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This past weekend, players from all over the U.S. traveled with Am Golf Trips to Big Cedar Lodge, just outside of Branson, Missouri. Anticipation was high as players were able to set foot on the first Tiger Woods public designed course, Payne’s Valley as well as the highly acclaimed Buffalo Ridge and Ozarks National courses. The three 18 hole venues could perhaps be the best trio you will find in one location. Big Cedar Lodge is a must see and lives up to the hype as “America’s Next Great Golf Destination”.
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The format for the weekend was a 2-player better ball event, divided in two divisions based on the teams handicap. Teams were battling within each division for two different titles, a Gross champion and a Net champion. Each team would play three total rounds over three days with their cumulative 54 hole score being used to determine the winner. To add even more excitement to the weekend all of the players teed it up at Top of the Rock and Mountain Top to square off individually for a chance at the $8,000 skins pot.
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The players kicked off the event on Friday morning at the Buffalo Ridge course where they were greeted by beautiful weather and a very friendly course staff. The Tom Fazio and Johnny Morris designed course greeted the players with beautiful views that would continue at all of the courses the entire weekend. At the end of the round, in Division 1 the team of Megan Godfrey and Emily Sobut found themselves in a tie with the team of Fred Alaimo and Anthony Zumpano at gross even par. Josh Earnest and his partner General Fernbach trailed the leaders by only two shots. In the Division II group Zach Senger and his teammate Brian Hagenbruch took the early lead at gross 8-over par with two teams only two shots back.
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Friday afternoon the players ended up getting to play their own ball at the famous Top of the Rock par 3 course for a chance to claim a piece of the $4,000 skins pot. Players were able to follow the action on live scoring, provided by industry leader Golf Genius. It was an exciting afternoon as players were able to see their skins either holding up or being taken away during the round which made for a lot of excitement and banter amongst the field. At the end of the day only 2 skins held up each paying out $2,000. Max Guajardo earned his money with birdie on number 9 while Chris Inglot birdied number 4 for his big skin.
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Ozarks National welcomed players Saturday morning, aka “moving day”. Greens were rolling true at this Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore designed course that Phil Mickelson recently made his Champions Tour debut on. In the Division I group, team Zumpano/Alaimo once again shot gross even par to take the lead by two strokes over team Sobut/Godfrey. In Division II team Senger/Hagenbruch held onto the clubhouse lead but there were 5 teams all nipping at their heels within 4 strokes or more.
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With another $4,000 in skins on the line, the players once again got to play their own ball on the Mountain Top course, another one of Big Cedar’s par-3 courses. Teeing off later in the afternoon players were greeted with amazing views and a spectacular sunset on the track as it was perched on the highest point of the lodge. When it was all said and done, three players ended up splitting the $4,000 purse. General Fernback, Mike McLaughlin and Mike Andelman all made great birdies on some difficult holes to take home $1,333 a piece.
A few weeks prior to the Am Golf Trips event Tiger Woods hosted the Payne's Valley Cup live on TV at the newly opened Payne’s Valley Course at Big Cedar. Seeing the layout and terrain on TV added a ton of excitement and hype to the players who were making their way to the event a month later. This was the setting for the final rounds of the better ball competition and what the players saw on TV didn’t even do the course justice. The players were in awe of the newly opened course and was the icing on the cake for an amazing event. Team Zumpano/Alaimo shot an extremely impressive Gross 69 to hold onto their lead and take home the hardware for the Division I Gross title. The battle for the Net crown in the Division I group came down to the final hole. With 3 teams tied at 12-under par, the team of Matt Hughes and Jason Aleman stepped up to their final hole, the par 3 10th. Aleman stuffed his tee shot inside 10 feet and made birdie to come in at 13-under and take home the victory, very “Tiger-eske”.
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In the Division II group, team Senger/Hagenbruch were hanging onto their lead until the team of Kasey Dickenson and Gary Barrow partnered up for a very impressive gross score of 76 to come back from down 2 strokes to take home the title. The Division II net title was a battle the entire final round with a lot of great scoring from the teams in contention. When the final ball was holed the team of Zack Bartels and Adam Brooks earned the victory with a 6-under 66 to win the title and take home bragging rights and the hardware.
Perhaps the most anticipated part of the Payne’s Valley round, was the already iconic 19th hole. Originally designed to help settle some on-course bets, Am Golf Trips turned this unforgettable hole into the Swag Showdown Series hole. This island green par-3 down the cliffs from the clubhouse is like nothing you’ve ever seen before at a golf course. The ride from the 18th green to the tee box and then up to the clubhouse feels like you’re on a ride at Disney World. Swag Golf hosted a closet to the pin contest, while Big Cedar Lodge hosted a $1,000 hole in one challenge. It added tension and excitement for all the players,and while no one made an ace, Jason Aleman landed one 5 feet 6 inches from the cup to claim the Swag Golf prize package of a custom putter and headcover (valued at over $600).
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Gary Barrow & Kasey Dickenson (Div II Champs) | Anthony Zumpano & Fred Alaimo (Div I Champs)
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Am Golf Trips was designed to travel to amazing venues to showcase tournament golf in a fun, friendly and competitive atmosphere. This is an event all of the players and team from Am Golf Trips will be talking about for a long time. From the courses, to the camaraderie, to the views, to the staff, it was everything that Am Golf Trips aims to deliver in our one of a kind elite golf experiences.
Congratulations to all of our winners, thank you to all of the players who participated, and for those who missed out on this one, how does Vegas, the Super Bowl and golf sound as a way to follow this event up?! Join Am Golf Trips on yet another unforgettable golf adventure at Paiute Golf Resort in Las Vegas the weekend of the Super Bowl. Players will be treated to 3 rounds of golf, 3 nights accommodations at MGM Grand and a Super Bowl viewing party to cap off the event. Check out all of the details at: Am Golf Trips: Paiute Las Vegas.
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