Steve Johnston was looking for another victory at the Re/Max Men’s Open on Saturday, but Fruitvale’s Scott Browell intervened, tying Johnston and forcing a sudden-death playoff.
Close to 70 golfers turned out for the annual Re/Max Open looking to take home one of four flight titles, along with a number of door prizes, deuce pots, and KPs.
But only one golfer could take overall gross and after both Browell and Johnston finished with identical even-par 72 scores, a playoff hole was required.
Following up on his nephew Trevor Browell’s playoff victory at last year’s Re/Max tournament, Scott would duplicate the feat to finally win the event after coming close a number of times.
In the sudden-death extra hole playoff, Browell drilled his shot off the number-1 tee right down the middle of the par-5, 556-yard hole to sit about 230 yards out.
Johnston followed suit and drove his about 20 feet behind Browell’s tee shot. Both players played it safe on their approach, hitting their shots to within 50 yards of the green.
Johnston, from the rough, would step up and nail his third shot about 10 feet left of the pin and below the hole for a decent birdie opportunity. Browell replied, lofting his ball from the fairway, and landing it a foot from the pin, but it would roll down the slope and settle three inches from Johnston’s ball.
With the tournament on the line, and both golfers with virtually identical putts, Browell would step up and sink the shot for birdie. Johnston needed to hole it to extend the playoff, but his effort would slide left of the pin to give Browell the championship.
Bill King, meanwhile, won the handicappers overall title shooting a net 61 on the par 72 Champion course.
First Flight, HC 0-9.70: Steve Johnston won low gross with a 72, while Scott Johnston finished second with a 76, winning in retrogression over Jeff Papilion who also carded a 76. Ethan Paton would take low net with a 68, Dean Civitarese second with a 69, and Mark Jenner third with a 72.
Second Flight, 9.8-14: Trail golfer Jack Beard took low gross honours with a 77, Rylie Rowlick captured second with a 82, and a surprising Jay Wilcox claimed third after firing an 86. Wayne Tamelin won the Low Net with a 64, Wayne DeWitt placed second with a 70, and Ron Wilcox took third place with a 74.
Third Flight: 14.1 – 18.7: Ray Porcellato shot an 85 to take top spot in Low Gross, while Terry Jones Sr. was just one back to finish second, and Merv Neil came in third with an 87. In Low Net, Peter Bergstrom grabbed the top spot with a 68, followed by Wayne Swan and Brady Lowe with 69s.
Fourth Flight, 18.8-36: Joe Rosa finished first in Low Gross with an 88, while John MacGillivray took second spot with a 91 and Al Plamondon came in third with a 94. Low Net honours went to Ron Neilson, 67, Earl Morissette, 70, and Rick Hardie, 72.
