Sharp shooters
Noascono, Daech, Blanquart, DePriest on their way to PGA McGladrey Championship at Pinehurst Resort
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| 'Team DePriest' with their PGA McGladrey Gateway section plaques after winning at Lockhaven Country Club last month. From left, Jay Blanquart, Jim Daech, Jon DePriest and Tom Noascono. The Sunset Hills Country Club team qualified for the 2007 PGA McGladrey Team Championship Finals at Pinehurst Resort Sept. 10-12. |
No, they aren't bucking up for a trip out to Pebble Beach or Sawgrass. It's even better than that.
Along with Sunset Hills pro Jon DePriest, the threesome qualified for the 2007 PGA McGladrey Team Championship National Finals Sept. 10-121 at Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, N.C.The site of the 1999 and 2005 U.S. Open. The 2,000-acre, eight-course resort that has been consistently ranked best U.S. Golf Resort. Yes, that Pinehurst.
Not a bad trip, especially when you get to play three of the courses, including the renowned No. 2 course.
"Yeah, I'm really looking forward to that trip," said Blanquart, president of Blanquart Jewelers and a four-year member at Sunset Hills. "I got to play down at (Cabo del Sol) in Cabo San Lucas and that was beautiful. But I don't think that'll even come close to Pinehurst."
The Sunset Hills team qualified for the national final after shooting a combined, 14-under par 130 in the 14-team Gateway Section earlier this month at Lockhaven Country Club. The squad finished four strokes better than the second place team, Missouri Bluffs Golf Course in St. Charles.
The team was sparked by a 20-foot chip for eagle by Blanquart on the par-5 No. 6. After Blanquart's handicap adjustment, the shot was carded as a double eagle. Daech also birdied the hole. Team DePriest rolled from there.
"That was the turning point," DePriest said. "We were pretty much even-up at that point and after that hole we all started playing pretty well. It was a great shot."
As opposed to a best ball, scramble-type format, the McGladrey championship uses the two best net balls of the foursome - made up of one professional and three amateurs.
It is the inaugural PGA McGladrey Championship, following on the heels of the now-defunct Buick Scramble, which stopped in 2005. The Buick Scramble was the world's largest amateur golf tournament and PGA officials believe the McGladrey Championship will follow suit.
"It's a different format," said DePriest, who has been the professional at Sunset Hills since 1999. "But I like it. There's some pressure, you can't rely on one or two guys; everybody has to play their own ball at all times. It keeps everybody focused."
Noascono had the chance to play in the 2004 Buick Scramble in Orlando, Fla. He and his team - led by Jim Jones, who is now the assistant pro at Sunset Hills - won the sectional, which was also played at Lockhaven, and then finished fourth at the Buick Scramble.
"This is a fun format to play in," said Noascono, who joined Sunset Hills in 1998. "Everybody played well (at the sectional), we played well as a team. And you have to in this format. We compliment each other, our games are pretty similar but different enough to help each other out on a few holes.
"If we can duplicate what we did at Lockhaven down at Pinehurst, I like our chances."
There will be 41 Section Champion teams vying for the McGladrey Championship. And perhaps the best thing about Team DePriest's trip is the fact that no member has played or even seen Pinehurst, save for on television.
The team will get a practice round on course No. 8 on Sunday. On Monday, PGA professionals Zach Johnson and Chris DiMarco will be on hand for a sponsor clinic and a meet-and-greet with the Section Champions. Then, the tournament gets starts. Monday's opening round will be played on course No. 6; Tuesday's on No. 8 and the finals on Wednesday on No. 2.
After winning at Lockhaven, where teams competed for a combined purse of $20,000, each amateur golfer received a $750 gift certificate to the pro shop. Amateurs cannot accept cash prizes. Blanquart said he bought some new wedges, but still couldn't spend the entire amount.
The purse for the McGladrey Nationals is $200,000. And however much the gift certificates will be for; the three amateurs will have their hands full trying to spend it. There would likely be at least three happy families - extended, at that - that will be pleased come holiday time.
"If we win down at Pinehurst," Blanquart said, "I know what everybody's getting for Christmas."
