Cooling off with a quick swim, Charlie Capute and David Pyles obliged the sun-baked fan gallery and dove into The Valley Club lake near the 18th hole to celebrate their "Moose Madness" moose chase victory Saturday afternoon.
They didn't hesitate at all.
Finishing their five-hole elimination tour with a five on the par 4 18th minus a stroke for net four, Capute and Pyles emerged as the overall champs of the 16-team, 32-player moose chase held for three hours on holes 9, 10, 11, 17 and 18.
They won $250 each plus the silver moose trophies going to the champions of The Valley Club's 10th annual Member-Guest tournament covering three days of golf. A record 84 twosomes and 168 players teed it up, head pro Stoney Brown said.
Second place in the moose chase and $150 each went to Curtis Gardner and Bob McHugh, who carded a five without a stroke on the final hole. They lost by a stroke, but at least didn't have to dive into the lake.
Winning third place and $75 each were Edward Karner and John Miller. The fourth-place finishers were Todd Martin and Mike Abaid.
Each twosome in the tournament played five nine-hole matches Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning. The winning teams from each of 14 flights plus two wild card teams qualified for Saturday's moose chase.
The moose chase featured alternate-shot play on five holes. Of course there was some friendly wagering involved and the payoffs were substantial for the owners of the top four teams in the moose chase.
Here's your summary:
Wade Hampton (N.C.) Flight: 1—Dick Shelton-Tom Bruett 28.5 points ($100 each). 2—John Shaw-Chris Pippin 26 ($50). 3—John Walecka-Geoff Yang 25.5. 4—Ken Ward-John Manocheo 25. 5—Richard Emery-Rich Emery II 24. 6—David Ward-Ron Slocum 21.
Shadow Creek (Nev.) Flight: 1—Sean Terry-Buzz Franklin 29.5 points ($100 each). 2—Jamie Everitt-Paul Herzog 26 ($50). 3—Doug Manchester-Bob Hallock, Roger Miller-Louie d'Ambrosia 25 each. 5—Ron Fields-Jeff Fields 24.5. 6—Bill Norris-Sam Williams 20.
Victoria National (In.) Flight: 1—Jack Dies-Gary Hirst 30 points (chip-off win for $100 each). 2—John Shoemaker-Scott Warren 30 ($50). 3—David Rognlien-Garry Pearson 26. 4—David Hennessy-Jeff Russell 25. 5—Richard Toomey-Jeff Lawn, Steve Miner-Garrett Goldberg 19.5 each.
Butler National (Ill.) Flight: 1—Curtis Gardner-Bob McHugh 31.5 points ($100 each). 2—Kevin Cincotta-Brian Cincotta 29 ($50). 3—Jerry Boas-Bob Phillips 27.5. 4—Philip Silver-Peter Passaro 22.5. 5—John Murray-Hugh Klein 20.5. 6—Blair Hull-Adi Erber 19.
Flint Hills (Ks.) Flight: 1—Geoff Tickner-Jeff Currie 29 points (won head-to-head match for $100 each). 2—Earl Cohen-Chris Hughes 29 ($50). 3—Bruce Kaplan-Mickey Sanderman 27.5. 4—Jeff Mansoor-Daniel Phelps 24.5. 5—Phil Hebert-Robert Harkness 23.5. 6—Gene Holman-Allan Murfee 16.5.
Sand Ridge (Ohio) Flight: 1—John Baker-Charlie Mills 33 points ($100 each). 2—Henry Burdick-Dick Bermingham 31 ($50). 3—Bob Lane-Rich Hormaechea 29. 4—Hal Anawalt-Jim Anawalt 21.5. 5—Michael Jones-Travis White 19.5. 6—David Wilson-David Lagasse 16.
The Quarry (Ca.) Flight: 1—Edward Karner-John Miller 34 points ($100 each). 2—Jamie Coulter-Jim Coulter 27 ($50). 3—Philip O'Reilly-Steve Daffer 24. 4—David Squier-Gary Oakley 23.5. 5—Rod LeMense-Bill Bunker 21. 6—David Almond-Peter Mansfield 20.5
Dallas National (Tex.) Flight: 1—Todd Martin-Mike Abaid 36.5 points ($100 each). 2—David Berman-Harry Schrieber 26 ($50). 3—Mitch Milias-John Wallace 24.5. 4—Brian Seethaler-Stephen Bamberger 22. 5—Todd Peebler-Michael Lindley 21. 6—Gary Cooley-Aaron Cooley 19.5.
Estancia (Az.) Flight: 1—Lou Mace-Sid Mace 30 points (won head-to-head match for $100 each) .2—Jeffrey Lohmann-Armand Poole 30 ($50). 3—Ron Sali-Michael Thompson 27. 4—Chris Stephens-Ken Herich 23. 5—Doug Gilmour-Gregg Smith 21.5. 6—Richard Elliott-Terry Toner 18.5.
Sage Valley (S.C.) Flight: 1—Dick Wetherell-Jack Jackson 32 points ($100 each). 2—Jay Cassell-Dave Brown 30 ($50). 3—Scott Lucas-Dave Ferguson 29.5. 4—Alan Pesky-Stan Joseph 24.5. 5—Harold Tollerup-Don Cornett 18.5. 6—Dick Hare-Tom Voulgares 15.5.
The Preserve (Ca.) Flight: 1—John Haskell-Mark "Bud" Reid 31.5 points ($100 each). 2—William Pierpoint-Allan Kessler 27.5 ($50). 3—Brian McCoy-Wilford Smith 27. 4—Doug Rhymes-Austin Reid 23. 5—Hayward Sawyer-D.J. Hart 20.5. 6—Ken Rohl-Ted Witt 20.
Black Diamond (Fla.) Flight: 1—David Pyles-Charlie Capute 32 points ($100 each). 2—Rob Reeves-Fritz Peters 31.5 ($50). 3—Ned Sachs-Skip Becker 27.5. 4—Jack Hoffman-Keith Zaky 25. 5—Jeff Rust-Lyman Rust 19.5. 6—Bob Cline-Paul Barnett 14.5.
Hudson National (N.Y.) Flight: 1—Greg Swink-Bryan Bailey 31 points ($100 each). 2—Thomas Flynn-Billy Flynn 27.5 ($50). 3—Larry Helzel-Bob Pincus 26. 4—William Hill-Fred Stolle 25.5. 5—Ron Fairfax-Alan Gelet 21.5. 6—Woody Friedlander-Rob Grundy 18.5
Galloway National (N.J.) Flight: 1—Henry Dean-Rick Kessler 35 points ($100 each). 2—Jim Britt-Kip Ingham 28.5 ($50). 3—Ron Brown-Ryan Brown 26. 4—Nacho Lozano-Byron Batcheller 22. 5—Charles Peebler-William King 20. 6—Glyn Harris-Randy Smith 18.5.
Putting champions: Kevin Cincotta and Brian Cincotta 8 putts.
Chipping champion: Rich Hormaechea 17 inches.
Most Prodigious Drive: Armand Poole on #7 (trophy).
Straightest Drive: Byron Batcheller on #10 (trophy).
Closest to the hole ($25 each): Dick Shelton on #2, D.J. Hart #6, Skip Becker #13, Bryan Bailey #16.
Charlie Capute (left) and David Pyles have that clinging wet knit shirt feeling?but it's a good feeling?after diving into the Valley Club lake near hole #18 to celebrate their "Moose Madness" moose race triumph Saturday. Express photo by Jeff Cordes
