Congratulations to Nathan Greene and Steve Way, the 2016 Nomad Classic Champions!
The 12th edition of the Nomad Classic returned once more to the Kawarthas region of Ontario. This year’s tournament marked a controversial introduction to a first round alternative scoring method. In this Nomad Classic, the partners were going to be randomly paired AFTER the first round. On top of the that, the starting score for each team was going to be the handicap-adjusted best ball score of the team. The courses to host this year’s Nomad Classic were Wolf Run(first round), Oliver’s Nest (second round), and Lindsay Golf and Country Club (round 3) which were all approximately 30 minutes from our resort at Balsam Lake.
This year’s tournament took place in the midst of a drought. The weather was hot and sunny for all three days, with only a brief period of heavy rain which quickly swept through for a few holes near the end of the second round. Because of the weather, greens were well maintained but the rough was hard and sparse, making the ball run an extra 30 yards at time, and making players feel like they were hitting off of concrete. With eight teams competing, it was the biggest Nomad contingent in years.
The first round at Wolf Run had fast tricky greens but with drives running extra long (including Matt Ingrassia driving the green 325 yards away on the par 4 hole 9) several players were able to shoot under their handicap. The top individual performer on the day in his rookie year was Dan Lodu at 8-under. Nathan Greene and Tim Jones were 7-under each, with Matt Ingrassia following at 6-under, then Sam Masih at 5-under, Tom Shepherd and Christian Ferguson at 4-under, Tom Shepherd at 2-under, and Mark Rinaldo at 1-under. Steve Way was even for the round with all other golfers finishing higher than their handicap.
However, with pairing of partners to come, nobody knew what the scores were after the first round! Christian Ferguson was trying for the three-peat, so he was enemy number one but he was let off easy because nobody knew his partner. After the pairing smoke cleared, Christian was partnered with Tom Shepherd, a good golfer but notorious 2nd round choke artist and potential Nomad killer. The team of Steve Way and Nathan Greene was in first at -18, with the rookie team of Ed Ferguson and Dan Lodu close behind at -16. Mark Rinaldo and Aaron McCourtie were third with -12, and the low-handicap team of Sam Masih and Tim Jones were fourth with -11. There was a 3-way tie for teams in fifth at -10. The last place pairing was -3 based on a handicap adjustment for another rookie golfer, Dave Fauteux.
With teams set, the second round of the Nomad continued with regular rules. It was anybody’s tournament with 7 teams within 8 strokes of the leaders. Oliver’s Nest was the course for the second day. Greens were a little slower but the rough was in similar shape as the previous day. Day 2 had some major movement as teams had some solid performances. The last place team of Doyle and Fauteux had the biggest movement of the day based on Doyle’s 8-under performance. Their team was able to drop 5 spots from last to third place! Masih and Jones separated themselves from the back by both shooting under par at -2 and -1 respective. However, the second best low-round of the day by Steve Way, with a par by his partner Greene, meant an additional 2 stroke gap was created in the lead over second place. All other teams shot positive results and dropped away from the top 3 teams. Tom Shepherd’s reputation as the Nomad Killer was realized has he posted a +15 to eliminate Christian Ferguson from threepeat contention.
With ten strokes separating first from third, could Way and Greene hold on? It would be Nathan’s first championship if they could, and Way’s record holding fourth time on the trophy. However, in second place Jones was seeking his first championship, and Masih wanted to tie Way with appearances on the trophy. Interestingly enough, it was Masih and Jones that pushed for the scoring change for this tournament, which put them in second instead of first going into the final round.
The final round was held at Lindsay G&CC, and it happened to be the greenest course of the tournament. With wide open holes in some parts of the course, followed by tight tree-lined fairways in other sections, this course had enough trouble to create movement. The round was started on the back 9, and concluded on the front 9. Ryan Doyle was able to repeat his amazing performance the prior day by shooting a 7-under par. He also almost rolled his golf cart. His partner, perhaps shaken by the incident, posted a horrific +19 to knock them out of contention. This tournament came down to a two-horse race between Jones and Masih who were 9 shots back, and Way and Greene.
Way struggled early, not doing his partner any favours, by shooting 10 on the third hole played. The meltdown was on for Way! When he turned in his scorecard, he had posted three 10s in total, along with a 9! He posted a terrible +12 to erase his team’s lead and reduce his partner’s chances. However, Greene picked up the slack. Scoring even the day previous, he was able to play some consistent golf with only one 10 on hole 18. By the end of the round he lessed the damage by shooting 5-under. As a team they were +7 for the day. Masih and Jones only had to finish as a combined 3-under to claim the trophy, while 2-under would push a playoff. Jones was a man on a mission, playing inspired golf. With only one 6 on his scorecard, he shot an impressive 85 to be 4-under his handicap. Masih, who posted two sub-par scores the prior two rounds just had to shoot par to hold onto the trophy. With Way posting a 10 on hole 8, the second last hole of tournament, the trophy was in the process of getting Masih and Jones’ name put on it when Masih fired an approach 10 ft past the green. Normally an easy chip for Masih, he skulled his shot past the pin, through the green, and into the neighbouring water hazard! After the penalty stroke, he chipped on and putted out for an 8, instead of a par. After parring the last hole, he finished with a +4 score to erase his partner’s performance, and finish in second. Way and Greene held on to win at -16 overall, with Masih and Jones finishing at -14.
Way’s last championship win occured with Mark Rinaldo, whom Way helped to claim the title for Rinaldo’s first time ever. With Way helping Nathan Greene capture the trophy for his first time ever, Way has become known as the Kingmaker.
The Sandbagger Trophy was shared this year by Nathan Greene and Tim Jones who each shot a -12 against their handicap after three rounds. This was the first time both players had posted three solid rounds at a Nomad.
Tim Jones also led the way with the lowest stroke-play overall with 254 strokes over 3 days.
| Place | Player | Day 1* | Day 2 | Day 3 | Team Total | Singles Total | NC-HC |
| 1 | Nathan Greene | -18 | 0 | -5 | -16 | -12 | 111/111/112 |
| 1 | Steven Way | -18 | -5 | +12 | -16 | +7 | 100/99/100 |
| 2 | Sam Masih | -11 | -2 | +4 | -14 | -3 | 89/88/89 |
| 2 | Tim Jones | -11 | -1 | -4 | -14 | -12 | 89/88/89 |
| 3 | Ryan Doyle | -3 | -8 | -7 | -1 | -9 | 102/101/103 |
| 3 | Dave Fauteux | -3 | -2 | +19 | -1 | +34 | 106/106/107 |
| 4 | Mark Rinaldo | -12 | +3 | +2 | +1 | +4 | 91/90/91 |
| 4 | Aaron McCourtie | -12 | +2 | +6 | +1 | +14 | 112/111/113 |
| 5 | Christian Ferguson | -10 | +1 | -2 | +4 | -5 | 100/99/101 |
| 5 | Tom Shepherd | -10 | +15 | 0 | +4 | +13 | 94/93/94 |
| 6 | Ed Ferguson | -16 | +9 | +7 | +10 | +24 | 112/111/113 |
| 6 | Dan Lodu | -16 | +1 | +9 | +10 | +10 | 101/100/102 |
| 7 | Matt Ingrassia | -10 | +1 | +5 | +14 | 0 | 88/87/88 |
| 7 | Jason Webster | -10 | +7 | +11 | +14 | +21 | 96/95/97 |
| 8 | Will Ferguson | -10 | +15 | +8 | +17 | +27 | 112/111/113 |
| 8 | Tim Biehler | -10 | -2 | +6 | +17 | +3 | 89/88/89 |
*Day 1 is a team score.