“May madness” is underway at Locust Hill Country Club as 32 of the top-ranked players in the Rochester District Golf Association teed it up in the first and second rounds of the 2014 RDGA Match Play Championship on Thursday, May 22.
As the RDGA’s premier annual match play event, contestants were seeded in order of the final point standings from the 2013 season. Those players who were unable to compete – such as defending champion Gavin Hall – were replaced in the seeding order by the player next in line on the point standings. The final field was then established in a single-elimination bracket.
Thursday’s first round of 32 witnessed few “bracket busters,” with No. 26 seed Sean Flint’s (Midvale Country Club) 1-up decision over No. 7 seed Shane Gleason (Brookwoods Country Club) being the biggest “upset” among the 16 matches of Round 1. The next biggest first round upset was No. 22 Ben Hauser edging No. 11 (fellow Webster Golf Club member and owner) Colm Murphy, 1-up in 19 holes.
Among the top seeds, No. 1 Jim Scorse of Stafford scored a 5-and-4 victory over fellow Stafford member Marc Staley; No. 2 Chris Blyth of Monroe Golf Club narrowly defeated No. 31 Rob Smith of Clifton Springs Country Club, 1-up; No. 3 Shane Dobesh from Penfield Country Club defeated RDGA eClub member, No. 30, Bryan Savage, 7-and-6; and No. 4 Larry Sand of Irondequoit Country Club defeated No. 29 Ken Seibold of Brookwoods by a 2-and-1 decision.
The “sweet 16” second round got under way Thursday afternoon, and once again, only a few upsets were recorded. One of those upsets, however, occurred to No. 4 Larry Sand, who was defeated by No. 20, James Mason of Oak Hill Country Club, by a 6-and-5 decision. Interestingly, the two players who recorded the biggest upsets of Round 1 continued their winning ways in Round 2, with Midvale’s Flint (No. 26) defeating No. 10 Darren Ressler of Oak Hill, 2-and-1, and Webster’s Hauser (No. 22) defeating No. 6 Ryan Glazer (an RDGA eClub member), 5-and-4.
With the top-3 seeds (Scorse, Blyth and Dobesh) still alive after the first two rounds, Day 2 of the 2014 RDGA Match Play Championship at Locust Hill on Friday will feature both the Quarter Final and Semi Final rounds, which will bring the field down from 8 players to 4, then from 4 to the final two. The remaining two competitors will then compete in the RDGA Match Play finals on Saturday morning, beginning at 10 a.m.
To follow all the RDGA Match Play Championship action, brackets can be found here:
http://rdga.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/rdga14/event/rdga144/contest/8/leaderboard.htm
Results from Rounds 1 and 2 of the 2014 RDGA Match Play Championship:
Round 1
No. 1 Jim Scorse (Stafford) d. No. 32 Marc Staley (Stafford), 5-and-4
No. 16 Jon Pecor (Eagle Vale) d. No. 17 Bob Weston (Blue Heron Hills), 4-and-3
No. 8 Chris Agostinelli (CCR) d. No. 25 Joe Wilson (CCR), 4-and-3
No. 9 Paul Parrone (Midvale) d. No. 24 Wade Sarkis (Canandaigua), 3-and-2
No. 4 Larry Sand (Irondequoit) d. No. 29 Ken Seibold (Brookwoods), 2-and-1
No. 20 James Mason (Oak Hill) d. No. 13 Kevin Peters (Centerpointe), 7-and-6
No. 5 Michael Rogers (Stafford) d. No. 28 Chris Sorci (RDGA eClub), 3-and-2
No. 12 Blake Gianniny (CCR) d. Jacob Reimer (RDGA eClub), 3-and-1
No. 2 Chris Blyth (Monroe) d. No. 31 Rob Smith (Clifton Springs), 1-up
No. 18 Bob Chalanick (Ravenwood) d. No. 15 Steve Fisher (Sodus Bay Heights), 1-up
No. 26 Sean Flint (Midvale) d. No. 7 Shane Gleason (Brookwoods), 1-up
No. 10 Darren Ressler (Oak Hill) d. No. 23 Shawn Baker (Oak Hill), 1-up, 19 holes
No. 3 Shane Dobesh (Penfield) d. No. 30 Bryan Savage (RDGA eClub), 7-and-6
No. 14 Kevin Thornton (Genesee Valley) d. No. 19 Matthew DeJohn (Clifton Springs), 4-and-3
No. 6 Ryan Glazer (RDGA eClub) d. No. 27 Zach Hicks (Mendon), 2-and-1
No. 22 Ben Hauser (Webster) d. No. 11 Colm Murphy (Webster), 1-up, 19 holes
Round 2
No. 1 Jim Scorse (Stafford) d. No. 16 Jon Pecor (Eagle Vale), 5-and-4
No. 8 Chris Agostinelli (CCR) d. No. 9 Paul Parrone (Midvale), 3-and-1
No. 20 James Mason (Oak Hill) d. No. 4 Larry Sand (Irondequoit), 6-and-5
No. 12 Blake Gianniny (CCR) d. No. 5 Michael Rogers (Stafford), 2-and-1
No. 2 Chris Blyth (Monroe) d. No. 18 Bob Chalanick (Ravenwood), 5-and-4
No. 26 Sean Flint (Midvale) d. No. 10 Darren Ressler (Oak Hill), 2-and-1
No. 3 Shane Dobesh (Penfield) d. No. 14 Kevin Thornton (Genesee Valley), 5-and-4
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