Sports

GBCC: Sessa duo shines; Bumsteds annihilate field

What a tremendous finish to a great golfing year at Gardiner’s Bay Country Club.

The Sessa family continued to positively represent GBCC and topped off a fine year of golf. Samantha Sessa, who is now our youngest-ever club champion, did the double: along with her ladies title here, she won her junior championship at Cherry Valley Country Club in Garden City. Slammin’ Sammy made three birdies and an unfortunate triple bogey but shot a sensational level par 72. Not bad for a newly turned 15 year old!

LEIGH NOTLEY PHOTOS | Jay Sessa recently played United States Senior Amateur Championship at Kinloch Golf Club in Virginia.

Sam’s father Jay, 14-time Gardiner’s Bay club champion, recently qualified for the United States Senior Amateur Championship. He was leading qualifier last month at Elmwood Country Club in White Plains, no mean feat in itself. The championship was held at Kinloch Golf Club in Virginia. Kinloch is a sensational golf course. It’s currently ranked at 48th in Golf Digest’s top 100 courses in America and has been as lofty as 29th, back in 2008.

The format of the championship was 36 holes of stroke-play and then the top 64 moved onto matchplay, a head-to-head knockout. Jay shot very solid rounds of 73, 76 to qualify for the matchplay section and take the 36th seed, a great achievement.

Unfortunately, Jay lost his first round match against Kent Frandsen from Indiana. Frandsen, a member of Pine Valley, the world’s number-one golf course, threw four birdies at Jay on the first eight holes, including an 80-foot birdie putt on the par-4 second and a holed 30-yard pitch shot on the par-3 seventh. Jay fought well and was only 2 down at the turn. Jay birdied the 17th to go 1 down but they tied the 18th.

It was a tremendous performance by Mr. Sessa to get into the tournament itself but making the matchplay stages was fantastic.

Club ladies champion Samantha Sessa won her junior championship at Cherry Valley Country Club in Garden City last week.

Congratulations and well played, Jay. An added bonus is that Jay, through his performance, qualifies for the 2012 British Senior Amateur Championship next year at Machynys Peninsula in Southern Wales. We look forward to following your trans-Atlantic trip, Jay.

Back at Gardiner’s Bay Country Club, we held our last member tournament of the year, the Mixed Twosomes Team Championship, aka “The Divorce Open!” Several of the ladies finished the round bemoaning their husbands’ inability to putt well! But our intrepid group of competitors took on cool temps and stiff blustery winds. The result was impressive. Marc and Melina Wein shot a net 72 to finish 3rd. Kevin and Sue Scanlon, also 72, pipped the Weins by a shot in a card playoff to finish 2nd. 1st net went to Jim and Judy Bennett, who shot a level par 70 to win. Congratulations to the net winners.

Net winners of the Mixed Twosomes Team Championship, Jim and Judy Bennett, shot a level par 70.

However, the biggest round of applause went to Roy and Patti Bumsted, who annihilated the field. They shot 83 to win the gross division by six strokes; their net was 64. It was a remarkable round on a rough day. Although the writing was on the wall, Roy Bumsted had warmed up well for the championship: a couple of days earlier, he had knocked a 7 iron into the hole on the 18th for an eagle two.

Thank you to all our members and their guests who participated in all our tournaments in my first season as head golf professional of Gardiner’s Bay Country Club. I feel very honored to hold this position at a wonderful country club in a sensational setting. I continue to fall further and further in love with this Island. We are all privileged to be spending time here!

Thanks again and see you all next spring for more tournaments.