Czepiel Shoots Down Field at Eagle Crest by John Craig

A 35-foot birdie putt on his 26th hole of the day propelled Todd Czepiel onto the final hole of the 16th Annual Eagle Crest Shootout and eventually the win.“It was tough, it was an uphiller and I wanted to die it to the hole,” Czepiel said. That birdie forced the hand of Jimmy Welch, who had found the left side bunker on the long par-3.  He got up and down for par, which eliminated Don DeNyse III.

Confused?  It’s all part of a unique format that has become a tradition. The field started Thursday morning with 18 holes.  The top ten made the cut.  Then, all ten teed off on the tenth hole and one-by-one, hole-by-hole a player is eliminated.

If there’s a tie after a hole, there’s a chip-off from a designated spot at that hole.  Furthest from the hole is out. The Shootout eliminates players until there is just one left standing.  On July 9th, that was Czepiel, who had gone to work at 5:00 AM.

18th HOLE

On 18, Czepiel sent his drive right of the fairway on the par-5.  Welch was in the middle of the fairway.  But Czepiel found a gap through some trees and knocked his second shot 40-yards from the green.

“I didn’t think I was going to get that close,” Czepiel said. “I hit a hybrid. I could have hit a three-wood, it might have got there. I was very happy.” From there, he found the green and made par to win the Shootout.  Welch stuck his pitch just on the fringe to the left of the pin, about 10-feet away. Welch, who won the 2009 Troy Invitational, said he had a putt from almost the same spot during the morning round.

“I hit a solid putt, it had a chance to go in,” Welch said. “[I hit it] a little too hard but when it hit that hole it kind of propelled it and I didn’t expect to have five feet left but I did.” Welch missed the come-backer and the trophy went to Czepiel.

“I was dodging some bullets because I missed some three- and four-footers on that side,” Welch said. “It was fun, I enjoyed playing.” “To be honest, I was more nervous about getting to the Shootout because I’ve been having trouble at the County Amateur and I’m all worried about making the cut,” Czepiel said. “But when I get myself into the situation I seem to do all right. But it’s just getting there.”

“Todd played really well,” Welch said. “He played better as the day went which is the key in this format. He built momentum.”

UPSTATE GOLFER

Czepiel, 25, hails from Boonville, just north of Utica.  He won the 2002 Utica City Amateur when he was 18 years old.  Then he went to SUNY Cobleskill where he studied turf.Czepiel landed a job at Pinehaven as an Assistant Superintendent and moved to Schenectady.  He now has that same job at Shaker Ridge.  Actually, before arriving Thursday morning at Eagle Crest, he reported for work at 5:00AM and cut cups until just after 7:00AM.  Then he walked 18, shot a 74 to make the cut by a stroke, never got into a chip-off and won the tournament by outlasting a three-and-a-half hour Shootout nine-holes.

“It feels good,” he said. “I don’t think people know about me. It just seemed like I never played to my potential and it feels good to finally be up near the top.” Czepiel last played in the Shootout three years ago with similar wet conditions.  He made the cut at 77 but lost in a chip-off at the 14th hole. “Hopefully [this win] leads to good things,” Czepiel said. “It calms my nerves.”

OTHERS SHOT OUT

Here’s how the ten golfers in the Shootout fared:
Eliminated at 17: Don DeNyse III.

The two-time Albany County Amateur was the medalist in the morning round, shooting a 71.  He made it to the final hole last year before losing.  This year, he flew the par-3 17th green and put his ball next to a ball-washer near the 18th tee.  His chip landed in the right spot but then the ball took off and rolled off the front of the green. However, he wouldn’t have been there had he not survived two chip-offs at 12 and 13.  At 13 he made a 20-foot putt that hit a spike mark just to get into the chip-off or he would have been gone early.  His caddy, younger brother Dan, said it was his read that propelled Donny’s putt.

Eliminated at 16: Andrew Weise.
He tied for second in the morning, shooting a 72 with Jimmy Welch and Jim Gifford. Weise had to take a lateral hazard penalty on the par-5 15th hole.  He saved bogey and won a chip-off against Kyle Armstrong but on 16, lost a chip-off to Welch.

Eliminated at 15: Kyle Armstrong.
He shot 75 in the morning to make the cut. On 15, he lost his tee shot right and had to go back and re-tee.  He bombed a drive well past all other tee-shots but that put him in a hole and he lost the chip-off to Weise.

Eliminated at 14: Chad Stoffer.
After shooting a 75 in the morning, Stoffer started the Shootout hot. He stuck his approach shots at 10, 11, 12 and 13 and never had to putt.  But at the par-3 he put his shot in the left front bunker and couldn’t recover.

Eliminated at 13: Mike McCarroll.
After shooting 75 in the morning, McCarroll was cruising in the Shootout. He put his second shot just off the green on the long par-5 and elected to putt from the fringe.  The ball wound up down a slope where he would make par but was in a four-way chip-off.  His chip was the shortest.

Eliminated at 12: Steve Owens.
He tied DeNyse III with a 71 in the morning round but lost in a chip-off to DeNyse and Armstrong from 53-yards out.

Eliminated at 11: Alex Macielak.
He shot 75 in the morning but had a tough time around the 11th green.

Eliminated at 10: Jim Gifford.
He shot 72 in the morning but with the crowded field, he was the first to succumb to the ten-player Shootout.

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