2005 Lobsterfest

The 2005 Lobsterfest field spanned the entire gamut. It was one of the tightest ones in history, and one of the widest spread fields in history. In the end Steve played the best and won the 2005 Lobsterfest. He also backed up his 2004 Club Championship thus claiming the Steve Slam. It started on a sunny Saturday morning. As it turned out, we had the only 30 hour stretch of dry weather in weeks (thanks Mother Nature). Tom posted a net 69 and held the overnight lead, but Steve and Jeff were close behind at 70 and 71 respectively.

The leaders' group teed off second on Sunday and in an odd twist of fate, Jeff mistakenly hit a green dotted Titleist Pro V-1 out of a gnarly lie that was lost by another competitor on Saturday. The resulting dog balls put him a few strokes behind, but he was back in the lead by the 6th hole. By the 17th tee Steve and Jeff were tied, but Jeff's drive dove into Blacklick Creek and gave Steve a 3 stroke lead going into the par 5 18th hole. The hole sets up well for Steve's fade, but Thurman Munson stepped in and Steve's ball ended up 4 inches out of bounds to set up the tight finish. Steve's second drive found the fairway and a high, soft 3 wood left him 8 feet for par. Jeff had rolled his birdie putt by and was left with a similar 8 footer for his par. Steve now needed only to three putt for the win. His par putt sailed past and his second putt was left short for drama. Jeff made his par putt and Steve tapped in to claim the title by a stroke.

The drama wasn't confined to the leaders' group. Scott K. shot a lights-out personal best 78 that included an even par 36 on the back nine. Steve won from a most unlikely position with 20-1 odds against him. Vince posted consecutive nines of 62 and 44. The 2005 Lobsterfest ended as a complete success. The leader board is further down this page. Congratulations Steve.

The Feast was a resounding success too, although it began in turmoil. Various conflicts kept the eater count low and consequently we decided not to afford the luxury of live PEI lobster. At one point we had sunk to the possibility of frozen spiny lobster tails from Sams, but a pre-Fest Golf Meeting at Sams revealed that cases of five tails cost $19 per pound, not per package and that idea was quickly dismissed. In the end we had live US lobster flown in by Columbus Fish and Seafood. The cost broke our no-inflation streak, but there was plenty to eat. Tom and Jill were gracious hosts and the weather was perfect. The side dishes were all hits and no one left hungry. Again, it was a resounding success.

And finally, here are the pre-Lobsterfest odds for the entire field as set by Offical Oddsmaker John:
2 - 1 Jeff M. How can you possibly go against a player that's won 6 out of the last 10 Lobsterfest tournaments. He also has dominated MB over the same time period. He's a spring time player, when the weather is cool and somehow has a handicap that fits the bill.
5 - 1 Vince. Handicap is right for the tournament. Posted 3 counters in MB05 and shoots 82 on his last round which happens to be on the same course as the Lobster(tail)fest...(watch this get altered (hah! never again Ho))..
6 - 1 Rich. Always a hard call. With the right choices (or lack there of) could mean the difference of being a major threat or someone who falters in the end. Has more upside of anyone in the tournament.
7 - 1 Tommy. His last 4 rounds have been counters. His last 2 have been sub 15 differentials....Biggest question will be the open links style course keeping all the other competitors in the game.
20 - 1 Steve. Just coming back from a back injury and hasn't played since MB05. Handicap is low and not helping matters for the course setup we're playing....
OFF Base. Not sure he's participating in the event. Work conflicts keeps all bets off. Has been playing pretty decent, real close to turning that corner that could make the difference.
OFF JK. Not sure it he' ll be able to complete both rounds so all bets are off....Thank goodness. Hasn't played much this year and when he has it hasn't been pretty. Another reason why McCorkle is a 2 -1 favorite....