Top Gun - Dave Maxwell victorious in 4-way sudden death playoff

What a finish!

The semi-final round saw JY Lee and Justin Lazaruk win their respective groups. 2nd place in both groups both had to go to tiebreaker to be decided (best score on 6th hole, then 4th, then 8th, then 5th, then 7th, then ...), with Bob Reynolds beating out Jeff Schnur by a stroke on the 6th hole and Dave beating Craig Barber by a stroke on the 4th (since they pushed on the 6th).

In the finals, played on the back 9, Bob and Justin started out slow but Bob quickly made up for it by winning 6 points on the 11th and 12th holes, momentarily taking the lead from Dave. JY parred the long par 3 13th to grab that 1st place spot before the 3 pulled even on the 14th, with Justin trailing but able to keep pace after the slow start. Dave knocked in a birdie on the 15th to pull ahead (I'd love hear about what happened on this hole), but was unable to negotiate the two big doglegs at 16 and 17, falling back to a tie for 3rd with Justin, who just wouldn't go away. Meanwhile, Bob and JY both played the doglegs nicely and just two points separated them going into the 18th, with Bob carrying the tenuous lead. On this supposed final hole, Dave clanked it in for par and Justin finished up with a bogey to gain big points against JY's bogey and Bob's triple, leaving a 4-way tie!

The tie breaker for the final grouping requires all those involved to replay the 18th, followed by the 10th if needed. I can only imagine the buzz of the crowd as they watched all 4 players make their way back to the tee box of the 18th, pushing in front of the 4-some behind them (they were only too happy to step aside for this epic sudden death showdown). In the end, Dave did what he already knew how to do and put up a par to win the tournament against bogeys from the rest of the group. Congratulations Dave!

Lost in all this was a very nice 18 holes by JY. Good round man!

Low round - Front 9 > 39 (JY Lee); Back 9 > 40 (JY Lee); All 18 > 79 (JY Lee)

Sandbagger of the Day - JY Lee (39, 79, net score: 33, 67)

Playoffs Day 2 - Team 4 are the 2017 Champions

A challenging day 1 deficit was too much for Team 2 to overcome. Fresh troops for team 4 came in to carry the charge, with Leo Wang carding a birdie on the first hole to set the tone for the day. Dan Schettler posted his best round of the year right when it was needed to fight off the stellar play of JY Lee, who claims the lowest round (in a tie with Dan) for a second day in a row. This put Team 4 in a great position with a 15 hole lead and two groups left to play.

Dae Joh and Bob Reynolds put some pressure back on Team 4 with Dae claiming some early holes due to his clutch putting. Combined, Bob and Dae took 5 holes back for Team 2, cutting the lead to 10 holes.

Winning 10 holes between two matches is a tough task though, and Steve Moriarty and Jacob Mariant would not let that momentum continue. Jacob matched Steve Pitt's excellent round as both shot 4 below their handicap. Steve Moriarty continued with his focused tournament approach to shoot 5 below his handicap (compared to 4 below his handicap on the first day). The cards came in, Team 4 added to their lead, and claimed the championship!

Congratulations to Team 4 and everyone who played this year. The course is looking good. The weather has been nice. And the company has been pleasurable. Stay tuned for Top Gun tournament results next week!

Low round - 43 (JY Lee and Dan Schettler)

Sandbagger of the Day - Steve Moriarty (49, net score: 32)

**Bird Watching** - White-rumped Vulture (seen on #1 by Leo Wang), Great Indian Bustard (seen on #9 by Steve Pitt)

Playoffs Day 1 - Team 4 takes the early lead

Team 4 combined to shoot 19 strokes (!) below their combined handicap while team 2 combined to shoot even with theirs. The net result is an day 1 lead of 22 points for team 4. Soojin and company are not known for backing down from a challenge and will surely bounce back to put pressure on team 4 during the 2nd day of play.

Low round - 41 (JY Lee)

Sandbagger of the Day - Mark Westall (45, net score: 30)

**Bird Watching** - Eastern Wood Pewee (seen on #9 by Eric Lyster), Scarlet Tanager (seen on #9 by Steve Moriarty)

Week 18 - Team 4 takes the second half

After establishing an early lead during the second half, Team 4 held on through the final 4 weeks to claim the second playoff spot and their first playoff appearance since 1932 (actually, I think it was more recent but those records have been temporarily misplaced).

Team 4 will play against the 1st half winners, team 2, in the 2-day playoff round (7/24-7/25).

The top gun tournament will be played the following week with the following golfers qualifying as the top 8 (minimum 5 rounds played): Dave Maxwell, Bob Reynolds, Craig Barber, Soojin Choi, JY Lee, Justin Lazaruk, Jeff Schnur, and Bruce Ritzi.

Congratulations to all on a fine season. Stay tuned for the playoff and top gun results over the next couple weeks.

Low round - 39 (Dave Maxwell)

Sandbagger of the Week - Justin Lazaruk (net score: 30)

**Bird Watching** - Rose-breasted Grosbeak (seen on #2 by Dave Maxwell), Blue-winged warbler (seen on #4 by Dave Maxwell), Northern Parula (seen on #2 by Tony Brown), Yellow-billed Cuckoo (seen on #6 by Tony Brown), Townsend's Warbler (seen on #8 by Jacob Mariant)

Week 9 - It's a tie!

From the Rules section:

"Tie Breaker for first and second 9 week periods of Regular season:

In case of tie between teams during the regular season, winner shall be the team with most points won during head to head matches."

Team 2 narrowly wins this tiebreaker (137-133) earning them a spot in the playoffs.

Congratulations Team 2!!

Low round - 42 (Tim Lazaruk and JY Lee)

Sandbagger of the Week - Dave Conde (net score: 30)

**Bird Watching** - Kakapo (seen on #6 by Craig Barber), New Zealand Quail (seen on #8 by JY Lee), Marquesas Swamphen (seen on #8 by Steve Pitt), Philippine Eagle (seen on #8 by Mark Westall)

Week 8 - A lovely day to play a game in which you use sticks to hit a small ball into a hole in the ground

The sun was out and the wind was barely noticeable. With the nice weather, 13 of the 20 players hit at or below their handicap. Not too bad. Team 2 did exceptionally well, scoring -13 as a team and pushing them up near the lead in the standings. Soojin played his best golf of the year to earn the low round and Craig claims the sandbagger honors with a cool 7-under net score.

Low round - 42 (Soojin Choi)

Sandbagger of the Week - Craig Barber (net score: 30)

**Bird Watching** - Giant Ibis (seen on #8 by Craig Barber), California Condor (seen on #9 by Soojin Choi), Lyall's Wren (seen on #9 by Brian Nakamoto)

Week 7 - This game is easy

Tim Lazaruk boringly made par after par after par all evening, scoring a cool 37 and taking home the low round and co-sandbagger of the week honors. Tim hit 6 out of 9 greens with accurate drives and steady iron play. His lone bad shot on the day left him 65 yards short of the green on hole #4. No problem. An accurate wedge shot and a bendy 20-ft putt got him up and down to keep him on track. Nice round Tim!

Bruce Ritzi was the other co-sandbagger of the week, carding a very nice 43. Bruce currently sits atop the list of qualified topgunners, and with more rounds like this he should have no problem making the year-end tournament. Keep it up Bruce!

Low round - 37 (Tim Lazaruk)

Sandbaggers of the Week - Tim Lazaruk and Bruce Ritzi (net score: 32)

**Bird Watching** - Bachman's Warbler (seen on #4 by Tom Chippendale)

Week 6 - It was only slightly wet

A light drizzle fell at the beginning and near the end of the round, with a small reprieve in the middle. The rain did not affect the grounds much and conditions were good for scoring.

Jacob Mariant certainly didn't let the clouds and pitter-patter of small water droplets bother his game at all. With a nice birdie-par-par sequence towards the end of his round, Jacob scored a 52, 6 shots better than his handicap, propelling team 4 to it's first weekly point win of the season.

Jacob's sighting of elusive waterfowl might have been our only note of the week, had not Craig Barber spied that huge bird lurking around the green on #7. Craig paced out a 54-foot laser from the front of the short stuff to the pin set deep in the back for his 2. Nice putt Craig!

Low round - 41 (Tim Lazaruk)

Sandbaggers of the Week - Jacob Mariant (net score: 31)

**Bird Watching** - Auckland Island Merganser (seen on #6 by Jacob Mariant), Upland Moa (seen on #7 by Craig Barber)

Week 5 - "The Birds"

Lots of wildlife were seen on this rather windy day. But they were easily started as only the 1st grouping was able to observe these 4 rare species. All 4 golfers made a contribution to our ornithological education. It comes as no surprise then, that both the low round and the two players tying for sandbagger honors came out of this first group. Keep up the good playing guys! (And if you have some time, we don't mind taking some pointers)

Low round - 40 (Tim Lazaruk)

Sandbaggers of the Week - Steve Vigil and Brian Nakamoto (net score: 34)

**Bird Watching** - Reunion Kestrel (seen on #3 by Brian Nakamoto), Red-Moustached Fruit Dove (seen on #4 by Tim Lazaruk), Paradise Parrot (seen on #7 by Steve Vigil), Tahitian Red-Billed Rail (seen on #9 by John McCabe)

Week 4 - 5 is all we need

As they deal with a short roster, Team 1 sent out the same 5 guys again and all that green time is paying off as they scratched and clawed their way into first place. Nice work Team 1!

Bob Page had himself another fine round with TWO birdies on the day. But he must have accidentally transferred some of that golf magic to his opponent, Rico Conti. Rico knew he had to lay it all out there to compete against the hottest player in the league and Rico did not disappoint, matching Bob's previous week's net score of -8 on the day! Steve Vigil played well, managing 5 pars on his way to a 42 for the weekly low round honors.

The greens continued to be sandy and bumpy. You had to just smash the ball and take what the greens gave you. Lets hope they shape up soon. The rest of the course looks great though.

Low round - 42 (Steve Vigil)

Sandbagger of the Week - Rico Conti (net score: 29)

**Bird Watching** - Dodo (seen on #2 by Bob Page), Great Auk (seen on #8 by Bob Page), Passenger Pigeon (seen on #8 by Brian Nakamoto)

Week 3 - Sandy and bumpy

Aerated, sandy greens were the dessert for today. Just aim towards the hole, close your eyes and swing the putter.

Well the greens didn't bother Mr. Bob Page. Bob carded 5 pars, 3 bogeys, and a birdie on #8 on his way to a round of 39 (8 strokes better than his handicap!). Come on Bob. This is supposed to be a friendly league.

Low round - 39 (Bob Page)

Sandbagger of the Week - Bob Page (net score: 29)

**Bird Watching** - Carolina Parakeet (seen on #6 by Craig Barber), Labrador Duck (seen on #6 by Chul-Soo Jo), Laughing Owl (seen on #8 by Bob Page)

Week 2 - We beat the rain

The clouds were looming and a slight drizzle gently tapped on the heads and shoulders of the intrepid athletes. The uncommon southern wind was blowing lightly with the occasional gusts. Beneath the grey sky, the greens stayed manageable and the lies were mostly dry. Overall, a great afternoon for some golf!

Tim and Phil put up a couple great rounds, each carding 5 pars in the twilight hours. Tim wins the low round honors while Phil takes home the Sandbagger of the week honors, shooting 4 strokes below his handicap. We also had our first birdie sightings of the year, observed by John McCabe on consecutive holes (#6 and #7). Good work John!

Low round - 42 (Tim Lazaruk)

Sandbagger of the Week - Phil Wantuck (net score: 33)

**Bird Watching** - Loggerhead Shrike (seen on #6 by John McCabe), Piping Plover (seen on #7 by John McCabe)

Week 1 - Team 3 jumps out to an early lead

In Steve's absence, temporary captain Tim Lazaruk motivated his team to take an early lead in the standings. There is no official word from anyone on Team 3, so we'll just have to assume that Tim ensured his players' success with a strict hydration regimen before the match.

Across the groupings, scores were modest as players took their time warming up to the new season. Only 5 out of the 20 players were able to post net scores below par. Soojin and Bruce tied for the low rounds of the day with scores of 45, with Soojin putting up 4 pars on the day (nice!). However, Soojin was expected to shoot 45, which leaves Bruce with the Sandbagger of the Week honors. Good work Bruce!

Low round - 45 (Soojin Choi and Bruce Ritzi)

Sandbagger of the Week - Bruce Ritzi (net score: 34)

**Bird Watching** - No birdies were posted this week.

New season - New website

Hello Twilite League members. Welcome to the new website and the new season of excellent fun in the twilight hours of the start of the work week. Our old commissioner has retired from his duties and the league. His note to the league will be kept on the website for the season and is currently published below. There is no designated commissioner to replace him as yet. For the interim period, the 4 captains will work together to make rulings, pay the bills, update the website, and address any concerns from league members.

Last year, we used the new, old style of scoring. This year, we are reverting back to the old, new style. The old, new style consists of a match play format with each hole worth 2 points. The player with the lowest score (adjusted for handicaps) wins the 2 points for that hole. Halving the hole (ending with tie scores after adjustment) means that each player gets 1 point.

The season is 18 weeks long. At the end of each 9 week period, the team with the most points will qualify for the playoffs at the end of the season. If the team that won the 1st 9-week period, also wins the 2nd 9-week period, the team with the 2nd most points over the entire 18-week schedule will qualify for the playoffs. (Note: the league rules concerning the playoff format still describes the system used last year. Stayed tuned for updates on that format after the team captains get together to discuss it).

As for the new website. The Top Gun, Photos, Captains and Slow Play pages are still under construction. Should be online soon.

This Monday (3/13) is our first day on the course. Have fun out there!

Note from our retired commissioner

Hello Captains, it's been fun running the Twilite Golf League since 1991, that's 25 years...whew....it's been a lot of fun but it's time for me relinquish the 'commish' job to someone else.

I do spend quite a bit of time preparing each week for our League...I start gathering info in January and end in August...and I have enjoyed it...all of you and league players have been a joy to interact with....

I will be more than happy to share what I do with whom ever decides to step up and take my place. Spreadsheets etc.....the new 'Commish' will need to set up a website or simply use email to to all players to communicate and post weekly results.

So, let me know who is interested and I will pass on data that I use to run the league.

It's been fun,

Dennis