GROTON, CT (October 20, 2020) – Anthony Salvador and Bruce Kraczkowsky emerged victorious in the Tettelbach and Siderowf Divisions at the Al Acker One Day Championship presented by Chris Cote's Golf Shop on a rainy, wet day at Shennecossett Golf Course.
In the Tettelbach Division Salvador finished regulation tied with Chris Maxwell and Christopher Fosdick at 2-under following 69's on the links style seaside course sending play to extra holes. Beginning the playoff on the par-4 14th hole, Salvador who double-bogeyed the hole in regulation, parred the hole and along with Maxwell advanced to a second playoff hole. Fosdick's five foot par attempt slid by and he bogeyed the hole to be eliminated.
“I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous [heading into the playoff],” Salvador said. “I felt very good about my game all day so I was definitely confident heading into the playoff. Knowing that I was up against two great players I knew I was going to need to make some birdies to win.”
On the par-5 18th Salvador blasted a drive leaving himself less than 150 yards into the 500 yard hole while Maxwell found himself in the rightside fairway bunker. With a green light to go for the green Salvador launched a 9-iron landing it 30-feet from the pin giving himself a look at eagle. Maxwell was forced to lay up out of the bunker and knocked his third shot to about 20-feet. Putting first Salvador lagged his putt to 3-feet and when Maxwell ran his birdie try bye the hole all Savador had to do was roll his biride putt in for the victory.
“This win was a huge accomplishment for me,” said Salvador. “To compete with the best players in the state and come out with a win in a tournament like this is an incredible feeling for me.”
Starting his day on the 3rd hole, Salvador got off to a slow start with a bogey on the 4th hole before before finding his form with five birdies and just a double-bogey the rest of the way.
“Conditions were very tough from time to time, keeping things dry was an issue for everyone out there. My iron game was very solid all day, I hit alot of greens and was able to roll in some putts. This win was a huge accomplishment for me,” explained Salvador.
Bruce Kraczkowsky captured the Siderowf Division with a bogey-free, 1-under 70. Kraczkowsky carded 17 pars and one birdie to best Bill Hermanson and Mark Vassalotti both of whom shared second at even-par, one shot behind. The victory for Kraczkowsky was his second Al Acker Siderowf title winning in 2017 as well.
Starting the day on the 18th, Kraczkowsky played a steady round hitting 15 greens making for a near stress free day on the greens. The highlight of the round for Kraczkowsky was a nifty up and down on the difficult par-3 4th. His lone birdie of the day on 11 was a near hole out that resulted in a 3-foot birdie putt.
In the Tettelbach Net Division Danny Oquendo finished 5-under to earn top honors while Carl Musante was 6-under to capture the Siderowf Net Division.
The conclusion of the Al Acker One Day Championship also saw the close of the season long Chris Cote Player of the Year races. With three wins in eight events Patrick Griffin (T4; E) earned Player of the Year honors in the Tettelbach Division for a second straight season. Chris Fosdick finished second in the Player of the Year standings with Jason Goshdigian, Salvador, and John Sawka finishing third, fourth and fifth respectively, the latter three all within 80 points of one another.
In the Siderowf Division Tom Brett inched past Bob Murphy by 2.08 points to earn the title after the race came down to the last hole of the season. Murphy (T10; +3) began the day in first place one spot ahead of Brett (T4; +1) and the two were paired together along with Dick Stevens and Rick Malafronte who were in third and fourth place in the Player of the Year standings. The group began their round on the 5th hole and Murphy seemed to be in control after a hole-in-one on the par-3 12th hole. However, he hit a shot out of bounds on the 14th opening the door for Brett, who himself had to overcome a triple-bogey on the par-5 8th.
As reported by correspondent and part-time tour commissioner Terry Ruzzo, Brett and Murphy were still neck and neck heading to their final hole of the day, the difficult par-3 4th. Brett came up short with his tee shot leaving himself a difficult up and down. Murphy, needing to best Brett by two-strokes on the hole to earn Player of the Year, put the pressure on Brett by hitting the green and two-putting for par. The par putt was not without some nerves however as Murphy rolled in a 6-footer to put the pressure squarely on Brett.
“In my round today I had a seven card straight,” Murphy said. “I made a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry!”
After pitching up Brett rolled his par putt by, leaving himself with a nervy 6-footer for bogey and the title. Putting on the same line as Murphy, Brett answered by jarring the putt and securing the Siderowf Division Player of the Year title for the second consecutive season. Dick Stevens, Bill Hermanson, and Rick Malafronte rounded out the top-5.
Branden Strileckis earned the Tettelbach Net Division Player of the Year honor while Alden Foss earned the Siderowf Net Division top spot. The top-5 in the Tettelbach Net Division was capped by Mario Argentino just four points behind in second, Danny Oquendo in third, Mark Brooks in fourth and Erin Kinney in fifth. Behind Foss in the Siderowf Net Division were Richard Zanini, Carl Musante, Tom Hurd and J Brayboy.
Sponsored by Chris Cote's Golf Shop, the Player of the Year race awarded a total of $4,000 in merchandise credit to the top-3 finishers in the Tettelbach and Siderowf Gross and Net Divisions.
