EAU CLAIRE G&CC PRO-AM
EVENT PARTNER
(Nate Pronschinske, Jerry Ratajczak, Blake Gabriel & Bobby Greene)
The Wisconsin PGA was excited to be back in the Northwest part of the state on Monday, as a full field of pro-am teams ventured to Eau Claire G&CC. It marked the first time a Wisconsin PGA pro-am type event has visited Eau Claire G&CC since the final year of the Buick Scramble.
Twenty-nine teams would tee it up, with more than half of them coming from north of Wisconsin Dells. For those that hadn’t played the 4-time Wisconsin State Open host site, they certainly were in for a treat. Over the course of the past several years, the layout has experienced significant tree removal and a bunker renovation. The vistas, rolling hills, and undulating greens are now fully exposed.
It packs quite a punch too and holds its own. Especially on a day like Monday, where the wind kicked up.
With a one net and one gross better ball format on tap, the teams would definitely be tested.
Finding their way to the top of the scoreboard was the Ridgway CC team of Nate Pronschinske, Jerry Ratajczak, Blake Gabriel and Bobby Greene. After a slow start, the foursome turned it around quickly. They piled up six natural birdies and two eagles during the round. The eagles came via Blake Gabriel on the par-4 8th and Bobby Greene on the par-5 18th.
With several teams tied at 9-under-par near the end of the round, the winning foursome would bring their A-Game on their final hole. Pronschinske knocked to short range for a birdie and Ratajczak backed him up with a net birdie on the par-4 11th. It helped propel them to the winning mark of 11-under-par 131.
With their victory they scored a spot in the Oliphant Golf Management Pro-Am Championship. They’ll be joined at the event by two of the runner-up teams, led by Scott LeMire and Josh Grisa.
As for Grisa, he led the way in the low professional stableford contest. On a day where no professional broke par, Grisa accumulated 37 stableford points by shooting a 1-over-par 72. Finishing in second, 3 points back, were Cole Jahnke, Joe Leonard and Michael Crowley. Crowley’s mark did end up carrying him to the top spot in the senior professional contest.
The WPGA would like to express our appreciation to the Wisconsin State Golf Association for their support of Monday’s pro-am. We greatly appreciate their partnership and contribution to our tournament program.
We’d also like to thank everyone at Eau Claire G&CC for being a fantastic host site. The club and staff did a great job of making sure all the attendees received plenty of value for their entry fee.