CHAMPIONSGATE, Fla. - Three teams were victorious at ChampionsGate Country Club for the 2023 edition of the Men's Net Two-Man Shoot-Out. Robert Grave and Dave Graves won the Under 50 Division, Michael Loye and David Bernard won the 60-69 Division and Bruce Moskovciak and John Thompson won the 70 & Over Division.
Under 50 Division
The first round of the Net Shoot-Out consisted of a two man scramble format. The father/son duo of Robert and Dave Graves took the lead after round 1 in the Under 50 Division after firing a 10-under par, 62. Their round was highlighted by an eagle on the par 5, 4th hole to go along with 8 other birdies. In a tie for second place at 9-under par were the teams of Eric Bruns/Will Yorgey and Daniel Eggertsson/Ian Steele. Both pairs made 9 birdies each with no blemishes on their scorecards. With the top five teams all being within four shots of the lead, Four-Ball play in the final round would ultimately decide the champions.
The Graves duo were on a mission come the final round, making 7 birdies in their first 8 holes. This would put them well ahead of their competitiors with nine holes to play. After starting the day in 4th place, Brian Vukovich and Dennis Doherty would climb up the leaderboard quickly to challenge the Graves playing in the group behind. After a bogey and a string of pars from the Graves, Vukovich and Doherty would find themselves only two shots back of the lead with three holes to play. Despite making a late push a down the stretch and coming in with a round of 64 (-8), they ultimately fell one shot shy in the end, leading to a Graves victory.
60-69 Division
The 60-69 Division would see the low round of the day with Michael Loye and David Bernard putting together a brilliant round of 12-under par, 60. The pair made ten birides on the day to go along with an eagle on the par 4, 7th hole. Loye and Bernard would end the day with the largest lead in any division, with three shots over their nearest competitors. Finishing their day at 9-under par was the team of Gary Morris and Michael DiFrancesco. Morris/DiFrancesco had a string of seven birdies on the front side to go along with two more on the latter half. Sitting a further three shots back in third place was the team of Tony Prensa and Kevin Hewlett at 6-under par.
Come the final round on Monday, Loye and Bernard would keep their feet on the gas, "ham and egging" it most of the day. The duo would go on to shoot 4-under par on each of their two nines, and went on to finish the round with a 64 (-8). At the end of the two days, Bernard & Loye finished five shots clear of Morris & DiFrancesco in order to capture their first Net Championship.
70 & Over Division
When the final putt dropped on day 1, Bruce Moskovciak and John Thompson would find themselves at the top of the leaderboard after an opening round of 9-under par, 63. The duo's round consisted of 8 birdes, 1 eagle and 1 bogey. Two shots back was the team of Anthony Scaggs and Tom Kidd. Scaggs/Kidd had two eagles in their first round, on holes 7 and 18 and would have some ground to make up in the four-ball portion of the event. In third place at 4-under par was Rommel Lozada and Danilo Liwanag.
Moskovciak and Thompson would start the final round with their eyes set at the top prize. They would make their intentions clear after playing the first four holes in 5-under par. They would finish their round with 10 birdies and two eagles to shoot a final round score of 13-under par, 59. This would result in a 12-shot victory over Anthony Scaggs and Tom Kidd after they finished their tournament at 10-under par. Coming in third place was Brian Carroll and Tom Weber at 7-under par.
