Aurora, OH- The Golf Channel Am Tour of Cleveland wanted to put Aurora Country Club on its schedule quickly after it had changed hands and went from a private club to a public one. Little did it know how difficult it was to finally get it on the schedule. After technical difficulties prevented it from being on the schedule earlier in the 2011 season, it was finally added to the schedule August 6th and the weather held perfect for the early morning tournament. After a previous couple of days of heavy rain, the course was still very wet as they had taken on about 4 inches in the last week, neverless the 28 players were ready for a challenge.
In the Palmer flight, it was Ben Lehrke who shot an 80 to take the trophy winning by 6 shots over John Smallenburg (86). James Brundage finished in 3rd place shooting a 93. Lehrke shot an even par 36 on the front nine with 2 birdies and coasted to the end holding his 6 shot lead.
In the Hogan flight, Michael Sylvia shot a winning 83 to fend off tough comeptition from both Dale Thompson and Brandon Wang who tied for 2nd at 84. Sylvia playing his 1st tournament on the Cleveland Tour made it successful by comming back from a 5-stroke defecit on the back nine spurred by a birdie on the 15th hole that ultimately gave him the 2-shot swing to take the lead from Thompson and the win.
Another close battle was staged in the Sarazen flight as Charles Blasdel shot 80 to fend off another tie for 2nd 1-stroke back between Christopher Ramaglia and Charles Worth Jr. The tournament was ultimately staged between the last 4 holes as Ramaglia held a 1-stroke lead on Blasdel and Worth. Blasdel made par on all 4 holes, Worth bogied 15, and Ramaglia bogied 2 of the final 4 holes to decide the title. It was a great finish on the challenging holes.
And in the Jones flight to round out the competition, Russ Hittle got out to a quick start to his round and led by 4 shots early. Making 2 birdies on his card en route to an 82 allowed him to hold on for a 4-stroke victory over Scott Cummings (86) and a 2-way tie for 3rd place between Charles Dozier and Pat Herron (90).
It was a fun tournament for all as many have liked playing the course at Aurora Country Club, but perhaps the most fun was from Matt Blum who really stood the test of time. His 2nd ever round of golf was played on the back nine at Aurora Country Club 25 years prior. He then carded an 86 ONLY ON THE BACK NINE! Today, he carded an 86 on the full 18-hole course. What a test of time for both him and the course.
Only 1 tournament remains in the regular season as we move to Chardon Lakes Golf Club Sunday, August 21st for the last event before the Tour Championship at Avalon Lakes the next Saturday. Please come and enjoy these last 2 remaining courses on our schedule.
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