Late surge puts Gilles and Dahl on top

CONNOR SCRAMBLE

Outstanding first and third rounds on the Black River Golf Course propelled Aaron Gilles and Trevor Dahl to the championship in Saturday’s 35th annual Larry Connor Memorial Scramble.

In clinching their first Connor championship, Gilles and Dahl shot 5-underpar 31s during their first and last rounds of the 27-hole event to offset their evenpar 36 in the middle round and finish with a total score of 98, which was 10-under- par. They entered the last nine holes two strokes behind the team of Vince Wojcik and Dave Fuchs. They shot a 35 on their last nine holes to fall to second place with a final score of 100. Third place went to Bill and Jack Connor, nephews of Larry Connor. They couldn’t quite come back from a first-round score of 35 and finished at 102. The Connors finished second in 2020 and 2021. Jake Crass and Andy Leischer shot a 103 to place fourth in the tournament’s top flight.

A total of 28 two-person teams competed in this year’s tournament. Seven teams were placed in each of the tournament’s four flights after the first nine holes.

Annual teammates Gary Graham and Ed Mohr used a late surge to win the second flight with a final score of 107. After rounds of 37 and 38, they shot a 32 to surge past four teams that shot 108s, including the 2021 championship team of Brian Brink and Rob Keefe. All seven teams in the flight carded scores between 107 and 110.

Medford graduates from 1993 Ryan Waldhart and Troy Schroeder rebounded from a first-round 38 with a pair of 33s and won the third flight with a final score of 104, three shots ahead of Jordan Dahl and Amy Rohweder. Dahl and Fuchs were the 2020 Connor champions.

Mike Brandner and Jesse Clark steadily did better as the day went on and carded a 109 to win the fourth flight by six shots over Jason and Shane Viergutz. Brandner and Clark shot a 38 to start the day and then finished with rounds of 36 and 35.

Larry Connor was an avid golfer and a popular teacher and boys basketball coach at Medford Area Senior High. He competed statewide and nationwide in the Amputee Golf Association before passing away at age 45 in 1988.

35th annual Larry Connor Memorial Scramble results Black River Golf Course, 27 holes, par 108

First Flight

1. Aaron Gilles/Trevor Dahl: 31, 36, 31 –– 98

2. Vince Wojcik/Dave Fuchs: 33, 32, 35 –– 100

3. Bill Connor/Jack Connor: 35, 33, 34 ––

102

4. Jake Crass/Andy Leischer: 33, 35, 35 –– 103

5. Tim Rau/Pete Liske: 35, 36, 33 –– 104

6. Casey Johnson/Jason Gardner: 35, 35,

34 –– 104

7. Ben Gorichs/Terry Johnson: 35, 34, 36 –– 105 Second Flight

1. Gary Graham/Ed Mohr: 37, 38, 32 ––

107

2. Tony Kleifgen/Dave Pepper: 37, 36, 35 –– 108

3. Natalie Winkler/Brad Bucki: 37, 38, 33 –– 108

4. Zak Rau/Luke Peterson: 36, 37, 35 ––

108

5. Brian Brink/Rob Keefe: 36, 38, 34 –– 108

6. Jon Knoll/Justin Mayer: 35, 38, 36 –– 109

7. Marshall Kleist/Chuck Schultz: 36, 36,

38 –– 110 Third Flight

1. Ryan Waldhart/Troy Schroeder: 38,

33, 33 –– 104

2. Jordan Dahl/Amy Rohweder: 37, 33, 37 –– 107

3. Gary Albrecht/Zak Albrecht: 38, 39, 35 –– 112

4. Myles Connor/Dave Connor: 37, 38, 37 –– 112

5. Brad Jentzsch/Kurt Werner: 38, 38, 37 –– 113

6. Mike Retterath/Bob Reisenberg: 37,

37, 39 –– 113

7. Bob Brandner/Dave Brandner: 37, 37,

39 –– 113 Fourth Flight

1. Mike Brandner/Jesse Clark: 38, 36, 35 –– 109

2. Jason Viergutz/Shane Viergutz: 39, 37,

39 –– 115

3. Matt Brey/John Thiel: 38, 40, 38 –– 116

4. Neal Waldhart/Jim Elliott: 40, 38, 38 –– 116

5. Jason Christianson/Mark Brahmer:

43, 36, 38 –– 117

6. Matt Hamilton/Stacie Hamilton: 41,

40, 45 –– 126

7. Brett Waldhart/Matt Kleczewski: 46,

40, 44 –– 130

Ed Mohr and Gary Graham won the second flight in the Connor Scramble with a 27-hole score of 107.

Ryan Waldhart and Troy Schroeder shot a 104 to win the third flight in Saturday’s scramble.

Mike Brandner and Jesse Clark won the fourth flight in Saturday’s scramble with a final score of 109.