It took until the 54th and final hole to
determine the winner of this year’s Ledgeview
Open Presented by Saputo.
All contestants had to bear the sweltering 35
plus degree heat over three days of championship
golf conditions. At the outset, it was 20 year
old Amateur Jesse Singh from The Redwoods who
led the tournament after 18 holes with an
impressive opening round of 66 and a two shot
lead over Professionals Andrew Smeeth and Matt
Palsenbarg. Day two saw a change in the leader
board as Nationwide Tour member Bryn Parry
charged to front of the pack with a flawless
round of 63, including nine 3’s. At the
conclusion of play, Parry felt he had control of
his ball the entire day, feeling at home as the
heat peaked into the high 30’s by mid day.
Witnesses to Parry’s round felt there could have
been a 59 on the card easily had the putter been
slightly hotter. By the end of day two, Parry
held a two shot lead over Singh who had himself
fired a solid round of 69 to get to -5 for the
tournament.
Along with Parry and Singh, the final
foursome of the tournament was rounded out by
Amateur Lucas Bogdan and defending Champion
Andrew Smeeth, both herald from the Ledgeview
Golf & Country Club. Parry increased his lead
over the first five holes to -10, birdying holes
1, 4 and 5. Meanwhile, Bogdan began his first
five holes with a bogey and four pars, which
appeared to place him out of contention now 8
shots behind the leader with 13 holes to play.
Singh traded off a bogey with a birdie on the
first five holes, and too was way behind, but by
5 shots behind Parry. Smeeth made a solo birdie
on hole five to get to -4, but throughout the
day too many putts slid past the hole. This
would ultimately turn the last 13 holes into a
three man tournament.
By
the turn, things heated up quickly as the
Amateurs made the charge. Bogdan birdied 6, 8
and 9 to move to -5 as Singh birdied 6 and 9 to
get to -6. Parry made his first bogey in 27
holes of the tournament on the 8th hole. Now all
of a sudden Parry’s lead shrank to a mere 3
shots over Singh and 4 over Bogdan.
The next six holes proved to be “a whole lot
of work…..as I was trying to get myself close to
the pin from some wrong places on the golf
course” described Parry. These series of holes
proved spiralling for Parry, with three bogeys
and a double bogey, letting both Singh and
Bogdan back in the game. After Singh’s birdied
10 and 14, and Bogdan parred the first after the
turn, this tournament was now anyone’s to win.
At 16, Singh (-5) now held a one shot lead over
both Parry and Bogdan with only three to play.
After some solid tee and second shots into
the green on the 16th hole, Singh’s putter
caught fire, curling a 12 footer to extend his
lead to 2 over Parry and Bogdan with only 17 and
18 to play. The 126 yard 17th hole plays
anything but simple, particularly with the pin
positioned this final day. Tucked behind the
front bunker, only a foot away from the sloped
front left side, this pin shot called for much
precision. Singh had the honors and although his
shot started at the flag, it hooked and caught
the edge of the green, making for a very tough
up and down from behind the hole. Both Parry and
Bogdan’s shots found the green, but both failed
to capitalize on their birdie attempts. However,
when Singh’s par putt failed to drop, only one
shot separated the three coming down the 18th
and final hole.
With all three players’ tee-shots from the
18th tee safely in play, it was Singh to play
first. He laid his second shot up nicely into
the fairway some 100 yards out. Next up, Bogdan
played a fairway wood up within 30 yards of the
stick. Parry’s intentional play from the tee
down the 16th fairway left him within striking
distance of the green. Struck well, his fairway
shot caught the greenside bunker, leaving him
some 40 feet of green and two swales to traverse
between him and the pin.
Singh
was first to play his 3rd and his shot sailed
right over the pin, but it didn’t come down
until some 10 yards behind the flag, finding the
back bunker. He now faced a difficult
up-and-down to save his par to stay -5. Bogdan
faced a challenging 30 yard pitch shot up and
over a swale and then down to the hole. His
execution was excellent, pitching his shot into
the back slope with just enough spin to move his
ball back to within 8 feet above the hole. This
placed the pressure directly on the shoulders of
Parry with his green-side bunker shot. In order
to get his ball anywhere near the hole, Parry
needed to be very precise. Too far and his ball
would stay up on the top of the green; too
little and he wouldn’t get down the slope to the
hole and leave himself at least 20 feet to go.
Parry held his composure and splashed his ball
all the way past the pin, up the slope exactly
where he had calculated. The shot then came
trickling all the way down the green’s slope and
nestled within 2 feet from the pin for his
birdie! His shot was greeted with a round of
applause from some 50-60 spectators eyeing the
final group’s every move.
When
Singh’s bunker shot rolled 20 feet away from the
pin and both his par putt and bogey putts
missed, he slouched with disappointment as his
chances to capture the championship had faded
away. It was then Bogdan’s chance from 8 feet
above the hole, and although his speed was right
on, his putt didn’t break the way he planned and
slipped by the hole. His par on 18 left him at
-4 for the Championship. When Parry tapped in
for his birdie on 18 to finish at -5, he was
crowned Overall Champion of the 2008 Ledgeview
Open. Bogdan finished second overall in the
Open, which consisted of 30 pros and 130
amateurs, securing the Overall Low Amateur
Title. Singh, at -3 for the Championship,
finished third overall and second Low Amateur –
a great tournament indeed!
At the awards presentations, Ledgeview’s
Master of Ceremonies and winner Bryn Parry both
congratulated Superintendant Chad Burns on the
excellent shape of the Ledgeview Golf Course and
went on to thank the following people and/or
organizations for making this year’s Ledgeview
Open a huge success:
Presenting Sponsor: Saputo
Supporting Sponsors: Bobcat (Dave Holmberg),
The Clarke Group (Fred Clarke), Shakes and Cedar
Products (Kent Gibson) and Erv Froese
All Hole Sponsors: Please visit
www.ledgeviewgolf.com to see all hole
sponsors of this year’s event.
Ledgeview Golf & C.C. Tournament Organizing
Committee and all members who volunteered their
services
Ledgeview G & CC Superintendant: Chad Burns
VGT Live Scoring Services: Heidi Tran, Brian
Small, Bill Schabes and George Sterling
A full account of the player’s scores in all
handicap divisions from Professional to 10 and
over can be found both on the Ledgeview Golf &
Country Club’s website at
www.ledgeviewgolf.com or
click for full
scorecard scores.
Order of Merit Update: Parry’s victory at the
Open vaults him into first place in the VGT
Order of Merit, $1,400 ahead of Guilford’s Dan
Swanson.
Along with Parry and Singh, the final
foursome of the tournament was rounded out by
Amateur Lucas Bogdan and defending Champion
Andrew Smeeth, both herald from the Ledgeview
Golf & Country Club. Parry increased his lead
over the first five holes to -10, birdying holes
1, 4 and 5. Meanwhile, Bogdan began his first
five holes with a bogey and four pars, which
appeared to place him out of contention now 8
shots behind the leader with 13 holes to play.
Singh traded off a bogey with a birdie on the
first five holes, and too was way behind, but by
5 shots behind Parry. Smeeth made a solo birdie
on hole five to get to -4, but throughout the
day too many putts slid past the hole. This
would ultimately turn the last 13 holes into a
three man tournament.
After some solid tee and second shots into
the green on the 16th hole, Singh’s putter
caught fire, curling a 12 footer to extend his
lead to 2 over Parry and Bogdan with only 17 and
18 to play. The 126 yard 17th hole plays
anything but simple, particularly with the pin
positioned this final day. Tucked behind the
front bunker, only a foot away from the sloped
front left side, this pin shot called for much
precision. Singh had the honors and although his
shot started at the flag, it hooked and caught
the edge of the green, making for a very tough
up and down from behind the hole. Both Parry and
Bogdan’s shots found the green, but both failed
to capitalize on their birdie attempts. However,
when Singh’s par putt failed to drop, only one
shot separated the three coming down the 18th
and final hole.
With all three players’ tee-shots from the
18th tee safely in play, it was Singh to play
first. He laid his second shot up nicely into
the fairway some 100 yards out. Next up, Bogdan
played a fairway wood up within 30 yards of the
stick. Parry’s intentional play from the tee
down the 16th fairway left him within striking
distance of the green. Struck well, his fairway
shot caught the greenside bunker, leaving him
some 40 feet of green and two swales to traverse
between him and the pin. 
When
Singh’s bunker shot rolled 20 feet away from the
pin and both his par putt and bogey putts
missed, he slouched with disappointment as his
chances to capture the championship had faded
away. It was then Bogdan’s chance from 8 feet
above the hole, and although his speed was right
on, his putt didn’t break the way he planned and
slipped by the hole. His par on 18 left him at
-4 for the Championship. When Parry tapped in
for his birdie on 18 to finish at -5, he was
crowned Overall Champion of the 2008 Ledgeview
Open. Bogdan finished second overall in the
Open, which consisted of 30 pros and 130
amateurs, securing the Overall Low Amateur
Title. Singh, at -3 for the Championship,
finished third overall and second Low Amateur –
a great tournament indeed!
