By John RittenhouseA total of nine golfers won flight championships during the 65th Men’s Club Tournament played at the Luverne Country Club over the weekend.Along with Dan Serie collecting his fourth club championship, Doug Van Kley, Craig Nelson, Matt Kopp, Tom Foster, Scott Spronk, Cory Bloemendaal, Virgil Van Hulzen and Cliff Boom entered the winner’s circle as flight champions at the end of the two-day, 36-hole tournament.Van Kley emerged as the winner of the president’s flight. He was one of eight players who competed in the championship flight on Saturday before they were placed in the president’s flight Sunday.Van Kley (85) took a one-shot lead over James Stratton (86) and two-shot advantages over Gary Golla (87) and Jeremy Sudenga (87) into Sunday’s rounds.Both Van Kley and Stratton carded 41s during Sunday’s opening round to remain one stroke apart. Van Kley nipped Stratton 37-38 during the second round to win the flight by two strokes.Van Kley finished the event with a 40-45-41-37-163. Stratton’s final numbers were 46-40-41-38-165.Golla and Sudenga slipped out of contention Sunday, opening the door for George McDonald. McDonald, who shot an 89 Saturday, rallied to record a 79 Sunday to finish third. His final numbers were 40-49-41-38-168.Craig Nelson used a late surge to win the first flight.Scott Remme shot an 85 Saturday to open a two-shot cushion over Nelson, Steve Sehr and Jason Phelps, who all shot 87s. Dave Iverson was three shots off the pace with his 88.Sehr fired a 42 during Sunday’s first round to move in front of Remme by one shot and take a two-shot lead over Nelson.While Sehr dropped out of the picture after shooting a 52 during Sunday’s second round, Nelson heated up and shot a 40 to win the flight by five strokes with a 41-46-44-40-171.Remme placed second (42-43-45-46-176) and Iverson finished third (45-43-44-45-177).Matt Kopp won a two-hole playoff to take top honors in the third flight.Kopp shot an 83 Saturday to open a two-shot cushion over Dan Kern, who carded an 85.Kern outshot Kopp 38-42 during Sunday’s first round to gain a two-shot advantage, but Kopp rallied to tie Kern for the flight lead with a 42-44 scoring advantage during the second round.Kopp and Kern both made par on the first playoff hole. Kopp won the flight title by making par on the second playoff hole. Kern bogeyed the same hole.Kopp’s numbers for the tournament were 43-40-42-42-167, while Kern turned in a 43-42-38-44-167. Dave Gangestad placed third with a 44-45-43-43-175.Tom Foster posted a one-stroke win in a very competitive third flight.Foster, who shot a 40 during Saturday’s first round, finished the day with an 88 to sport a one-shot lead over Jeff Sehr (89), a two-shot cushion over Tom Serie (90) and a three-shot advantage over Mark Sehr (91).Serie fired a 44 to begin play Sunday, giving him a two-shot advantage over Foster and Jeff Sehr and a three-shot lead over Mark Sehr, who slipped out of contention with a 51 in the second round.Foster bounced back with a 43 during the final round to nip Serie and Jeff Sehr by one shot in the final standings.Foster finished the event with a 40-48-48-43-179. Sehr (50-39-47-44-180) and Serie (46-44-44-46-180) shared second place.Scott Spronk posted a three-shot win in the fourth flight.Spronk recorded a 92 Saturday to sport one-shot leads over Don Lien and Bill Den Hoed (92s), a two-shot lead over Tom Kopp (94) and a three-shot lead over Tom Skattum (95).Den Hoed and Kopp slipped out of the picture during Sunday’s first round, when Spronk shot a 42 to increase his lead to four shots over Lien and eight shots over Skattum.Lien outscored Spronk 45-46 during Sunday’s second round, but it wasn’t enough to keep Spronk from winning the flight title with his 44-48-42-46-180. Lien (46-47-45-45-183) finished second and Skattum (47-48-47-44-186) placed third.Cory Bloemendaal rallied from a one-shot deficit to post a comfortable, eight-stroke win in the fifth flight.Gary Kurtz carded a 90 Saturday to take a one-shot lead over Bloemendaal (91) and a five-shot lead over Sam Hansen (95).Bloemendaal moved in front of Kurtz by two strokes after outscoring him 46-49 during Sunday’s first round. Bloemendaal iced the flight title by outscoring Kurtz 45-51 in the final round.Bloemendaal’s final numbers are 48-43-46-45-182. Kurtz (46-44-49-51-190) placed second and Hansen (48-47-45-52-192) finished third.Virgil Van Hulzen erased a six-shot deficit on Sunday to win the sixth flight by one stroke.Jason Heard shot a 92 Saturday to take a two-shot lead over Bruce Olson and Nate Jarchow (94s) and a three-shot lead over Dennis Holtrop (95).Heard and Holtrop dropped back in the pack after shooting 100- and 107-stroke scores Sunday.Jarchow fired a 41 during Sunday’s first round to gain a five-shot lead over Olson and Van Hulzen, but Jarchow carded a 53 during the second round to fall into third place.Van Hulzen nipped Olson 45-46 during Sunday’s second round to win by one shot.Van Hulzen finished the tournament with a 53-45-43-45-186. Olson (47-47-47-46-187) placed second and Jarchow (45-50-41-53-189) finished third.Cliff Boom posted a seven-stroke win in the seventh flight.Mark Sas carded a 94 Saturday to lead Boom and Ryan DeBates (96s) by two shots and Dave Arends (97), who slipped out of contention Sunday, by three strokes.Boom shot a 47 during Sunday’s first round to gain a two-shot lead over DeBates and a four-shot cushion over Sas.Boom locked up the flight title by shooting a 46 during the final round.Boom finished the event with a 52-44-47-46-189. Sas placed second (46-48-53-49-196) and DeBates placed third (49-47-49-52-197).
