Scott Berliner wins another Open after play-off hole
Dan McClelland
by Dan McClelland
It came down to a play-off hole before this year’s champion was decided at the 72nd annual Tupper Lake Open this weekend.
Scott Berliner has won about a half dozen Opens in recent years, but last year another pro John Clare won it.
After 36 holes and two days of play both men were tied at 137 at Sunday’s finish. That required a repeat of Hole No. 18 before an excited crowd.
Both accomplished pros were putting after their drive- Mr. Clare on the back fringe and Mr. Berliner short of the hole by about ten feet.
Many of the golfers that afternoon appeared to be struggling with that green.
John Clare narrowly missed his second put and so needed a third try to finish. The pressure was on Scott Berliner who passed the hole on his first put and with all eyes watching and the championship in the balance, he sunk a three-foot putt for the win and a $2,000 check from the event’s primary sponsor, Belleville and Associates.
Sunday was the sixth victory at Tupper’s Open for the Capital District pro.
John Clare was last year’s winner and also finished as top pro in 2018. His second earned him a grand Sunday.
And for participants and spectators, the weather couldn’t have been more pleasant: three days of bright sun and clouds with the mercury hovering in the mid 70s.
This year’s major event at the local 18 drew 28 pros and over 85 amateurs- for one of the biggest field in years.
In this year’s third flight where golfers have handicaps over 14, local golfers included Jacob Klossner with 228 over the two days, Shaun LaLonde, 229, Liam LaMere, 181, Bob Lewis, 189, Ian McLear, 179, Rick Pickering, 186, Stacy Soucy, 193, Matt Dechene, 181, Joe Farina, 198, John Gagnon, 186, Dale Bell, 184, Ashton Clark, 176, Tyler Clark, 206, and John Rabideau, 166.
In the second flight among golfers with handicaps between 7 and 13 were also a number of local men: Josh Pickering, 171, Wayne Roberts, 169, Nick Skiff, 188, Scott McGowan, 184, Randy Bedore, did not finish, Scott Bell, 171, Stacy Clark, 172, Chris Gagnon, 186, and Bob Lawyer, 177.
Pat Patterson and two other pros flew up from the south into New York to play this week in Endicott, near Binghamton, to qualify for the Dick’s Sporting Goods Senior PGA Tournament before entering here. Local golfing promoters were hoping they would spread the word about Tupper Lake’s great course among their fellow golfers in Endicott. Patterson won the senior pro title Sunday and a $1,000 prize donated by Community Bank. He also took third place and won $700 in the open pro division.
He shot a 66 the first day, having never played the hometown course before. He was tied with Scott Berliner after Saturday.
Ron Belleville, avid golfer and president of the Tupper Lake Country Club’s board of directors numerous times over the years, finished second at the Open in the senior division among the ten senior amateurs. He scored a 162 over the two days. The only other local in that division was Bob Fletcher, who finished with a 217.
In the pro division, Tupper golf director Evan LaBarge shot a 152 over the two days. Other local pros were Jane Whitmore’s brother C.J. Parry, 172, Scott Delair, a local boy now pro at the Malone golf course, 143, Clarence Bell, 180 and Lookout Bar and Grill host Jaime Armstrong, 181. Zach Meade, who now lives in Florida, came home for the event. His score over the two days was 149.
Among the locals in the first flight of amateurs with handicaps of six and less were Steve Gagnon, 178, Kris Clark, 156, Hayden LaMere, 175 and Jim Boucher, whose two-day 151 earned him the title of amateur champion.
At the close of the awards ceremony TLCC President Mike Sovey thanked the sponsors, including the main ones, Belleville and Associates and Community Bank, and all the two dozen or so other sponsors, without whom there wouldn’t be the Tupper Open each summer. He offered kudos to all the volunteers last week and the golf course “crew” for presenting great conditions. He acknowledged too the work of Golf Director Evan LaBarge and to the awards volunteers and scorekeeping officials Stacy Soucy and Ron Belleville.