Rader Round-up

Player	Gross score	Handicap	Net score	Best ball	Worst ball	Net ball	Total	Points
Brett Hamel	79	7	72	-3	+4	-2	-1	17.5
Mark Buckwald	73	1	72	-3	+3	-1	-1	17.5
Tim Tyvand	99	28	71	-7	+6	+1	E	14
Jason Wold	75	5	70	-4	+4	+1	+1	13
Ian Lamont	89	14	75	-3	+4	+1	+2	11.5
Jeff Albright	82	10	72	-6	+6	+2	+2	11.5
Rich Wold	85	14	71	-3	+4	+2	+3	10
Tommy Berry	89	12	77	-7	+6	+5	+4	9
Eric Brosterhous	94	9	85	-6	+8	+5	+7	8
Jim Rader	98	21	77	E	+5	+3	+8	7
Andy Rader	94	16	78	-3	+5	+8	+10	6
Tim Hartnett	92	14	78	-3	+10	+4	+11	5
Charlie Broadfoot	92	10	82	-4	+5	+11	+12	4
Darren Carlson	116	23	93	-3	+9	+7	+13	2.5
Steve Beal	109	25	84	E	+9	+4	+13	2.5
Steve Tuebner	124	28	96	-3	+11	+16	+24	1

North Plains, OR -- First off the tee were three tour regulars: Rich Wold, Ian Lamont, Steve Tuebner and a new comer to the tour Tim Hartnett. Rich starts out hot with a net eagle on the first hole while his partner Ian goes along for the ride. In the end, neither of these two can complete the picture and end up middle of the pack. Tim and Steve on the other hand have a slow start and continue to feather the gas pedal. As a seasoned member of the course, Tim is able to hold on to the rear of the pack while Tuebner falls of the pace, decidedly takes last place and in fact crossed the finish line after everyone had already gone home. This tiresome competitor is working diligently on his game so expect to see him back on the tour with a vengeance.

The second group held the jovial foursome of Mark Buckwald, Steve Beal, Andy Rader and Jim Rader. Do to the notorious slow play of Beal and elder Rader, this group immediately falls a hole off the pace; yet spirits stay high until worst ball. At this time, Andy and Steve make a critical error in judgment during their worst ball partner selection and pass up Mark, the scratch golfer in the group. Instead they settle on the tourney host, sporting a 22 handicap. With plenty of strokes, Jim holds onto a couple pars, then come the doubles. A telling sign that things have gone awry is when Andy Rader turns to his elder brother and accuses his elder of intentionally getting doubles as part of a conspiracy to keep him out of the winners circle. Meanwhile Mark picks the younger Rader and comes through the worst ball relatively unscathed. Not surprisingly, Mark rides this momentum straight to the winners circle! Before the day was done Mark shared the #1 spot with last years overall winner Brett Hamel. This is Mark’s second win on tour this year and puts Mark in good position in this years overall quest. Though Mark was overheard saying that regardless of any future wins, the Roundup Championship will surely be the highlight of his career.

The third group was comprised of many previous Roundup winners and also included the tourney host ... wait, that’s not Jim Rader, that’s Jeff Albright! The coordinated outfits of these two had many doing double takes. There are rumors of negotiations for a doublemint gum ad. While nearly identical in wardrobe and stature, Jeff Albright differentiated himself with a solid start. Showing that he was there to defend his 2009 Roundup title, Jeff kept his score low ... that is until worst ball had Jeff limping to a mediocre finish. Meanwhile, Tim Tyvand -- the 2008 Roundup Champion -- not so quietly made his move towards repeating his win. As the most popular player on tour, Tyvand was reportedly followed by a large gallery. Through seventeen holes Tim had a commanding lead. It looked like he had the tour win in his pocket, when -- on the 18th hole -- an over exuberant fan jumped on Tim in his backswing. This resulted in a crushing triple bogey and a fall from grace. Tim did hold onto 2nd place and to his large fan base. Not to be forgotten and not far off the pace was Tommy Berry, a man who finished #2 and #3 in previous roundups. Looking to add a #1 spot to his finishes in this prestigious event, Tommy came to play. A net eagle on the first hole put him in position; but, a double only three holes later was followed by a triple. What ended this man’s drive for a top spot was the TEN on the first hole of individual play. Maybe next year Tommy. With two champions and a twice top finisher this foursome was missing nothing but perhaps Kevin Harris (2007 Roundup champion). Channeling Kevin Harris was Eric Brosterhous; while not willing to pound two pints of vodka during the eighteen holes, he did bring the same championship attitude. This attitude only lasted so long though and Eric’s three triples on the back left some wondering if he did in fact break into the vodka.

The last group sported the foursome of Jason Wold, Charlie Broadfoot, Brett Hamel and Darren Carlson. Relative newcomer Darren Carlson was fortunate enough to pair up with last years overall champion Brett Hamel. This puts the young man in the catbird seat and he chose to use his good fortune to put up 11s on two holes. The addition of four snow men took the air out of the sails and the gas out of the engine. A close call but Darren lives through the struggle to play another day. On the other hand, Jason Wold played with unbelievable consistency and grace, leaving him with an independent 75 gross score (second only to Buckwald’s 73). Unfortunately, the format and related math were too much for this great golfer and his scorecard was unable to put him in the group of top finishers. Wold’s partner in the best ball, Charlie Broadfoot also had a consistent start. Charlie stays close to the leaders but quads on three of the last four holes left him feeling like he just had a date with a 52 year old meth addict.

This brings us to Brett Hamel, a man who twice finished 2nd in previous roundups and hungry to finish in the top spot. Recognized as a bad seed on tour (note last years overall title stolen from Jim Rader), Hamel is still able to maintain a nearly flawless game. In the end, Brett masters the format, successfully navigates the course and sails to a #1 finish and to his share of the victory circle with Mark Buckwald. Does anyone smell a repeat on the overall tourney finish this year?