We had our FINALS for the 2024 Tour of the Brookfields season on Saturday, September 28th. It is also called “The Grand Tour“. Each division/flight had 6 teams placing in the prize circle. There were also skins awarded (3) as well as 4 closest to the pins.
It was a great golf day weather-wise at Quail Hollow Golf Course and Country Club in Oakham, MA.
We had an amazing field of 128 players – broken out into 32 teams. We had not had so many in a long time. We had 10 teams in the Nicklaus Flight, and 11 teams each in the Palmer and Player Flights.
There was incredibly competitive golf in each flight as you will see below. In the Nicklaus Flight, 6/10 teams were within just three strokes. In each of the Player Divisions, 7/11 teams were within three strokes! You can’t get much more close and competitive than that.
There were two playoffs as well for the top honors – one lasting 3 extra holes in the Palmer and one in the Player Flight – that one lasting four extra holes! The gallery got to cheer on both as they played it out on the 18th hole.
OVERALL RESULTS FROM THE 2024 TOUR OF THE BROOKFIELDS GRAND TOUR
Nicklaus Division/Flight
In the top division (the Nicklaus Division), the team of Tom Staiti, Brad Earle, Ken Burnham, and Patty Kularski had the BEST score of any team in the tournament. They shot a STELLAR 12-under par to finish on top over 4 teams that came in at -10 (not shabby either). Those four teams, who shared in the 2nd to 5th awards, were:
- Ryan Auger, Dan Foley, Ray Rawlston, Bob Weighill
- Cory Heyes, William Foley, Peter Davis, Paul Wyman
- Chris Depasse, Mike Kularski, Kristen Depasse, Dick LaPierre
- Josh Russell, Dave Russell, Darryl Furtado, Greg Wypych
Rounding out in sixth place at -9:
- Rick Lindsten, Kathleen Soltys, Dave Ashworth, Keith Tytula
Player Division/Flight
In the Player Division, there was a marathon playoff of 4 holes between two teams that finished at 11 under par. To decide the top team, these teams slugged it out 3 times on the 10th hole before moving on to the 18th for the 4th and decisive playoff hole. In the end, the team of Jack Dorman, Dave Fiske, Gary Donlin, and Jim McKeon outlasted their rivals to come in first with a birdie putt by Jim McKeon on the 18th.
Coming in second in the playoff, at -11, was:
- Mike Ellis, Jim Gregoire, Bill Gaudette, Ed Kosla
Tied for third at -10, and sharing in the 3rd and 4th team awards, was:
- Fran Lamothe ,Bob Demaio, Tom McCarthy, George Jette
- Tanner Frankian, Paul Davis, John Desimone, John Wheeler
Coming in 5th, and sharing in the 5th and 6th awards at -9 were the teams of:
- Tom Orszulak, Mark A. Morin (me), Norm Laliberte, Jeff McLeod
- Todd Allen, Paul Sanborn, John McQuaid, Jamie McShera
Palmer Division/Flight
In the Palmer Division there was yet another playoff as two teams finished at impressive -10’s each. This time, the playoff was three iterations of the 18th hole. Coming out on top was the team of Jim Wilson, Ron Jette, Clayton Rice, and Alex Morales.
Coming in second in the playoff, at -10, was:
- Joe Desimone, Shane Higgins, Jim Lovett, Lynn Morin
Alone in 3rd place at -9 was:
- Gary Ward, Stan Nolin, Leo Forget, Hoss Ford
In 4th place at -8 was:
- Ron Allen, Lex Varney, George Fiske, Tim Nason Sr.
Lastly, coming in 5th, and sharing in the 5th and 6th awards at -7 were the teams of:
- Ken Dorman, Dylan Allen, Wyatt Alm, Rick Gendreau
- Ron McCann, Lisa Kularski, Tony Woodman, Rob Peterson
Skins
There were three skins – all eagles!
- Eagle on number 2: Fran Lamothe, Bob Demaio, Tom McCarthy, George Jette
- Eagle on number 8: Mike Ellis, Jim Gregoire, Bill Gaudette, Ed Kosla
- Eagle on number 13: Chris Depasse, Mike Kularski, Kristen Depasse, Dick LaPierre
We also had all four par-three holes eligible for closest to the pin prizes. Any teams that did not finish in the top 6 in any division could compete for these prizes. Winning those were:
Closest to the Pin on number 4:
- Tom Foley, 10′ 3″
Closest to the Pin on number 6:
- Kevin Paradis, 9′ 0″
Closest to the Pin on number 11:
- Steve Whitman, 8″ !!!!!
Closest to the Pin on number 17:
- Jim Kularski, 3′ 10″
That rounds out the awards – congrats to all the winners and the players. Special thanks to Quail Hollow, especially Debbie Donlin, Gary Donlin, Jim LeBlanc, and the rest of the staff for making this season and this event so special.
Below are some photos I shot during the event.
A Few Event Photos
What Next?
Well, the TOB will return in 2025 in April. Stay tuned to this blog for information (you can be an email subscriber for free just select follow and subscribe at the bottom of this article).
I’ll also put out information on the Facebook page here, will post at Still Harts Cafe, and at Quail Hollow.
Thanks to all the players, our sponsors, and to Quail Hollow. You can comment below on this post or the Facebook page – see you next year!!!
Mark A. Morin 