The 25th annual Harvest Classic Golf Tournament has come to a close and has crowned first time winner Patrick Toney as the champ.  Based on a late game decision by Harvest Commissioner James Hayes the tournament was extended to five rounds and the scramble tournament was canceled.  Knowing that the leaders had another 36 holes to play caused many of the contenders to lose sleep due to nerves.

The players all arose at 6:00 to make their first tee time off the back nine of the Island Course that they played on Friday.  The round of the morning belonged to Patrick Toney scoring +5 points and putting him in a tie for first with early leader Bob Hayes.  Jim Hayes also had a great round at the Island Course scoring +3 points trying to stage one of the greatest comebacks in Harvest history.  Brothers Bob and Tom Hayes both scored +1 against their quota and comprised two of the players, along with Patrick Toney and Jim Hayes that would complete the final pairing.

Everything was riding on the final 18 holes which was played at the Copperhead Course which was in preparation for the Transitions PGA  Tournament  which will be played in two weeks.  The greens were fast and the rough was long but that was no match for the talented golfers.  What was clearly the most difficult round of the tournament for the entire field was dominated by Patrick Toney.  Talk about strong finishes Toney scored +7 points to his quota and ended up beating second place finisher Bob Hayes by 8 points.   When we caught up with Toney after the round and he said, “I was in the zone man!”

Hayesvision also had a chance to talk with a disappointed Vern Shukoski who immediately left the 18th green to pack his bags for the next leg of his book signing tour.  Vern said, “You can’t blame me and my game for gravitating toward my competition.  I hope we can open the field up next year to bring some competitors of my caliber.”

The biggest move of the tournament belonged to Kent Dickson who moved from 10th place after the opening round and finishing in 4th.  Dickson was found looking for flights home on Thursday night but admitted he was happy he stayed.

Hayesvision was also able to catch up with Terry Haack after Saturday’s final round for comments on his last place finish.  Haack said, “With Kenny gone I just couldn’t find my mojo.”    The entire field echoed Haack’s sentiments agreeing that without Don “Kenny” Hayes around the Harvest Classic just isn’t the same.

As always the Harvest Classic was a great chance to catch up with an awesome group of guys.  Thanks to the Harvest group and all of the Hayes brothers for continuing a great tradition.  Hayesvision also wants to thank Vern Shukoski for organizing this great event and providing us with endless material.  Also a huge congratulations goes out to Patrick Toney for getting his first Harvest Classic victory!

Below are the final scores for the tournament.

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After a late night decision by the Commish Jim Hayes the 2011 Harvest Classic was extended to five rounds due to the fact that the final round will be played at the Copperhead course.

Fourth round scores were as follows:

Patrick Toney – +5
Jim Hayes – +3
Bob Hayes – +1
Tom Hayes – +1
Patrick Hayes – -2
Kent Dickson – -5
Kevin Hayes – -6
Vern Shukoski – -6
Tom Duffy – -7

Jeff Riester –  -9

Terry Haack – -10

The final pairing for the final round will be Bob Hayes +3, Patrick Toney +3, Tom Hayes 0, and Jim Hayes -8. Stay tuned for the nail-biting final right here at Hayesvision.

Day two at the Innisbrook Golf Resort brought beautiful weather and a lot of mediocre golf.  The first round of the two rounds was played at the Island Course.  The players got up before the sun, had some breakfast, and were the first three groups off the back nine.  After all the players had a chance to warm up the previous day there were no excuses to be made for their performance.  As you can tell by the previous post however many, including myself, were still looking for some excuses for how poorly they played.  Bob Hayes and Kent Dickson were the best performers of the morning round each scoring even points.

After a quick bite to eat for lunch the players header over to the Highlands North course for the second 18 of the day and the third official round of the tournament.  The group was much looser after some early morning beers took the edge off.  Although the wind was still blowing 10-20 MPH the Highlands North course hid that fact nicely with its tree lined fairways.  The field took advantage of the short course to go deep.  The best rounds of the afternoon went to Tom Hayes at +3, Tom Duffy at +2 and Patrick Toney at +2.  Tom Duffy had the hole of the day scoring an eagle on #13.

The field is tight and should provide for a dramatic final round tomorrow.  Kenny, it’s not to late to book a flight and join the scramble tomorrow!  Stay tuned for updates right here at Hayesvision.com.

Harvest Classic 2011 - Rounds 2 & 3

Innisbrook Golf Resort - Palm Harbor, FL

After the Harvest Classic players tipped their hats to the missing man formation flyover in honor of Don “Kenny” Hayes, it was on to the start of the 2011 Harvest Classic.  This years tournament marked the 25th anniversary of the competition that began with eight gifted golfers back in 1987.  The tournament returned to Innisbrook Golf Resort in Palm Harbor, FL where defending champ Bob Hayes had the round of the day grabbing the early lead at +6.  Having taken most of the season off from golf to focus on fishing, Bob was extremely happy with his first round performance.  Bob played with brothers Tom and Jim who were no match for the game that Bob brought.  Tom shot a 73 which made him even for points but Jim couldn’t get the sticks working finishing at -6.

In the second group Kevin Hayes brought his “A” game shooting a 75 which was good for +4 points and second place.  Kevin, who finished third in the 2010 Harvest Classic said he was determined to get his first Harvest Classic win this year.  Along with Tom Hayes, Patrick Toney and Jeff Riester both finished at even points putting them right into the mix going into Friday’s rounds.  When asked for a quote Jeff Riester said “It was great to knock the cobwebs off the clubs and be in position to strike going into Friday.”  Although Jeff played well his prodigy Tom Duffy was not able to bring it in the first round finishing at -6.  Duffy said, “The lunge wasn’t working for me today and I am beginning to think Riester is the only one who can pull it off.”  Lucky for Duffy there were a few players, including myself, who forgot to bring their games today as well.

As for Vern Shukoski he was able to work his way through his loyal fan following to make it to the tee just in time for his round.  Although Vern had a strong start he couldn’t keep it going and ended up in the middle of the pack at -4.  When Hayesvision.com caught up with Vern after the round he said that the reason he didn’t play his best today was because all of the travel for his book signing was catching up with him.  On his way out the door Vern said, “Lookout because tomorrow is moving day and I’m wearing my Two Men and a Truck shirt!”

Day one is in the books and it was a great day.  The event just doesn’t feel the same without Kenny but he has kept in touch with many of the players so he is definitely here in spirit.  Don “Kenny” Hayes fell ill this week and was not able to make the trip to sunny FL.  Tomorrow the players will play 36 holes and the leaderboard is sure to look different.  Stay tuned to Hayesvision.com for all the updates and trash talking from Palm Harbor, FL.

Check out your first round leaders below.

Hot off his 2010 Harvest Classic win, Bob Hayes knows that he is the one to beat this year.  When asked for a comment Bob seemed a bit frustrated that nobody in the 2010 field provided any competition.  “Had I known how bad I would have schooled all of these clowns, I would have looked for a more competitive tournament,” Bob added.  It is hard to argue with his comments as Bob Hayes won the 2010 Harvest Classic by 10 points against the second place Tom Hayes.  When Hayesvsion tracked down Tom Hayes on the driving range this week he refused to comment about losing so bad to his younger brother.  As we left him at the range we did discover a picture of Bobby attached to his golf bag with the words, “You’re Mine!” written across his face.

Those of you have have followed along with the Harvest Classic over the years know that this tournament brings some of the best (and worst, in my case) talent from across the country every year.  This year the field returns to Innisbrook Golf Resort, home of the Transitions Championship PGA tournament.  The cast of characters will look much the same as last year, but the competition is sure to be more intense.  Hayesvision was able to track down Vern Shukoski on the Florida portion of his book signing tour for his latest publication, “How to Improve Your Handicap By Playing The Back Tees”.  Although we weren’t able to spend much time with the busy Shukoski all three fans in attendance could tell that he was out for blood in 2011.  The only comment we could get out of Vern was, “If I keep throwing darts with my 9 iron, this tournament will be over by Friday!”

With only two career Harvest Classic wins to his name, Don Hayes is wondering, “When is it Kenny’s turn to bring the trophy back to A-Town?”  Sources say that the putting green lights have been on long into the night at his Scottsdale residence.  Those sources are not sure if he was actually using those lights to putt or if he just forgot to turn them off.  With plenty of opportunity to work on his game look for Don to be in the final group on Saturday.

Coming off one of the worst performances recorded in Harvest Classic history, Tom Duffy is looking to shock the world with one of the greatest comebacks ever seen.  He was spotted working with swing coach Jeff Riester to get his lunge timed to perfection.  Tom Duffy said that if doesn’t finish better than last year he will be sending his daughter Kate to uphold the family name.

Time will tell how the 2011 Harvest Classic Tournament unfolds but one thing is for certain, there will be some really good…. and really bad…. golf played next weekend.  Stay close by your computers and mobile devices for daily tournament updates, commentary, and photos from yours truly.  Be sure to pick who you think will win the 2011 Harvest Classic in the poll to the right.

Round four of the 2010 Harvest Classic started at 7:30 on the Innisbrook – Highlands South course.  As is tradition, the pairings were made based on the player performance during the previous three rounds.  The final group consisted of Bob Hayes, Tom Hayes, Kevin Hayes, and Vern Shukoski.  The collective group all played well but they were no match for the 2010 Harvest Champion, Robert Hayes.  Bob scored +2 points to his quoted and was the only player to finish in the positive column for the tournament at +6 points.  Tom Hayes, who always performs well at the Harvest Classic, just couldn’t turn his game on this week as he finished in second place at -4 points.  Jim Hayes had the round of the day at +5 points which was also a tie with Bob Hayes for the best round of the tournament.  Kevin Hayes had the second best round of the day at +3 points as he proved why he was worthy of his placement in the final group.  Although Vern played a solid final round at -2 points, he had to skip lunch and take the trophy back to remove his late night engraving from the previous night.

After the tournament wrapped up in the morning, the 12 Harvest participants teamed up for the Saturday afternoon scramble.  The teams consisted of the following players:

Don Hayes, Bob Hayes, Patrick Hayes, Patrick Toney

Tom Hayes, Kevin Hayes, Jeff Riester, Kent Dickson

Tom Duffy, Vern Shukoski, Jim Hayes, Terry Haack

As is tradition, after the 18 hole scramble, all three teams were tied at -8 par.  With the sun setting and daylight running out, the 12 players headed to the practice green for 12 putts at a distant hole, closest putt wins.  Tom Duffy saved his weekend by being the player who hit the closest put, locking in a win for his team.

Another great Harvest Classic has come to a close.  The weekend was a great one, as it always is spending it with family and friends.  Huge thanks goes to the Harvest Group and Vern Shukoski for sponsoring and putting on this great tournament.  Until next year.

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Day two of the 2010 Harvest Classic drew to a close as the sun was setting on Palm Harbor, FL.  After 36 holes of golf, the field has separated but Bob Hayes remains atop the leaderboard.  The first round of the day was scheduled to start at 7:30 at the Copperhead course but due to a frost delay, the round started at 8:30.  After a cold round yesterday, the morning round weather was a welcome change as the temperature went up and the wind went down.   Bob Hayes kept his strong play up scoring the most points at even as the rest of the field was unable to make a move.  Vern Shukoski also was even vs. his point quota as he slowly crept up during the morning round.  The highlight of the round was when the second group went to look for their  tee shots on hole #2 at Copperhead, there was a ball located right under the tail of a 10 foot alligator.  Because none of the members of the group felt like verifying the ball type it was assumed that is was Patrick Hayes’ ball and he took a drop.  Later to find out that Jim Hayes got the same benefit in the first group.  See the picture to the left.

The afternoon round the Harvest Classic moved to the Island Course.  Everyone grabbed a quick bite to eat and it was off to the first tee.  The second round brought much of the same as more of the field moved south than north on the leaderboard.  The best round vs. quota points belonged to Dr. Kent Dickson as he scored +2 points.  Vern Shukoski, Kevin Hayes and Bob Hayes all scored -1 points as they held firm to their spots on the leaderboard.

Going into the final round Bob Hayes has an eight point lead over Tom Hayes but there are still 18 holes of golf left to play (see all scores below).  Vern Shukoski has his game dialed in as he was talking smack about making the greatest comeback in Harvest Classic history.  While the group was having pizza Vern was seen driving the Havest Classic trophy to a local engraving shop and having them engrave his name as the 2010 champ.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a recap off all the action and scores here at Hayesvision.com

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Round one of the 2010 Harvest Classic is in the books.  The early leader is Bob Hayes who shot a 79 in his round with birdies on #4 and #15 of the Highlands South course at the Innisbrook Resort.  Bobby, coming off a sub-par performance in his warm up round on Wednesday, was happy to be hitting the ball solidly again.  Bobby played with his three brothers, Tom, Don and Jim and showed them that the youngest of the four came to play.  Tom Hayes also put together a solid round of golf shooting a 74 with only one birdie on the par 3 #9 hole where he stuck his tee shot to about 1 foot.

The second and thirds groups did not bring much to the table today.  The field, aside from Bob and Tom, are all in a pack at between -3 and -7 points.  For those of you confused by the point scoring system you can read more about the Chicago points system here (although it is slightly modified from this description).

The first round was a cold and windy one and the forecast tomorrow looks much the same.  We will be playing two rounds tomorrow so look for updates tomorrow evening.  You can review all of the round one scores below as well as some of the images captured from the course.

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It is that time of year again when the Hayes clan gets together for a weekend of fun, sun, and golf. This year’s Classic will again take place at the Innisbrook Resort, where defending champ Tom Hayes looks to continue his dominance over the rest of the field. There are a number of talented golfers in the field, but the early Vegas odds are on a repeat by Tom. With all the talent in the field this week, there is one Hayes brother who failed to make the cut and won’t be competing this week. J.P. Hayes, while having an amazing start to his 2010 PGA Tour season, was not able to put together the score needed to get through Harvest qualifying. In all seriousness, J.P. is having an amazing year on tour and we wish him continued success.

Patrick Toney will be returning to the field this year off a knee surgery that kept him out of the field in ’09.  Patrick’s best finish came in ’07 when he finished second at Ventana Canyon.  He is hoping his new knee can carry him to his first Harvest victory. Vern Shukoski has not been heard from yet this year which is not normal.  He normally holds at least one press conference before the tournament.  Sources say that he is so dialed in on his game, he is going to let the clubs speak for themselves.  Terry Haack and Tom Duffy will be joining the tournament again in ’10.  Both men had great qualifying rounds and are excited to bring some non-Hayes golf into the mix.

The tournament format will be the same, one round on Thursday, two rounds on Friday, and the final round of competition on Saturday with a scramble to follow.  As always you can follow along right here at Hayesvision.com for all your scoring updates and higlights for the days’ action.  Don’t forget to vote for who you think will win the ’10 Harvest Classic on the right sidebar.

Another 5:45 wake up call for a 6:30 departure has become commonplace for Fridays and Saturdays at the Harvest Classic. The groups were all well rested and ready to attack the South course which was the site of round one. The competition was fierce but mostly amongst the leaders in the final group. Jim Hayes shot a 75 scoring 7 points landing him in a two way tie for third with Kevin Hayes who shot a 76, scoring him 3 points for the round. Bob Hayes also shot a 75 scoring 9 points and catapulting him into solo ownership of second place. The story of the morning belonged to Tom Hayes who proved to the group why his is a past champion. Tom shot a 68 knocking down five birdies and scoring 10 points for Saturday’s round. Tom ended up with 16 points for the tournament 5 points ahead of second place finisher Bob Hayes. Great round and tournament Tom!

After competition ended it was time for the players to gear up for the annual 18 hole scramble tournament. The weather was once again perfect for competition, 82 degrees and moderate wind. The teams were selected the previous evening which were as follows:

Team One: Tom Hayes, Jim Hayes, and Vern Shukoski
Team Two: Don Hayes, Bob Hayes, Jeff Riester, and Kent Dickson
Team Three: Tom Duffy, Kevin Hayes, Terry Haack and Patrick Hayes

Because Collin Hayes was unable to attend the tournament, team one was allowed to rotate the fourth shot between them throughout the round. The groups battled throughout the afternoon with the lead changing hands a number of times. Each group ended the 18 hole scramble competition at 8 under par in a three way tie. As in previous years this meant a sudden death playoff between the three teams. After the first hold team one failed to make birdie which left only team two and three. The teams traded pars through hole #4 where the teams decided to have a putt off to determine the winning team. In the putt off Patrick Hayes stuck the 80 foot putt to about 8 feet solidifying the win the scramble for team three.

The highlight of the scramble happened on hole #8 where a roar was heard from team three. When the group caught up Vern Shukoski was grinning from ear to ear. It turns out Vern pured his seven wood and knocked it in the hole for a hole-in-one. When ask for his thoughts Vern said “Since I don’t owe this one to my long putter I guess I just owe this one to the Miller Brewing Company!” Congratulations Vern, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.

Another Harvest Classic is in the books. Thank you goes out to the Hayes brothers and the Harvest Group for putting on the tournament. It was a perfect weekend and a great opportunity to catch up with to boys. Patrick Toney and Collin Hayes were remembered in spirit but were sorely missed from the field. We look forward to seeing them both again at the ’10 Harvest Classic. Till next year.

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