Snow-impacted CGRA Two-Person Championship goes to icy team of Lister/Distl
 
PINEHURST, NC - In the first Carolinas Golf Reporters Association championship ever contested in the snow, Henry (Ice Man) Lister rolled in a 12-footer for par on the 18th hole at National Golf Club to stake his team to a frost-bitten 75 in the first round of the association's 2010 Two-Person Team Championship on Saturday, Dec. 4.
 
By the time the remaining (and nearly frozen) contestants gathered in the clubhouse to receive a sub-freezing forecast for the next morning's final round, a unanimous vote shortened the annual event to 18 holes, giving the title to Lister and his partner, Craig (Snowman) Distl.
 
Lister's final putt became the championship's deciding stroke as the duo of Jack (Frost) Reitzel and Gene (Ebenezer) Hudson carded an impressive 76. Their round featured three Reitzel birdies on the front and five clutch Hudson pars on the back. Reitzel and Hudson led most of the day thanks to their hot start and a chilly beginning by Lister and Distl. However, the eventual champs shook off five forgettable opening holes to play their remaining 13 holes in one under par.
 
Third place went to the pairing of Betsey (Blitzen) Mitchell and Howard (Rudolph) Ward, which rallied in the back nine's winter wonderland for a 79. Fourth-place honors - at 82 - were shared by the team of Steve (Frozen Shoulder) Williams and Tom (Mistletoe) McAuliffe, along with the duo of Doug (Snowflake) Stephens and Elsa (Jingle Bell) Bonstein.
 
Sixth-place was graciously awarded to the seasonally-challenged team of Sam (Snowed-In) Smith and J.W. (Frosty) Farquhar. Closest to the (north) pole winners were: Mitchell (No. 2), Ward (No. 9), and Lister on the 12th and 17th holes.
 
This was the first weather-shortened CGRA Team Championship since 2002, when McAuliffe and Sam Rogers took the title with a single-round 74 at Seabrook Island in South Carolina. For Lister, it marks his first victory in this illustrious championship. It is Distl's fourth title, but the first without playing partner Robbie Wooten.
 
RESULTS
December 4, 2010
Henry Lister/Craig Distl                40-35--75
Jack Reitzel/Gene Hudson            37-39--76
Betsey Mitchell/Howard Ward     40-39--79
Doug Stephens/Elsa Bonstein       40-42--82
Tom McAuliffe/Steve Williams     43-39--82
J.W. Farquhar/Sam Smith            NC

Thanks for our host National Golf Club