Golfers compete in Brews & Birdies Festival

Franklin — It is a golfing tradition that after completing their round of golf players retire to the 19th hole to enjoy a cold adult beverage or two, exchange stories about their play and all the “if onlys” of their shouts during the round.
Twenty-four teams of golfers participated in the popular Brews & Birdies Golf Tournament, one of the fun elements of the NJ Beer & Food Festival, which provided players with the opportunity to enjoy an adult beverage while playing their round.
The Brews & Birdies Golf Tournament hosted by the Crystal Springs Golf Resort, held on Saturday, June 25, at the Wild Turkey Golf Club had to be golfers dream event. Not only were the golfers engaged in a 2 golfer team scramble on a beautiful golf course, but they didn’t have to wait until the 19th hole for a cold one.
Event Coordinator Tom Dyer assisted by Matt McGary and other members of the outstanding Crystal Springs staff served as hosts for the event.
At the conclusion of play the golfers moved on to the large tent in the field adjacent to the golf course which served as the venue for the NJ Beer & Food Festival to enjoy great music, a wide selection of delicious foods prepared by the Crystal Springs culinary staff and sample a variety of craft beer, hard cider and traditional drafts while waiting to hear the announcement of the tournament’s results. First-, second- and third-place prizes were awarded to the most outstanding scramble teams in both the low gross and low net categories.
The husband-and-wife team of Maunia and Joe Vizanko carded a 7 under par 64 to take the win in the low gross category with the team of Brian Dombal and Jared Kaufman scoring a 5 under par 67 to capture second place. The team of Rob Armstaong and Jon Petras scored a 4 under par 68 to take third.
The best performers in the low net division were Jim Schutte and Joe Shetting who scored a low net score of 15 under par 56 with Keith Johnson and Joe Agostino taking second place and the team of Shaun Byrnes and Scott Webb the third place winners. The prizes in both low gross and low net categories for 1st place was a $200 Bottle King gift certificate, a $150 and $100 pro shop gift certificate went to 2nd and 3rd place winners respectively.
Awards were given to the golfers who were the best performers for women and men in a long drive competition and closest to the pin contests on 4 of the Wild Turkey par 3 holes. The men’s long drive winner was Dylan Dembeck with Dona Wallerius hitting the longest drive of the women golfers. A tee shot that landed 7’5” from the pin on hole #2 won Mark Wright the prize with Dylan Dembeck becoming a repeat winner with his shot on hole #7 that landed 3’3” from the pin. Randy Brach won the honor on hole #10 with a 6’4” tee shot with Chris Jacobs winning the closest to the pin prize on hole #16 for a shot that came to rest 13” from the pin.