Playoff and deep scores reign at 

pixelcarve open

Niagara Falls, ON (August 5, 2014) -  Niagara Falls is best known for romantic getaways, winning big at the casinos, out-of-control bachelor parties and getting wet on The Maid of the Mist boat tours and , of course, a big waterfall. However, this week, Ontario's FUN CITY played host to The GTA AM Tour's Pixelcarve Open! The Tour was once again treated to an amazing day of competition at The Pixelcarve Open, played at Grand Niagara Golf Club. Grand Niagara GC was designed by Rees Jones and is a course that captivates and challenges players of all levels. The world-renowned golf course architect is best known for toughening up at least seven U.S. Open venues, six PGA Championship venues and three Ryder Cup sites. Suffice to say, to play a Rees Jones course is a true privilege; an experience the avid golfer will never forget. Player will find no trickery here; the fairway angles, positioning of hazards and exquisitely contoured greens demand intelligent course management, tempting players with a variety of risk-reward options. Strategy breeds success and, having reached the mid-point of the summer this past weekend, ever closer to the brand new BMO World Elite Fall Swing, players who respect this Rees Jones design had the best chance to take home the hardware and improve their standing in the all-important Myrtle Beach Order of Merit.

There is nothing more exciting than winning your first GTA AM Tour event, unless it's won in a playoff!!! That is exactly what would happen in the Championship Flight Today. Two competitors, both of whom had never won on Tour, would play two very different rounds and yet achieve the same result. Gennaro Lacobucci (Mississauga, ON), returning to The Tour after a two year absence, had a birdie-filled round, with five, much needed as he carded eight over par on five holes and finished strong with a birdie on the 18^th to score his 75. Colin Mathers (Toronto, ON), playing in only his second event of the season, played a very steady round throughout his day and would head to the eighteenth with a one stroke lead. However, he would falter, carding a bogie that would result in him matching Gennaro's 75 on the day. The two would head to the first hole for a sudden death playoff. The duel would end quickly as Colin hit a perfect drive down the middle, leaving him only a short wedge to the green. Colin would make par, to Gennaro's bogie, crowning Gennaro as the Championship Flight winner! Alone, in third today, was Tour Rookie Jamie Langois who would capture his first top three finish of the season, having turned in a round of 81. The Championship Flight's Myrtle Beach Order of Merit sees no change this week over last, as the top 3 on the Order of Merit took the week off. John Harrington leads by 222.5 points and sits with 760 points. In second place is Stephen Wright, with 527.5 points and, in third, is Robert Genno (Washago, ON) with 525 points.

In the A-Flight, a return to the winners circle was in store for Matt Ward, who was victorious earlier this season at The BMO World Elite Major. Matt has had two other top three finishes this season and would add The Pixelcarve Open trophy to his collection today. Matt turned in yet another birdie-filled card, with five on the day. To these birdies, Matt would add five pars, six bogies and two doubles for a round of 77. He finished the day strong, with a birdie on the eighteenth, that would eventually be the hole that would help seal the deal as second place Darryl Scott (London, ON) carded a very solid 78. Darryl was so close to making three wins on the season as he played a very strong round. He was even par after eleven holes, but stumbled on the four hole stretch, from twelve to fifteen, (during the rain) and approached the sixteenth at seven over, Alone, in third, scoring his first top three finish of the season, was Zack Kilislian who finished his day with an 80. Zack had one of those rounds as a player you just say "what happened?!?!?!" On the front nine Zack would struggle just to get through, carding one bogie, one triple bogie and three doubles, to go along with two pars and two birdies to finish the nine with a 44. The back nine was a different story as he had an amazing "bounce back 9" with a 36 and a heavy sigh of relief. The A-Flight's Myrtle Beach Order of Merit continues to see Shavi Kahlon in the number one spot however; his lead took a little hit today and now only leads by 147.5 points, sitting with 572.5 points. In second place is Darryl Scott who, with his second place finish today, now has 425 points and, remaining in third place, is todays winner Matt Ward who improves by 100 and now has 410 points.

In the B-Flight, it would one of those special moments for the Tour where, once again, we would have the privilege of crowning yet another first time winner on Tour. Today, Michael Lalonde (Beamsville, ON) would be the one! Michael would finish his day with four birdies, nine pars, three bogies, one double and one triple bogie to finish the day with a round of 76 that would result in a three stroke victory. Alone, in second, was John Farrugia (Brampton, ON) who would turn in a steady round of 79 that was filled with a number of birdies, pars and bogies. For a second time this season, John would take home a new TaylorMade putter for his efforts. To determine third place, card matching was required, as three players would enter the clubhouse with matching rounds of 83: Michael Vettese, Bob Fisher (Burlington, ON) and Fred Snel (Brampton, ON). The result of matching the back nine scores would see Michael capture third place, posting a 39 on the back over Bob's score of 40 and Fred's 42. In the B-Flight's Myrtle Beach Order of Merit, Michael Cann, continues to hold down top spot with 605 points. However, he would see his lead diminish to 145 points as today's second place finisher John Farrugia, now has 460 points. Continuing to hold on to third place, is Brett Parry with 385 points.

In the C-Flight, for a second time this season, John Baty (Toronto, ON) would bring his A game to the course and turn in one of the rounds to remember, shooting an amazing round of 77. John would finish his day with four birdies, seven pars, five bogies, and two doubles. With this victory, as per the Tour's Battlefield Promotion policy, John will now be joining the ranks of the B Flight for the remainder of the season. After struggling with his game earlier in the season, John has seen his season turn around the past two months and has, once again, found his groove. We wish him the best and continued success in the B-Flight. Coming in second, in only his third GTA AM Tour event, was Chul Lee who turned in a great round of 85 to take home second place prizing. To determine third place, card matching was required, as two players would finish their day with matching rounds of 86: Evan Kilimnik (Barrie, ON) and Andrew Keenan. The result of matching the back nine scores would yield no winner and would need to match the final six holes to determine placing. Evan would capture third place, by carding a 30, over Andrew's score of 32. The C-Flight Myrtle Beach Order of Merit continues to see Bob Sikorski holding on to top spot, maintaining his lead with an impressive 290 points with 737.5 total points. Krish Nair continues to sit in second with 447.5 points and, moving up one spot into third, Clayton Mackay now has 405 points.

Another one of the many ways to win on Tour is through Net Score competition. The net score competition is based on the net scores of all the players who did not place in the top three gross winning positions in their respective Flights. The top two net winners at each event receive one dozen TaylorMade golf balls and one case (24) of Mill Street beer. This week's winners were Andrew Keenan, with a net 64, and Fred Snel with a net 66. In addition to the season-long Gross Score, Myrtle Beach Order of Merit, players will compete for a parallel season-long Net Score Order of Merit. After 14 events, Mark Matusiak continues to hold down top spot with 585 and, in second, Michael Cann edges ever closer now and has 582.5. For complete standings click on the link.

The winner of the closest-to-the-pin from today's event the Mill Street Brewery Challenge was John Farrugia winning a dozen TaylorMade golf balls. Also at every event, there is a Mazda Hole in One hole, where all players shoot at a chance to win a $2,500 sponsor product shopping spree. This week's winner of the Hole in One closest to the pin was Gennaro Iacobucci. Along with these prizes, Petro-Canada, TaylorMade and Mill Street Brewery products are awarded to the top 3 finishers in each of the four Flights. The Tour also awards a draw prize at each event for a $50 certificate redeemable at the Mill Street Brew Pub; the winner of this week's Mill Street Brewery Certificate was Chul Lee.

Another new addition to the 2014 Tour prizing is an opportunity to win a $20 Ultra 94 Preferred Pricing gas card. A per-event draw will take place from all players who fire a score of 94. The winner of the Mill Street Brewery Challenge, Ultra 94 $20 gas card was Mark Mah of the B-Flight.

Click here to view THE RESULTS from today's event The Pixelcarve Open played today at Grand Niagara Golf Club. Also, to see all the actions from today's event check out these GREAT PICTURES! We are certain you will also enjoy watching great VIDEO's courtesy of Tour Sponsor Capture Scratch. We hope you have a chance to check them out and download them for FREE!!

Next week the GTA AM Tour season heads to the Historic Cedar Brae Golf & Country Club to challenge the classic Stanley Thompson course to play the Ultra 94 Classic on Monday, August 11^th, Space is still available, sign up today!