When Dick Toomey of Ketchum won the first Moose Madness golf tournament at the newly opened Valley Club in 1996, he said he remembered his prize as being a "tin cup."
Of course it was more like a nice little pewter bowl that Toomey and his brother Jim Toomey won for taking first place in the club's first-ever Men's Member-Guest tourney.
Since that year, the Toomey brothers have played together each year except one in the Moose Madness meet. It has become the highlight of the club's tournament summer—the "biggie," in the words of golf director Stoney Brown.
Yet it wasn't until last Saturday afternoon, with the blustery weather kicking up high winds and rain, that Dick and Jim Toomey were able to take home the nicely appointed silver "Moose" trophies that now are given to the champions.
Dick Toomey, 73, and Jim Toomey, 66, won the 10-team Moose Rut elimination of the 17th annual Moose Madness Men's Member-Guest golf tournament at The Valley Club.
They defeated Todd Peebler and Jimmy Crumpacker on the final hole of the five-hole Moose Rut shootout. It wrapped up an exciting three days of tournament action featuring 57 twosomes and 114 players.
Following the five, nine-hole matches played Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the 10 flight winners advanced to Saturday afternoon's five-hole Moose Rut in which the high-scoring teams were eliminated by hole.
Only two twosomes—the Toomeys and Peebler-Crumpacker—remained alive on the North Course 386-yard No. 9 hole for the decider.
South in Hailey, there were torrential rains. At the Valley Club, it didn't rain but the wind was definitely a factor.
Using a driver, Dick Toomey stuck his tee shot 200 yards down the left side, safely in the fairway. In contrast, Peebler and Crumpacker started a troublesome journey toward the final green that included visits to water, weeds and finally to a greenside bunker.
The picture of calm, Jim Toomey from Oro Valley Country Club in Tucson, Az. took some advice from his older brother and pulled a 4-hybrid club out of his bag. "It's my favorite club," Jim later said.
Dick recalled, "He had about 160 to 175 yards left to the green. I told him it was at least a two-club wind in his face."
Jim figured his distance to be about 195 yards and gave the 4-hybrid a good whack. The ball knifed through the stiff breeze and settled down softly on the green, 16 feet away. And backers of the Toomeys in the Moose Madness pool started calculating their winnings.
"My wife won't believe this," said Jim Toomey after Peebler and Crumpacker conceded and he received his silver trophy from Valley Club head golf professional Jaime Sharp.
You might remember the plight of runner-up Peebler in March, who survived a near-fatal three-day trek through deep snow and cold water while lost in the winter wilderness northeast of Sun Valley.
As club member Phil O'Reilly said afterward, "Todd will surely take second place after what he went through."
In third place for the shootout were Mike Quinn and Rich Fabiano. Tying for fourth place were the teams of Chris Stephens and Ken Herich, Jeffrey Mansoor and Gary Wolff.
The tournament included a par-3 contest in two flights.
Tying for first place among 16 teams in Moose Flights 1-5 were the twosomes of Jeffrey Batt-Gary Morgan and Jack Dies-Mike Pirzynski, each team winning $225 for scores of 23.
Tying for third place and $60 apiece in merchandise were Kurt Funkhouser-Billy Neal and Papa Doug Manchester-Rich Logan, each team with 25.
Deadlocked for first among 15 teams in Moose Flights 6-10 were David Rose-Jack Dell and Chris Stephens-Ken Herich, each winning $225 for scores of 23. In third for $120 were Ron Fairfax-Mike Beck, 25.
Saturday night's Putting Skills Challenge ended with Kurt Funkhouser putting the closest to the pin from 50 feet and winning first-place $230 money with partner Billy Neal.
Other teams in the top four for the Putting Challenge were: Ron Fairfax-Mike Beck, Jeff Rust-Lyman Rust, and John Shoemaker-Pat Bauman.
Here are results of the 10 flights in best ball, round-robin play Thursday through Saturday (Valley Club member listed first in twosomes):
Wade Hampton (North Carolina): 1—Jeffrey Mansoor and Gary Wolff 26 points. 2—John Wolcott and Craig Hofman 23.5. 3—Doug Bryan and Stewart Karstens 22.5. 4—Sean Terry and Buz Franklin 22. 5—Jack Dies and Mike Pirzynski 21. 6—Kurt Funkhouser and Billy Neal 20.
Shadow Creek (Nevada): 1—Thomas Schriber and Kevin Murphy 26 points. 2 (tie)—Phil O'Reilly and Rick Satava 24.5, and Chris Gardner and Tom Bancroft 24.5. 4—Papa Doug Manchester and Rich Logan 21.5. 5—William Potter and J. William Brammer 18. 6—Latham Williams and Mark Meisenbach 17.5.
Victoria National (Indiana): 1—Dick Toomey and Jim Toomey 27 points. 2—Paul Hartzell and Greg Falkenbach 24.5. 3—Mike O'Neil and Paul Hazelrig 22.5. 4—Mitch Milias and Sean Ryan 21.5. 5—Jim Somers and Dick Fyke 20.5.
Butler National (Illinois): 1—John Shoemaker and Pat Bauman 26.5 points. 2—Marty Albertson and Jack Douglass 25. 3—Dennis Kavanagh and Roger Anderson 23. 4—Jeffrey Batt and Gary Morgan 22.5. 5—David Almond and Penn Siegel 21.5. 6—Gerald Boas and Bob Phillips 16.5.
Flint Hills (Kansas): 1—Todd Peebler and Jimmy Crumpacker 28.5 points. 2—Mike Quinn and Rich Fabiano 25.5. 3—Jim Cannavino and Rich Cannavino 23. 4—Gary Crowe and Gerry Riggs 22.5. 5—Charlie Potter and Daniel Hughes 18.
Sand Ridge (Ohio): 1—Steve Rose and Scott Ehlen 27.5 points. 2—Jeff Jeffrey and Stephen Jeffrey 23. 3 (tie)—James Daniels and Terry Daniels 22.5, and Roger Miller and Louie D'Ambrosio 22.5. 5—Chris Leady and F. Roger Brown 20. 6—David Rose and Jack Dell 19.5.
Quarry (California): 1—Chris Stephens and Ken Herich 28 points. 2—Jamie Will and James Gallagher 26. 3—Ron Fairfax and Mike Beck 24. 4 (tie)—Tom Tierney and Tom Tierney 22.5, and Hanley Dawson III and Bud Furman 22.5.
Dallas National (Texas): 1—Peter Gaasland and Phil Greenman 26 points. 2—Blair Hull and Jim Lodas 25. 3—Paul Willis and Thomas Stark 24. 4—Ken McCann and Larry Hodge 23.5. 5—Ed Sinnott and Norman Kenyon 21. 6—Dave Wilson and Paul Kenny 15.5.
Estancia (Arizona): 1—Tullio Celano and Larry Honchen 26.5 points. 2—Lou Mace and Sid Mace 25. 3—Jay Cassell and David Brown 23.5. 4—Walter Teagle III and Chad Weiss 23. 5—Al Shoemaker and John Marion 21. 6—Jeff Rust and Lyman Rust 16.
Sage Valley (South Carolina): 1—William Hill and Richard Brown 25 points. 2—William Pierpoint and Chuck Yates 23.5. 3 (tie)—Jeff Lohmann and Armand Poole 23, and Anthony Moiso and Joe Cannon 23. 5—Dean Hovencamp and David Kempken 21.5. 6—James Britt and Murray Campbell 19.
The Moose Madness runner-up team of Todd Peebler (left) and Jimmy Crumpacker. Photo by Jeff Cordes
