2012 GTA Am Logo 

the 2013 GTa am tour's Myrtle Beach order of merit

and Most Improved player results are in!

 

Richmond Hill, ON (December 30, 2013) - It's hard to believe The GTA AM Tour's 10th anniversary season has come to an end. And OH what a finish! This past season, 467 talented Tour players competed at twenty four nail biting tournaments, including those at 18 fantastic private golf facilities. The season long Myrtle Beach Order of Merit is used to identify and give recognition to top-performing golfers who have achieved success throughout the season. The Myrtle Beach Order of Merit is a total point system, based on players' finish position in his or her best 8 events of all tournaments played. This season-long competition has been hotly contested and ended in spectacular fashion.

 

 

ORDER OF MERIT

 

This year, the amazing team at Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday were excited to provide the prizing for the 2013 Order of Merit. Players, in each of the four flights, played as many events as possible throughout the season, to have a chance to be among the top three points earners in their Flight. These twelve players will start the 2014 GTA AM Tour with a March golf trip to Myrtle Beach. The trip includes golf and accommodation at the award winning Barefoot Resort.

 

The 2013 Tour Championship results are in, and twelve players survived the crunch time of the Tour Championship to capture top spots in the 2013 Myrtle Beach Order of Merit.

 

The Championship Flight Myrtle Beach Order of Merit, top spot was all locked up after the last regular season event. Michael Farrugia captured first place, ending the season with an incredible 1,000 points. In second place was Peter Willis, who finished strong in second place at the Tour Championship, to end his season with 695 points. Third place came down to a difference of a mere two points between third and fourth and, for his efforts, Chris Willis was rewarded, having finished seventh place at the Tour Championship giving him that extra nudge to leap frog John Harrington by two points finishing his season with 587 over John's 585.

 

 

In the A-Flight, it was an extremely close Tour Championship finish that would eventually determine the winner. Heading in to the Tour Championship, the A-Flight's Myrtle Beach Order of Merit race saw Doug Remmer sitting on top with only a two point advantage over second place Richard Lowden. With a strong first place finish at The Tour Championship, Doug Remmer would capture the overall title, closing out the season with 682 points. Coming in second was Rick Wright who had an impressive run in his last four events placing second and third, twice. This strong finish gave Rick a bunch of momentum heading into the Tour Championship and, with a sixth place finish, he was able to finish the year with 525 points. Placing third this season, in the Myrtle Beach Order of Merit, was Richard Lowden. Richard has made strong, year-over-year, Order of Merit finishes, placing in second place last year, backing that up with a third place finish and 500 points for 2013.

 

 

The B-Flight was set for one of the closest finishes as the top two players were within 35 points of each other, heading into the Tour Championship. Depending on their respective finishes, it was anyone's Championship to win as Michael Carinci held a slight lead over Michael Alcott. Capturing the 2013 B Flights top spot on the Myrtle Beach Order of Merit, would come down to a card matching as Carinci and Alcott would both finish the Tour Championship tied. After the card match was completed, Michael Alcott would come out on top, having placed second in the Tour Championship allowing him to leap frog over Michael Carinci by 25 points. The two would finish the season with 667 and 642 points respectively. Capturing third was Mark Armatage who played well throughout the year, finishing the season long race with 460 points.

 

 

In the C-Flight, we saw the most interesting race of the season. It was a see-saw battle of sorts as two players spent the last five events switching places at the top spot. Entering the Tour Championship, Carl Thompson was only a couple of points ahead of Krish Nair. It would come down to two grueling days of intense pressure, and, when the dust settled, Kris Nair would finish second in the Tour Championship. This would prove to be enough for him to capture the 2013 C-Flight

Myrtle Beach Order of Meritearning 722 points for the seasonCarl Thompson finished the Myrtle Beach Order of Merit in second, with a season long total of 687, Mark Matusiak finished the year in third, with 535 points.

 

 

 

To view the results of theMyrtle Beach Order of Merit, and as always, check out the great pictures and the videos,from the twenty five 2013 Tour events, provided by Tour sponsor and all around wonderful guys at Capture Scratch.

 

 

Complementing the season-long Order of Merit competition is a season-long Most Improved Player Award where the three players, whose game has most improved from their first Tour event to their last, will receive an invitation for an early season round of golf at Coppinwood Golf Club in the spring of 2014. The player with the most improved Handicap Factor will receive The Most Improved Player Award. Congratulations go to Bill Staats, on winning the Most Improved Player for 2013. Bill began his tour season at Lookout Point in C-Flight, with a Handicap Factor of 16.3, and finished his year playing in the A-flight as he had lowered his Factor by an amazing 8.1 points giving him an improvement ratio of 1.401. Improvement ratio, is calculated using the, equitable and RCGA aprroved formula of Handicap Factor at the first Tour event plus 12 divided by last Handicap Factor at last Tour event plus 12. In second place was Ben Schnarr, with an improvement ratio of 1.398 and placing third was Josiah Dixon with an improvement ratio of 1.330.

 

 

To show our huge appreciation for the support of our sponsors, several year-end draws were held at the Bright Blue Wave Tour Wrap up held at Scarboro Golf and Country Club. First, was the TaylorMade Rewards Program draw, where, throughout the year, Tour Players hand in receipts showing the purchase of TaylorMade products. For every $50 spent, the player earns one ballet for a chance to win a round of golf at Oviinbyrd Golf Club. The winners of the TaylorMade Rewards draw were, Bruce Cooke, Robert Squirrell, Jeff Gates and Mike Reynolds.

 

 

The second draw was sponsored by Tour Sponsor LG Canada and, similar to the TaylorMade Rewards Program, for every $50 a Tour player spends on the outstanding line of products LG has to offer, (TV's, cell phones, home appliances and more) the player earns one ballet for a chance to win a new 48" TV, a new cell phone, or a sound system. The lucky winner of the Grand prize of a TV was Rob Olivier. Getting ready to text his pals on his new LG cell phone is Steve McNally, and soon to be cranking the tunes on his new LG sound system, is Rob Colaricci.

 

 

 

Another draw was previously held, once again sponsored by Tour Player and Sponsor Joshua Kingsmill. Throughout 2012 and 2013, Joshua Kingsmill has provided players and their families with sound financial investment advice. Players who signed up to receive Joshua's weekly Kingervision Newsletter, or who requested a portfolio review, received a ballot.  The two winners of the round of golf at Oviinbyrd Golf Club in 2013 were Brad Golden and David Tollefson, and the winners who each were by Joshua and Mark Young for a round of golf at Coppinwood Golf Club were Bob Read and Andy Schwabe.

 

We would like to sincerely thank the 185 players who took the time to complete the 2013 Tour Player Survey! It was a long one and, notwithstanding its length, was completed by more players than any previous survey! The winner of the Ecco shoes was Ryan Taylor. The winners of the $50 Mill Street Brew Pub gift certificate were Matt Ward and Gerry Beasley.

 

Thank you again for a WONDERFUL season and we look forward to hosting you ON TOUR (Hopefully you can join us for the first 2014 Tour event which will be held in Myrtle Beach March 24th - 31st!!) in 2014!!

 

 

ABOUT THE GTA AM TOUR:

The GTA AM Tour is owned and operated by Canadian Golf Tours Inc. and is sponsored by TaylorMade Golf Canada, Mazda Canada, ECCO Shoes, Mill Street Brewery, Sundog Eyewear, Nature Valley, Pixelcarve, Prodigy Headwear, P.J. Dermody Insurance Brokers, Joshua Kingsmill Investment Advisor, LG Electronics Canada Inc., Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, Privileged Play, Honsberger Physiotherapy and Biomechanics Clinic, Capture Scratch, The Golf Lab, Lush, Bowker Aird Barristers and Solicitors, Bright Blue Wave, Fame International Salon and Spa and Nuun Optimal Hydration. Tournament rules officials are organized through the Royal Canadian Golf Association.

 

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