Posted
online: May 16, 2004 10:05 PM
Print publication date: May 17, 2004
By
Tom Johnston, tjohnston@qconline.com
Greg Manjoine is no stranger to winning golf events -- especially those in
his hometown and on his home course at Geneva Country Club.
The
Manjoine shot a 2-over 74 Sunday that he didn't
think was going to be good enough to even get a sniff of the title. Instead, it
tied him with Peters at 144 after the 36-holes of regulation play. Peters
shared the day's best round of two-under 69 with Kewanee's Tom Miler, who
finished third with a 145 total, two shots ahead of first-round leader Steve Schwabe (77--147).
``Ben's 69 was a great round on this course,'' said Manjoine,
who won the Muscatine Spring Classic in 2001 and followed it up later that year
with a win in the Muscatine City Tournament. ``I know he didn't have a good
round (Saturday), but he made up for it. I was lucky to come out a winner in
the playoff.''
Peters had to feel like he let some chances at his first NCB Am Tour victory
slip away. According to Manjoine, Peters missed makeable birdie putts on the first two playoff holes (Nos.
18 and 1).
``On the first playoff hole, Ben hit it to four or five feet, just hit a
great shot in there,'' Manjoine said. ``He had a
couple of good chances to win it.''
Then it was Manjoine's opportunity on the 377-yard
second hole. Peters pushed his tee shot into the trees on the right, never
finding that ball and having to play a provisional, which led to a bogey. Manjoine had his own concerns, hitting the famous tree in
the middle of the fairway off the tee. He played just short of the green on his
second shot and then got up-and-down for par with a chip and a putt.
``I had a great time; this is a pretty good group of guys,'' said Manjoine, who added he will not become part of the
summer-long NCB Am Tour circuit.
The 39-year-old Manjoine countered a double-bogey
on No. 7 with birdies at 5 and 9 to make the turn in even par at the tricky
par-71 layout made a bit tougher by Sunday's breezy conditions. He then
suffered a pair of bogeys on the back 9 with Peters having posted his score and
waiting in the clubhouse.
-- Seniors: The top three seniors from the first round held their
spots in Sunday's second round. Randy Trine fired a 5-over 76 for a 146 total
to hold off Tom Fahy (80--151) and Reed Swenson
(80--152).
-- Up next: The NCB Am Tour is back in action this coming weekend,
making its debut at the refurbished Hawthorn Ridge Golf Club in Aledo. That
36-hole event will be played Saturday and Sunday.