If they didn’t shoot such an amazing round, competitors might have been a little tired of seeing these guys at the top of the leaderboard.
The foursome of Al Graves, Richard Prunick Jr, Jeremiah LaFlamme and Ryan Fischer took the Alger County Veterans Golf Scramble title on Saturday, Aug. 19 at Pictured Rocks Golf Course in Munising.
They shot a 54 on the course, a remarkable -18 for the tournament. It was a tournament record and, although not an official stat recorded by the course, considered by many of the competitors as the best four-man scramble score at Pictured Rocks.
The team was complimentative of each other’s strong play on the course.
“It’s a lot of fun when you’re playing with guys that can hit it 300, hit good putts, hit the good approach shots — it’s just a lot of fun and we enjoyed it,” Graves said.
The team scored 16 birdies, parred 18 and shot an eagle on the parfive hole 13. They won by five strokes over second place Passenault, Passenault, Passenault and Passenault who shot a commendable 59.
“We’re ready to shoot -19 next year,” Fischer said with a smirk.
The group had plenty of reasons to be confident with the success of the team individually as well as a group. Fischer was a part of the winning trio from the prestigious Fathers Day tournament this year.
Both Graves and Prunick Jr have won the veterans scramble multiple times. LaFlamme has also been a part of successful scramble teams over the last two seasons.
“It’s super cool to play so well in this tournament,” Prunick Jr said. “It’s all about what everyone continues to give.”
Both Graves and Prunick Jr served in the U.S. military, with Graves in the U.S. Marine Corps and Prunick Jr in the Navy. While their teammates have not served themselves, they expressed respect to those that have.
The scramble is a fundraiser that helps with veteran services and organizations in Alger County. Donations from local businesses and military families lined the walls of the clubhouse with raffle prizes and volunteers sold 50-50 tickets. Full military fanfare was included as part of the opening ceremony with an honor guard, presentation of colors and prayer. With Alger County having ten times the amount of veterans per capita compared to the national average, the scramble was a fitting event to recognize and support our neighbors who served.
“There are a lot of people here that support the service. It’s nice to see and hear people show that support through an event like this,” Graves said.
