Players Prepare for Battle in Member Member Weekend
Are you pumped?? The biggest tournament weekend is upon us once again, the Member-Member, which has the best field all season long. It includes two different formats, best ball of 2 and scramble, forcing all players to grind for the best possible score. In addition to the field, the event hosts Saturday night festivities with dinner, chipping/putting and a long drive contest. New this year, a hole in one car, closest to the pin for Arnie’s Army cancer research and new live leaderboard for Saturday afternoon that players can follow on their mobile devices.
This year’s tournament has the largest field ever with 60 teams. Last year’s gross champions, Barry Powlishen and Paul Chesek, are not defending, leaving Paul with new partner Craig Way, a sure weapon if he can get his putting in order for two days. Defending Net champions John Colavito and Bill Gill are off first in the AM at 730, to try and get a head start on the strongest field ever assembled.
As always, the Member Member marks the middle of the tournament season, after both Net majors, and is a gateway to the remaining weeks of the tournament schedule and playoff race. The event is the largest field and rewards teams with plenty of opportunities to earn credit and points with 8 pay places each day. The winning gross and net teams each earn 150 POY points, and every team has the opportunity to move up the leaderboard significantly with a solid finish. For those in gross, 2nd place is still up for grabs this weekend, with several players inside the top 15 who can make a move. In Net the race is still wide open, and ultimately everybody has a chance to move into the top 12 with a top 3 or better finish.
This is the one weekend where 120 members of our club come together to compete for one of the biggest championships and to enjoy the kind of fun that many of us know only occurs at Smith. Be sure to review the Member-Member teams, Sunday tee times, list of weekend activities and the current POY standings to get a full scope of what awaits this weekend. Good luck to all!
-The Tournament Committee