Saturday, May 19, 2007 at Seasons Ridge Golf Course The Lake Ozarks, MO

Nino Memorial VIII can only be summed up with one word - controversy. Never before has a weekend of golf been filled with such controversy. For the first time in Nino Memorial history, the golf tournament of champions has culminated in a tie.

This year's teams were as follows: Phil Ruben & Tim Spiegelglass, Jaeson Becker & Aaron Vickar, Jake "I broke the dirt on Hancock" Wagman & Marc Arbesman, and Tim Boyer & David Hoffman. The site of this year's tournament was the pristine Seasons Ridge Golf Course at Lake of the Ozark's Lodge of the Four Seasons. The accommodations were tight, and the fairways were even tighter.

The groups leisurely rolled out of their respective beds and air mattresses, and caravanned to the driving range. Oddly, Phil Ruben simply watched the players on the tee rather than actually warming up himself. It seems as if he was merely saving his spectacular shots for the round, because he was on fire the first five holes. His partner, Tim Spiegelglass, was hot the first few holes, but quickly came back to earth. The Hoffman/Boyer team's back to back birdies on the front 9 clearly threw the construction guru for a loop.

Although Wagman and Arbesman finished with a 104, Wagman's thrilling 90 foot putt towards the latter half of the round will not soon be forgotten by this year's participants. The practice he put in at Ruth Park during 2006 and early 2007 definitely paid off.

Hoffman and Boyer were only two over par going into the last four or five holes, but the pressure may have been more than either could handle. On three occasions, they missed 3-foot putts. Those three additional strokes came back to haunt them because on the 17th hole, Becker and Vickar pulled an eagle out of nowhere. For the record, this was (sadly) the first eagle in Nino Memorial history. Although +6 on the front, the duo managed to go -1 on the back nine, to finish at 77.

It all came down to the 18th green for Hoffman and Boyer, who bogeyed the par five 17th after suffering their only out-of-bounds stroke of the day. After a solid drive by Boyer, Hoffman hit the approach shot within 35 feet of the hole. A two putt would have sealed it for the pairing, but the downhill shot was too much to handle. After bogeying the hole, the team finished in a tie at 77 with Becker and Vickar.

Much discussion transpired outside of the clubhouse, for after all, no preordained rules were created to govern such a scenario. Becker refused to participate in a chip/putt off on the practice green, and Hoffman balked at the prospect of going head-to-head with Becker in a putt-putt challenge in Osage Beach. Left with no other choice, the teams opted for a tie.

Planning is already underway for NM9, with early talk already calling for a rematch at Seasons Ridge. The Rules Committee will have winter meetings to determine what will occur the next time there is a tie at the NM. Details to follow in a supplemental report.

dh