Many swore, some cried out and almost everyone grumbled as they fought against a daunting ninth hole. The cup sitting on a slope near the back of the green, a missed approached shot meant a long, painful roll down the fast green and an even longer putt to follow. The hole was so hard, 16 golfers we unable to sink their ball.

For 2008 Invitational Champion Dave Claffey, the ninth hole was the turning point. Down a stroke to Kevin Neville after eight, Claffey try to lay up short of the hole, but the ball carry just enough to climb the gentle incline and fall into the cup for an ace. Neville was able to par the hole, but the damage was done. Claffey took his one stroke advantage into the back nine and never relinquished the lead.

“I tried to play it safe,” said Claffey. “Neville was hitting some amazing shots, and I knew if I couldn’t get the lead soon he would never give it up. I didn’t think the ninth was the hole to do it. I just lucked out. In the first round I escaped with a par, but that hole makes babies cry.”

The hole-in-one helped propel Claffey to a record-setting round, posting a 43 and beating last year’s champion Greg Waligorski’s first round score of 44.

The Claffey-Neville battle wasn’t the only one on the course. A first round score of 52 made Jen Kuzmick a front-runner for the Women’s Championship and gave her a berth in the top grouping in the second round, but an incredible second round of 48 by Mimi Drozd and a great combined score from 2007 Women’s Champion Nora Brown forced a one hole playoff to determine the title.

With Llamas lining the first green, Brown’s tee shot slipped past the hole while Drozd kissed her tee shot off the far wall to give her an easy tap in for par. Brown had a chance to force a second playoff hole, but her difficult second shot couldn’t find its target, giving Mimi the 2008 Women’s title.

Nora did win the Battle of the Browns for the second year in a row, and Don Bizier fended off his son Mike to earn the Bizier Battle title.

2008 Dizzy Llamas Invitational Results

On Tuesday September 23rd, the Llamas were on the links for the Dick’s Last Resort charity golf tournament. 14 teams played in the scramble event, hosted by Sandy Burr Country Club in Wayland, MA, with proceeds benefiting the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation.

Brad Bodell (far left) crushed the ball off the tee, giving the Llamas great second shots. Keith Kantor (2nd from left) played a fantastic short game, hitting some unbelievable chip shots onto the green. Mike Comtois (2nd from right) was the greens specialist, shooting last most of the day and sinking countless clutch putts. Tom Boates (far right) was an all-around hero for the team, hitting everything from long drives, difficult approaches, and long putts.

The Llamas shot a -1 (71) for the day, finishing 7th out of 14 teams in their first ever tournament. Congratulations to the entire team on a job well done.