When it's all said and done, Tedesco Country Club might have to rename the club championship trophy after Cy Kilgore.
Kilgore captured his 15th Tedesco club championship yesterday by firing a final round 77. His three-day total of 221 (74-70-77) was three shots better than runner-up Tom Collins (76-72-76).
"Every year the competition gets young and I get a little older," Kilgore said. "I was really nervous all day, even though I've been through it enough. It's just fun to compete though. Both Tommy and Brad Tufts (who joined Kilgore in the final threesome) are very talented golfers. It was a grind all day. None of us played well on the front side. The course played hard."
The difficulty of the course, plus the pressure of competing for a championship pushed the final round scores up, according to Kilgore.
"It's amateur golf and we're playing for the third day in a row. Professionals can do it, but it's hard," Kilgore said. "The winds were swirly, the greens were a little quicker and the pins were tough. It's the last day too, and you want to win. That makes you play a little defensive sometimes. A lot of us were coming up short with putts, where we were more aggressive in the first two rounds."
Kilgore couldn't relax until the final hole.
"On the 18th tee I felt comfortable. I had a three-shot lead and I knew all I had to do was make bogey and even if (Tom) made birdie, I'd still win by a shot," Kilgore said. "I hadn't made a double (bogey) all tournament. I ended up hitting it close and made a routine par. That made it a nice ending."
Tedesco Country Club victory No. 15 may have ended, but there is not finish line in sight for Kilgore this season.
He missed the cut for the state amateur tournament, but he will be playing in the New England Amateur and Ouimet Invitational. The 54-year-old Kilgore also has some senior events lined up, notably the United States Senior Amateur qualifier, which will be held on Aug. 25 at Tedesco.
"You're dead longer than you are alive, so while I'm here I'm going to play as much as I can," Kilgore said. "If you don't have a knot in your stomach, then it's probably not worth playing."
Kernwood Country Club
The Kernwood men's member-member concluded this weekend with champions being crowned in eight flights. David Bossman and Jonathan Yorks won the first flight, while the following teams captured flights two through eight (in successive order): Brian Moore and Michael Finn; Tom O'Connor and Rich Kane; John Pariseau and Kirk Vitello; Vinny Lloyd and Terry Garfinkle; Robert Salter and Peter Dusseault; Lou Brown and Arthur Schwartz; and, Skip Cutrell and Don Fournier.
Salem Country Club
As you might expect, the Salem Country Club's Hullaballoo didn't go down quietly.
Member Bob White and his guest Peter Dalton were crowned champions with a plus-14 in a quota system. Technically, they were not alone at the top. Bill Leaver and Dave McKechnie also came in with a plus-14, but were deemed runners-up with a 36-hole match of cards.
In total, 106 teams played with 212 players.
Ferncroft Country Club
Mark Sampson and Joe O'Connor won the White flight at the men's member-member at Ferncroft this week with a plus-7 in a point quota system. Peter Bryson and Lee Grasso took second with a plus-2. In the Blue flight, Mark Singer and Jack Evans won with a plus-1, with Mike Holbrook and Dennis Pellecchia taking second with a minus-3.
