2004 Lobsterfest

Was it deja vu? Sort of, except it was a mirror image. Last year it was Jeff handing the lobster to Scott. This year it was Scott handing it back to Jeff. The story was a lot different though. Unlike Scott's runaway win at the 2003 Lobsterfest or some of Jeff's earlier Fest wins, the first major of 2004 came down to the last putt on the last hole of the tournament.

The real action was in the leaders' group, but all three times had some excitement. Scott K. held the overnight lead by three strokes over Jeff. The skies were gray on Sunday morning, but it was not raining and moods were much higher. Richard shot an impressive 66 and was the leader in the club house at 144. Vince made a bunch of long putts after posting dog balls on #2 but could not wrestle the lead from Richard. In the end only Jeff and Scott K. held the keys. Scott held the overnight lead, but foundered early and posted a 50 on the front nine. Meanwhile Jeff was making few mistakes and the two were tied through 15. Scott made an untimely double bogey to slip down by two, but parred the long par three 17 to come back to one down. Holing a twenty foot putt on the 36th hole put pressure on Jeff to get up and down from the rough short of the green, but up and down he got to avoid a playoff and win his sixth Lobsterfest. That's right folks, 60% of the Lobsterfests he's entered. Wow. Congratulations Jeff.

For the record, John did darn well at picking the field for the 2004 Lobsterfest. I wish I had bet on Jeff at 6 to 1! Here are John's odds as they ran in the pre-tournament edition: SK: 3-1, Look for a repeat, shoots 38 on the front 9 at Players Club last     weekend, no trouble with UL, handicap is right where he wants it. VR: 4-1, Playing well as of late, if the putter stays hot it could get interesting JMc: 6-1, Always a contender early in the season RJ: 7-1, 18 strokes is hard to ignore, lack of rounds will make it hard to keep     together for 2 days TK: 7-1, Always consistant, but will the field come to him SB: 14-1, One round since MB04 is going to make it pretty tough to compete     when giving as many as 6 strokes a day to the favorite JK: 20-1, Longshot at best, needed to play a long golf course to have a shot SH: 25-1 Hitting the ball like a "chimp," not playing anywhere close to handicap

Official 2004 Lobsterfest Results 1. JMc (13, 13.7) 71+69=140 2. SK (20, 20.6) 68+73=141 3. RJ (18, 18.8) 78+66=144 4. JK (12, 12.5) 73+73=146 5. VR (15, 15.3) 74+73=147 6. SH (9, 9.2) 74+77=150 7. TK (15, 15.6) 74+76=150 8. SB (14, 14.3) 81+74=155 *. BH (20, 20.3) 76+79=155 *. EH (34, 34.8) 68+75=143 *Did not qualify per MaTER

The Feast was graciously hosted by Tom and Jill. Mother Nature dealt some extra blood pressure in the form of an all-day rain on Saturday, but it magically ended just as people started arriving for the Feast. Tents provided shelter, but a little good will on Mom's part kept the party dry. The food was fab and the lobster plentiful. Try as we might, there were still plenty of lobster left over. I hear the lobster bisque was excellent. Thanks for hosting Tom; it was a model evening.

The 2004 Lobsterfest is upon us and the webmaster barely snuck under the wire getting this website update loaded. The forecast for the tournament is warm and muggy; a far cry from the first Lobsterfest up at Indian Lake where the high was in the low 50s in an all-day drizzle. Upper Lansdowne was chosen as the host of this year's event and the three tee times begin at 9:00 am on both Saturday and Sunday. Tom has graciously volunteered to host the Feast.

It wouldn't be the Lobsterfest edition without a Lobster Cam. I met Billy Atwood in the spring of 1988 out in San Diego. He was interested in my research and I was interested in Rockport, Maine. Things never came together and I ended up working for Pioneer Fisheries in Anglo-Tignish, PEI. Billy is still a leader in the lobster industry and while he still doesn't have a dry land pound, he does have a lobster webcam (at least when it's working).

Jeff has dominated the Lobsterfest capturing nearly half of all 'Fest titles since the mid 90s. Despite his dominance, Club Oddsmaker John has him down at 3rd. Here is the official line; place your bets at the window.
SK: 3-1, Look for a repeat, shoots 38 on the front 9 at Players Club last weekend,
    should have no trouble with UL, handicap is right where he wants it.
VR: 4-1, Playing well as of late, if the putter stays hot it could get interesting
JMc: 6-1, Always a contender early in the season
RJ: 7-1, 18 strokes is hard to ignore, lack of rounds will make it hard to keep together for 2 days
TK: 7-1, Always consistant, but will the field come to him
SB: 14-1, One round since MB04 is going to make it pretty tough to compete when giving
    as many as 6 strokes a day to the favorite
JK: 20-1, Longshot at best, needed to play a real (long) golf course to have a shot
SH: 25-1 Hitting the ball like a "chimp" and not playing anywhere close to handicap

Getting to Tom's house is easy, especially if you grew up on the northwest corner of Columbus. That said, here's a link to a mapquest. There are the usual things everyone must bring (your own chair, your own claw-cracking knife, and of course BYOB). Richie will be making his famous Ro-Tel, Scott K. is supplying the Scoops, Steve is bringing plates, napkins and other paperware, Jeff is doing the melted butter, Vince is bringing dirty rice, Scott B. is supplying desert and Tom is preparing things he would only refer to as "some stuff." Bob and Ed are standing by to bring the things we forgot at the Golf Meeting