88 golfers compete in three divisions
By Duncan Nixon
Correspondent
The weather was hot and dry and the Lake Monticello golf course was in excellent condition for the prestigious Faulconer Invitational golf tournament played on May 22 and 23. A total of 88 golfers competed in three divisions. The regular Championship Division saw golfers compete on both days from the blue tees, also known as “the tips.” The Lake course is 6,930 yards long from these tees and that is comparable to some of the PGA courses played by the Phil Mickelson’s of the world. There was also a Seniors Division for golfers 50 and over and a Super Seniors Division for those 65 and over. The Seniors played from the regular men’s white tees over a distance of 6,296 yards, while the Super Seniors played from the Gold tees over a distance of 5,950 yards. The Faulconer champion is, of course, the winner in the championship men’s division.
This year’s Faulconer champion was Mikey Moyers who effectively won the tournament on Saturday, by shooting a very impressive two under par 70. This gave him a three-stroke lead going into the second and final round on Sunday. He shot a very creditable 75 on Sunday for a total score of 145. He won by two strokes over Bryce Johnson, who carded a 73 on Saturday and a 74 on Sunday. Third place went to Adam Marshall who shot 77 and 73 for 150. The difficulty of the Lake Monticello course from the blue tees is evident from the fact that these top local amateurs managed only one sub-par round in two days. Moyer’s first round 70 was the only such round.
Moyers who is 30 years old, plays out of the Green Hills course in Stanardsville. He played in college for Virginia Tech and spent one year on what is now the Korn-Ferry pro tour for young pros aspiring to make the PGA tour. Moyers commented after his win that “amateur golf is a lot more fun.” Lake Monticello golf pro Mark Marshall pointed out that Moyers comes from a long line of golfers. His father and a great uncle each won the Faulconer Invitational twice.
The seniors Division was won by Jim Hurst, who plays out of the Fredericksburg Country Club. He shot an extremely impressive 70 and 69 to win by nine strokes. Second place went to Phil Mahone, who has been a top Charlottesville area amateur for years. He shot 148. Close behind in third place was Bowen Sargent with a 149.
The Super Seniors’ winner was Dan McCarter with very solid 70 and 72 for two under par 142. He was followed by Tim Vigotsky who shot 144 and John Steele who came in at 145.
In the competition for the low score by a Lake Monticello resident, Jay Calvo and Eric Parlet both finished with a score of 160, but Calvo was declared the winner based on the established procedure of matching scores going backward from the 18th hole on the final round.
Fluco golf team stand-out, sophomore Killian Donnelly, was the junior golfer winner with a score of 155, very impressive for playing from the blue tees.
