miller (278)
8th Place:     Michigan   (1105) – D. Hovinen (231), R. Swartz (285), R. Aylesworth (293), R. Deschler (296)
Medalist – Darrell Hovinen and Robert Ritch both shot 72 in the second round.
 
Most Improved Golfer – Mark Venz, who improved 33 strokes (From 282 to 249)
 
The Medalist award goes to the golfer who shot the lowest score in the tournament.  The Most Improved Golfer award goes to the golfer who improved the most from last year.  Only those golfers who scored 299 or better last year are eligible for the award this year.
 
Golfer Shooting His Age – Wilbur Sawhill, 83 years old, shot 83 in the second round.

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