{"id":5334,"date":"2016-02-29T21:40:57","date_gmt":"2016-03-01T02:40:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hayesvision.com\/home\/?p=5334"},"modified":"2018-02-02T17:26:07","modified_gmt":"2018-02-02T22:26:07","slug":"harvest-classic-2016-saddlebrook-golf-resort-wesley-chapel-fl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.hayesvision.com\/home\/harvest-classic-2016-saddlebrook-golf-resort-wesley-chapel-fl\/","title":{"rendered":"Harvest Classic 2016 – Saddlebrook Golf Resort, Wesley Chapel, FL"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Saddlebrook<\/p>\n

It was time once again for the Hayes brothers, family, and close friends to head down to Florida for a long weekend of golf, storytelling, and a little bit of fishing.  The setting this year was a familiar site to all who were in attendance as the group returned to Saddlebrook Golf Resort in Wesley Chapel, FL.  I was only able to attend the festivities from Friday night through Saturday night so I spent most of the day on the courses, snapping photos and video and following along with the action.<\/p>\n

Prior to Saturday the group had played 18 holes on Thursday and 36 holes on Friday, making the first round on Saturday the deciding round of the 2016 Harvest Classic.  The first eighteen holes were played on the Palmer course on what started out as a chilly morning for even the toughest of northerners in the group.  The last group to tee off were the four leaders of the tournament going into Saturday comprised of: Bob Hayes, Jim Hayes, Patrick Toney, and Vern Shukoski.  The tournament is all fun and games until the final round on Saturday when even the most experienced of golfers has been known to crumble under the pressure.<\/p>\n

Vern was working on 3 hours of sleep as he spent the majority of the night pacing his hotel room getting his mental game in order for the next day.  Vern was poised for a win in 2016 as he spent the last three years training for 3 rounds a week, rain or shine.  Jim and Bob had their game faces on and were not about to let Patrick and Vern anywhere near the lead if they could help it.  Bob and Jim played neck in neck for most of the morning until the 18th where Bob stuck a 30 foot putt to 3 feet making par and ending the tournament in a two way tie between Jim and Bob.\"Harvest<\/p>\n

After the intense competition of the previous three days, the group was ready for the fifth and final round which was a three team scramble.  The teams were decided the previous night after great debate, but now the groups were ready to take to the course after a quick bite to eat.<\/p>\n

Because I was the 13th golfer I was assigned the designated putter duties, rotating holes and providing a fifth putt for each group.  This allowed me the opportunity to dust off my putter that hadn’t left the golf bag in five years as well as continue to capture some fun photos and videos.  The afternoon definitely provided for a lot of great shots as well as a healthy dose of trash talking.  The winning scramble group was comprised of Tom Duffy, Dave Hietpas, Jeff Riester, and Vern Shukoski.   I put together a video of some of the highlights captured throughout the day on Saturday.<\/p>\n