Liske/Rau back on top of Connor leaderboard

2023 CONNOR SCRAMBLE

Pete Liske and Tim Rau took the lead in the first round and never let it go while winning the 36th annual Larry Connor Memorial Scramble held Saturday, Aug. 12 at Black River Golf Course.

The title was the seventh for Liske and Rau since 2003. They last won in 2019, with that one being the second of back-to-back championships. Liske and Rau teamed up to shoot a 6-under-par 30 in their first nine holes to earn one of the six spots in the championship flight.

From there, the duo shot a 33 and 34 to record a final 27-hole score of 97, three shots ahead of the second-place team of David and Lucas Fuchs. They were one shot behind after nine holes, but their 1-under 35 in the second round created the separation Liske and Rau needed. Both teams shot 34s in their last nine holes.

In their first-round 30, which was the best nine-hole score any team posted all day, Rau and Liske birdied each hole except 2, 4 and 7.

Third place in the championship flight went to Dave Vaara and Mike Strama, who shot a 102, one shot better than Myles and Sam Connor and two ahead of the fifthplace team of Trevor Dahl and Aaron Gilles, last year’s champions. Zak Rau and Jason Gardner rounded out the championship flight with a 108.

There were 24 two-person teams in this year’s tournament, putting six teams in each of the four flights.

Jason Christianson and Mark Brahmer rebounded from a first-round 36, carding scores of 34 and 33 for a final score of 103, two shots ahead of Vince Wojcik and Dustin Roiger.

Jordan Dahl and Amy Rodweder shot a 106 for a onestroke margin over Mike Retterath and Bob Reisenberg that won the second flight. Jon Knoll and Justin Mayer won the third flight with a score of 114 that edged out Gary and Zak Albrecht by a stroke.

The long-running event is held in honor of Larry Connor, who was an avid golfer and a popular teacher and boys basketball coach at Medford Area Senior High. He competed statewide and nationwide in the Amputee Golf Association before passing away at age 45 in 1988.

36th annual Larry Connor Memorial Scramble results Black River Golf Course, 27 holes, par 108

Championship Flight 1. Pete Liske/Tim Rau: 30, 33, 34 –– 97 2. David Fuchs/Lucas Fuchs: 31, 35, 34 –– 100 3. Dave Vaara/Mike Strama: 34, 34, 34 –– 102 4. Myles Connor/Sam Connor: 35, 35, 33 –– 103 5. Trevor Dahl/Aaron Gilles: 35, 33, 36 –– 104 6. Zak Rau/Jason Gardner: 35, 36, 37 –– 108 First Flight 1. Jason Christianson/Mark Brahmer: 36, 34, 33 –– 103 2. Vince Wojcik/Dustin Roiger: 36, 33, 36 –– 105 3. Bill Connor/Jack Connor: 36, 35, 35 –– 106 4. Paul Guziak/Jim Werner: 36, 37, 35 –– 108 5. Rob Keefe/Brian Brink: 36, 39, 34 –– 109 6. Tony Kleifgen/Dave Pepper: 36, 39, 38 –– 113