Pelletier & Everett Prevail in Players Invitational
Newbury, NH – As the wind picked up, so did the birdie opportunities for the two players who left Baker Hill Golf Club with champion trophies in their hands. Pat Pelletier (Hanover CC Online) put on a performance in the final round of the Players Invitational as he shot four-under par, 68, to win his division by six shots. Bill Everett (Laconia CC) came from four shots back to win his second Players Invitational Senior Division title.
Pelletier was on fire in the final round, especially on the front nine as he made four birdies with zero blemishes on his card to make the turn at four-under par and quickly gained a lead. Round one leader, Jamie Ferullo (Rochester CC), made three-straight bogeys from holes four to six which set him behind Pelletier who only started the day one shot back.
On the back nine, Pelletier was up and down, with two birdies and two bogeys, but his strong start on the front nine carried him through the rest of the round.
“Luckily I got off to a pretty good start, I think I made four birdies on the front and next thing I know I have the lead”, commented Pelletier following his victory. “I’ve played out here enough where I can think my way around the course pretty well.”
This tournament is always one that Pelletier looks forward to as he loves to play Baker Hill Golf Club and knows the course well enough to make those birdie opportunities. While the back nine proved to be a little bit more challenging today, most of that can be attributed to the wind picking up.
“The wind was gusting so you really had to be on your game”, stated Pelletier. “It’s always windy here so you can think back to some shots you’ve hit and know where to miss.”
If he needed to miss, he did it in the right spots to be able to recover. Although he bogeyed the 13th and 18th holes, he had enough of a cushion on the leaderboard to maintain the lead for the win.
This is Pelletier’s third Players Invitational victory, his first two back in 2010 and 2011. He said, “I love playing here, this is always a great tournament to kick off the year. It’s nice to kick off the summer with a good start and it’s a nice little confidence builder going into the season.”
Despite his three bogeys on the front nine, Ferullo went on to make 12-straight pars and finish in the Runner-up position, feeling confident in his game going forward this season.
In the Senior Division, it ended up being a battle between Tony Fournier (Portsmouth CC) and Bill Everett, as Andy Hunnewell unfortunately needed to withdraw prior to the start of the final round. Fournier, the defending champion, began the day with a four-stroke lead over Everett but knew it wasn’t going to be an easy day on the course.
Fournier and Everett had very different front nine’s from each other as Fournier carded a bogey on the 4th hole and a double bogey on the 6th hole to set himself back three shots from where he started. Everett took full advantage and made three birdies with just one bogey to make the turn at two-under par, with the lead.
“I made a nice par save on the first hole and that kind of got me going”, commented Everett. “After that I turned in a 34 on the front nine and one-over on the back.”
With just one bogey and eight pars, Everett continued to gain more of a lead as the day went on. Fournier kept finding himself in tough positions with bogey being the end result on four holes on the back nine. Everett played a solid game, shooting his age, 71 (-1) to take the win, his second Players Invitational title.
Coming into the day with a four-shot hurdle to get over, Everett’s mindset was to just play his own game. He said, “You just play the best you can and then you add them up, and hopefully you go from being behind and into the lead.”
Bill Everett’s lack of mistakes on the back nine really paid off for him as he was able to come-from-behind and leave with the champion trophy. Tony Fournier may not feel like he played his best but walked away as the Runner-up this year.
The NHGA would like to extend a sincere thank you to the staff at Baker Hill Golf Club for hosting this event!
Pelletier was on fire in the final round, especially on the front nine as he made four birdies with zero blemishes on his card to make the turn at four-under par and quickly gained a lead. Round one leader, Jamie Ferullo (Rochester CC), made three-straight bogeys from holes four to six which set him behind Pelletier who only started the day one shot back.
On the back nine, Pelletier was up and down, with two birdies and two bogeys, but his strong start on the front nine carried him through the rest of the round.
“Luckily I got off to a pretty good start, I think I made four birdies on the front and next thing I know I have the lead”, commented Pelletier following his victory. “I’ve played out here enough where I can think my way around the course pretty well.”
This tournament is always one that Pelletier looks forward to as he loves to play Baker Hill Golf Club and knows the course well enough to make those birdie opportunities. While the back nine proved to be a little bit more challenging today, most of that can be attributed to the wind picking up.
“The wind was gusting so you really had to be on your game”, stated Pelletier. “It’s always windy here so you can think back to some shots you’ve hit and know where to miss.”
If he needed to miss, he did it in the right spots to be able to recover. Although he bogeyed the 13th and 18th holes, he had enough of a cushion on the leaderboard to maintain the lead for the win.
This is Pelletier’s third Players Invitational victory, his first two back in 2010 and 2011. He said, “I love playing here, this is always a great tournament to kick off the year. It’s nice to kick off the summer with a good start and it’s a nice little confidence builder going into the season.”
Despite his three bogeys on the front nine, Ferullo went on to make 12-straight pars and finish in the Runner-up position, feeling confident in his game going forward this season.
In the Senior Division, it ended up being a battle between Tony Fournier (Portsmouth CC) and Bill Everett, as Andy Hunnewell unfortunately needed to withdraw prior to the start of the final round. Fournier, the defending champion, began the day with a four-stroke lead over Everett but knew it wasn’t going to be an easy day on the course.
Fournier and Everett had very different front nine’s from each other as Fournier carded a bogey on the 4th hole and a double bogey on the 6th hole to set himself back three shots from where he started. Everett took full advantage and made three birdies with just one bogey to make the turn at two-under par, with the lead.
“I made a nice par save on the first hole and that kind of got me going”, commented Everett. “After that I turned in a 34 on the front nine and one-over on the back.”
With just one bogey and eight pars, Everett continued to gain more of a lead as the day went on. Fournier kept finding himself in tough positions with bogey being the end result on four holes on the back nine. Everett played a solid game, shooting his age, 71 (-1) to take the win, his second Players Invitational title.
Coming into the day with a four-shot hurdle to get over, Everett’s mindset was to just play his own game. He said, “You just play the best you can and then you add them up, and hopefully you go from being behind and into the lead.”
Bill Everett’s lack of mistakes on the back nine really paid off for him as he was able to come-from-behind and leave with the champion trophy. Tony Fournier may not feel like he played his best but walked away as the Runner-up this year.
The NHGA would like to extend a sincere thank you to the staff at Baker Hill Golf Club for hosting this event!