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AAA Championship

May 9, 2009

Glendoveer East Golf Course (Portland, OR)

Format:  two-man best ball

Players Score TGS Cup Points
Jeff Albright, Dave Charbonneau 56 32
Andy Rader, Jim Rader 60 26
Tommy Berry, Thatch Moyle 61 23
Larry McKenna, Dann Sonne 61 23
Tim Tyvand, Rich Wold 63 20
Lance Meyerink, Jason Wold 64 18
Sean Ealy, Jake Panowicz 66 15
Jake Miller, Tal Wold 66 15
Dave Adelman, Darren Carlson 67 12
Steve Beal, Dave Epperson 68 10
Charlie Broadfoot, Bryan Norris 69 8
Alan Danner, Donnie Courtney 70 6
Ian Lamont, Kevin Nufer 71 4
Andy Clark, Jason Quick 75 2

East Portland, OR -- The skulls imprinted on the matching shirts worn by Jeff Albright and Dave Charbonneau were intended to intimidate the other players in the field of the 2009 AAA Championship.  If the shirts didn't work, their assault against par at the stately Glendoveer East golf course certainly did the trick.

A beautiful spring day greeted the players and the largest field in the history of the Tailgate State Cup took to the course, anxious about the number of points at stake. 

Tommy Berry and Thatch Moyle got off to the hottest start of any team by making six birdies and an eagle on their first seven holes.  Another birdie on the ninth got them to nine strokes under par and temporary possession of the lead.  Playing alongside Berry and Moyle was the team comprised of Rich Wold and Tim Tyvand.  Wold was under particular scrutiny for his decision to shun Albright as his partner for the high-handicapped (but always dangerous) Tyvand.  His strategy appeared to be working when Tyvand's par on the fifth hole became an ace after his two-stroke adjustment.  An unfortunate bogey on the seventh hole -- followed by pars on eight and nine -- had their team making the turn at four strokes under par. 

The brothers Rader made six birdies on the first nine holes with their playing companions Steve Beal and Dave Epperson carding five to finish at 31 strokes and both teams still in the thick of things.  Albright and Charbonneau matched Berry and Moyle's quick start by making six birdies and two eagles to finish the front nine at ten strokes under par and in the lead.  They held a one shot lead as their group stopped for hot dogs and two beers each to calm the adrenaline pulsing through their veins, knowing that they were in contention at a tournament that could change their lives.

The only team to complete the first half of the round over par was the pairing of Ian Lamont and Kevin Nufer.  Both are relative newcomers to the Tailgate State Cup and had to record an unfortunate quadruple bogey on the par-4 sixth hole that effectively ended their day.  The most puzzling scorecard of the day belonged to the team of Andy Clark and Jason Quick.  Last minute additions to the field, it was thought that they possessed the game to steal the AAA Championship title away from everyone.  Alas, three bogeys on the first nine holes proved to be a hole they could never dig out of and beer became more important than golf as they limped in with four more bogeys on the back side to finish in last place. 

Scores and sphincters tightened up on the back nine holes with only four of the fourteen teams recording a lower score on their second half of the day.  The Raders made a bogey on the tenth hole and Berry and Moyle made their own on eleven to give Albright and Charbonneau a lead (unbeknownst to them) of four shots with six holes left to play.  Their team had made the decision to not reveal their score to other competitors so as not to give notice that a birdie fest was taking place on the grand old dame of Portland golf courses.

Stayton's finest golf pairing of Tal Wold and Jake Miller got a charge with birdies on 10, 11 and 12 but remained stuck in neutral after that and couldn't match the success of the basketball juggernauts they've created in the Santiam Pass.  Dann Sonne and Larry McKenna made a late charge with eagles on 14 and 17 and recorded the low back-nine score of the field by shooting a best-ball 29, eight strokes under par.

The day belonged to Albright and Charbonneau, however, as they made seven more birdies on the back nine to finish their round at an astounding 17 strokes below par and four shots better than the Rader brothers.  Albright fired a career best two-under par and Charbonneau just missed his best score ever with an 89.  Their win awarded them a record 32 points in the Tailgate State Cup standings.  A solid performance by McKenna keeps him in first place, though, in what is shaping up to be the most hotly contested race for points this fledging confederation of players has seen yet.