Watertown Golf Club usually has played in the shadows of city rival Ives Hill Country Club during the annual Northern New York Golf Association's 6-Man Team Tournament.
Ives Hill has captured a record 28 team titles of the 71 tournaments played since 1934, including last year at Gouverneur. Watertown has but three championships to its credit, with a victory two years ago breaking a 27-year championship drought for the Thompson Park course.
An old-fashioned, 18-hole shootout looms today between the city clubs with Watertown leading host Ives Hill by a single shot (462-463) after the first day's competition in the 2008 NNYGA event. Massena Country Club is just nine shots behind the leaders (471) and still in the mix, while Carlowden Country Club is fourth (481) and Malone Country Club fifth (486).
An equally tight individual race is brewing. Jeff Fallon of Ives Hill was the only player to break par, firing a 1-under-par 71 Friday. Joe Tufo from Watertown shot an even-par 72 to take second, while six others, including multiple champions Bob Hughes of Watertown and John Bufalini of Ives Hill, shot 74 and six more players came in at 75.
"That just shows you how many good players there are in this tournament," said Fallon, who blistered the back side for a 4-under-par 32 after a 3-over-par 39 on the front. "Three or four shots is nothing. Someone can get hot (Sunday) and really go low."
Ryan Williams of Potsdam, Benton Sullivan from Massena, Mike Roberts of Tupper Lake and Troy Collins from Malone tied Bufalini and Hughes at 74. Those at 75 are Andrew Marks of Watertown, Paul Ahlgrim of Ives Hill, Bob Phillips from Carlowden, Nick Miller of Potsdam, Steve Lang of Malone and Aaron Jones of St. Lawrence.
Fallon said he "slapped it around pretty good" on the front side, making three bogeys (2, 3, 9) and no birdies. But his short game came alive as he recorded four birdies (on the final six holes) and no bogeys on the back side.
"I hit every green but 17, and then got it up and down from the bunker there for a great par," Fallon said. "My wedge game was great with close shots on 14 (6-feet), 16 (21/2-feet) and 18 (3-feet) for birdies.''
Tufo's even-par round featured nines of 36 as he finished with three birdies and three bogeys.
"I hit the ball so good today," said Tufo, the Watertown club champion. "A couple of the pars (15, 17) were almost like birdies because I sunk long putts."
Williams, who will be a sophomore at the University of Rochester this fall, was 3-under-par after four holes, making birdie on 1, 2 and 4. But he followed that with five consecutive bogeys to finish the front nine at 2-over-par 38.
"It's disappointing to start that well and shoot over par (on the front)," Williams said. "I hit the ball OK and putted pretty well. I just found a couple of hazards from where I couldn't make par."
Williams rebounded with an even-par 36 on the back nine.
Like Williams, Bufalini started fast, birdying 1 and 3. "But then I hit a bad stretch on 5-7 (playing them 4-over-par), including a bad out of bounds drive on six."
But like Williams he recovered nicely with 1-under 35 on the incoming nine, recording four birdies.
Hughes, an 10-time NNYGA individual champion, said it was "a scrambling 74 with too many sloppy shots."
After beginning 3-over after four, Hughes got it to 1-over after a birdie on 13. But he made a bad bogey on 14 from 100 yards out, then failed to birdie any of the four finishing holes.
Matt Viskovich of Massena shot a 74 to lead Mike Bufalini of Ives Hill by two shots in the junior division.
Steve Gebo of Ives Hill and Paul Lambert of Massena are tied for the senior lead after shooting 76. And Joe Parisian of Watertown and Pete Shelly of Potsdam each fired 79 to tie for the super senior lead.