Saturday February 1, 2020
Cowboys Golf Club
An early chill gave way to a beautiful late morning for the inaugural Big Game at Cowboys Golf Club. The field of 80 players took on the only NFL-themed golf club in the world, and some great performances won the day:
Nick Quast had a 2018-19 season for the ages,winning 90% of his 10 starts on the year, with the other finish being a runner-up. Quast started off the 2019-20 campaign in similar fashion on Saturday, firing a 74 to take the Lombardi trophy by two shots. 15 pars helped the Championship flight player on his way to the podium.
It took extra time to settle the Palmer flight, as Scott Harper and Caleb Rowden found themselves knotted at 81 in regulation. In sudden-death, Harper was able to put away his first win of the season with a par on the first extra hole. Persistence was key the entire round for Harper, who was forced to recover from a triple bogey on #1, his second hole of the day.
The Hogan flight was close all the way, with the top five separated by only four shots. Ken Johnson got out of the gate with an opening birdie, and held into the clubhouse on the way to an 80 and his first victory of the year. Clint Dacy matched Johnson's birdie on 17, and nearly his total, but 81 was good for second. Scott Striegel's deuce came at the sixth, as he was one shot further back on the leaderboard. In fourth place, David Short's 84 was enough to win a scorecard playoff over Brian Hebert.
The Sr. Hogan flight was nearly as close. This time, the top three featured just a three-shot spread. John Adams shot 82 to earn third. Jalil Daneshfar, coming off a blowout win at Fossil Creek in December, was able to garner second place honors this time with two birdies and an 80. Making his 2019-20 season debut, Bob Mulligan reigned in his flight with a 79, helped in his cause by two birdies.
The other playoff on Saturday was in the Sarazen flight. After matching 87s, Kevin Crosson and Steven Pond headed back out to the 18th hole to determine a champion. In what would turn out to be a big day on the course for the Crosson family, Kevin earned his first win of the season on the first playoff hole. Limiting big numbers was key, as Crosson was the only Sarazen player without a triple bogey or worse.
The Sr. Sarazen flight went to Steve Killion, who knocked off his first win since April. Killion birdied the challenging second hole on his was to an 83, which bested Andre Fitzatrick by a shot. In third place, and also the Troops First Raffle winner Saturday, was Rodney Wren, whose 86 was highlighted by three birdies.
The Jones flight was the culmination of the banner day for the Crosson family, as Judy shot a remarkable 84 to win by four shots. Crosson played 17 holes at an incredible six over par - and made 11 on the 13th! Still, she claimed the win over Trecia Freeman, whose 88 featured a birdie on number two.
Having not competed on Tour since October, Pete Partain didn't know what to expect after having surgery. What came was a return to form, as the seven-time winner last season notched his first of 2020, shooting 87 to earn a seven-shot victory.
The Snead flight became something of a shootout, with the top two finishers combining for six birdies. Thomas Rauch eventually emerged victorious, as his 91 was enough to edge Annette Crossan and garner his first trophy of 2019-20. Crossan's three birdies helped her a 94 and second place.
The Sr. Snead flight was dominated by a man who's been in dominating form this season. Jack Iglesias has won half his starts this season, and finished second in the other half. 88 was the number on Saturday, as Iglesias notched his sixth win of the young season. Robert Houghton finished second with a 91.