Defending champs three-peat at Nevada Country Club

Wednesday, June 18, 2003

The Nevada Country Club held its annual Four-Ball Invitational Tournament last weekend. Sixty-two two-man teams teed off on Saturday in the 36-hole event, which wrapped up on Sunday. The team of Kevin Triplett of Grand Junction, Colo., and Steve Swander of Craig, Colo., successfully defended its 2002 title with a victory in the championship flight. Triplett and Swander, who also won in 2001, made it three straight with scores of 65-66 -- 131, for a two-shot margin over runners-up John Berglund of Orange, Cal., and Don Poole of Kansas City, Mo. However, Berglund and Poole closed with a rush, firing a sizzling 61 -- the tournament's low round -- on Sunday, after opening with a mediocre 72 on Saturday. It was Triplett and Swander's fourth win, overall, as they captured the championship in 1998, as well. Top local finishers in the championship flight were three-time champions David Ferry and Mike Cragin, of Nevada, who shot 67-67 -- 134 for third place, while another Nevada duo, Larry McCord and Chris Ellis, placed fourth with rounds of 68-67 -- 135. Former champion Jeff Benbrook teamed with John Swearingen of Sedalia, Mo., for fifth place. They posted rounds of 68-68 -- 136. Actually, three teams tied at 136. Recently graduated Nevada High School golfer Scott Benbrook and his senior-to-be teammate Logan McCord and the team of Joe Swearingen of Nevada and Jon Rost of Jefferson City, Mo. also scored 136's. A scorecard playoff determined the winner. Jeff Benbrook and Ferry, incidentally, are the all-time winningest team with eight victories since the event's inception in 1970. Mark McNelly and Scott Chandler, both from Kansas City, Mo., claimed the A flight championship with scores of 68-71 -- 139. A pair of Nevadans, Lyndon Greenlee and Bill Hardin, captured the B flight championship, shooting rounds of 70-78 -- 148. David Swearingen and Bob Triplett, also Nevada residents, shot 74-82 for a 156 total to top C flight competition. On Friday, a prelim to the weekend action featured a golf competition known as a horse race. Comprised of 13 teams, the group with the highest score is eliminated on each subsequent hole until the field is trimmed to the final three teams -- win, place and show. The team of Chad Jones of Fayetteville, Ark., and Chris Smith of Warrensburg, Mo., won the horse race, while championship flight winners Triplett and Swander, finished in the money with a place. Berglund and Poole, championship flight runners-up, showed. Top five finishers in all divisions (Asterisk (*) denotes playoff winner) Championship flight 1. Triplett/Swander, 65-66 -- 131. 2. Poole/Berglund, 72-61 -- 133. 3. Ferry/Cragin, 67-67 -- 134. 4. McCord/Ellis, 68-67 -- 135. 5. Benbrook/Swearingen, 68-68 -- 136.* A flight 1. McNelly/Chandler, 68-71 -- 139. 2. Ron Smith (Nevada)/Jeff Smith (Nevada), 69-71 -- 140. 3. John Ullman (Nevada)/Ron Herstein (Nevada), 70-71 -- 141. 4. Butch Markham (Carl Junction, Mo.)/Tyson Markham (Chicago, Ill.), 70-73 -- 143. 5. Randy Gammon (Nevada)/Dan Davis (Nevada), 72-72 -- 144. B flight 1. Greenlee/Hardin, 70-78 -- 148. 2. Mark Constance (Blue Springs, Mo.)/Corey Owen (Independence, Mo.), 76-77 -- 153.* 3. David Cherry (Ozark, Mo.)/Mike Hayworth (Springfield, Mo.), 75-78 -- 153. 4. Pat Grothaus (Nevada)/Robert Krish (Nevada), 75-79 -- 154. 5. Bob Edinger (Kansas City, Mo.)/Woody Johnston (Kansas City, Mo.), 77-78 -- 155. C flight 1. Swearingen/Triplett, 74-82 -- 156. 2. Rick Peckman (Nevada)/Tim Mohrmann (Nevada), 73-85 -- 158. 3. Bob Wilson (Nevada)/Bob Walster (Mt. Vernon, Mo.), 80-84 -- 164.* 4. Alan Leimkuehler (Nevada)/Brian Atkinson (Parkville, Mo.), 81-83 -- 164. 5. Jim Swearingen (Leawood, Kan.)/Dave Swearingen (Olathe, Kan.), 82-83 -- 165.

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