EDGARTOWN, MA – NEPGA Professionals tested their sea legs for the second week in a row, as the Cape Cod Chapter hosted the two-day Vineyard Pro-Pro at Edgartown GC and Vineyard GC. At the time of the year when the unpredictable New England weather has a mind of its own, the field was able to soak in the last remnants of summer, with temperatures reaching north of 60 degrees on both days of play.
Competition began on Wednesday at Edgartown Golf Club, a nine-hole gem that encapsulates the Vineyard with its ocean views, fescue, and ragged bunkering. Edgartown makes up for its lack of a back nine with a unique front-to-back routing, offering players different sightlines and shot selections each time around with strategic tee and green placements. Nobody enjoyed Edgartown’s charm more than Frank Leja and Andrew Stolze (The Club at New Seabury), who cruised to a tidy 7-under 64 and first round lead. It was a balanced attack, with Stolze carding four birdies to Leja’s three in the Team Four-Ball format. Not far behind heading into the final round were Todd Cook and Chris Young (-6, 65), Ron Coiro and Jacob Leech (-5, 66) and Jim Hackenburg and Corey McAlaraney (-5, 66).
Thursday proved to be a stern test, as The Vineyard Golf Club reminded players that just because a course is easy to look at, it’s not always easy to play. The Gil Hanse design features wide open vistas of the course, with penal bunkers and undulations at every turn. Only four teams finished in red numbers on the day, and the leaderboard saw significant movement as a result. Liam Friedman and Jake Pleczkowski vaulted into solo 3rd place with a second round 70 (-2) to finish at 5-under total for the week. Eric Wilson and Matt Hillier fired the round of the day, signing for a 3-under 69 to go along with their first round 67, landing them in 2nd place by a shot. Despite the strong efforts from the aforementioned teams, Leja and Stolze held their ground with steady play on day two. Their 15 pars, 2 birdies and lone bogey got them to 8-under par for the tournament, a mark that secured the victory. Congratulations to Team New Seabury!
A big thank you goes out to Edgartown Golf Club and Head Professional Corey McAlarney, PGA, as well as The Vineyard Golf Club and Head Professional Eri Seguin, PGA for being gracious hosts to the Cape Cod Chapter. Additionally, thank you to Vineyard Vines and Sales Representative Chip Hayes for their support of the Vineyard Pro-Pro!