September 19, 2007

TERRA ALTA, WV — Brian Flanagan is ready for his 13th major in 8 years. That 13th major in West Virginia is better known as Golfapalooza XI. The field of 28 players are scheduled to tee up Wednesday for a practice round. Then again Thursday at noon with Round 1.

"We have been talking about Golfapalooza for more than 10 years now," he told in a conference call on Sunday. "As time progressed, and yesterday watching myself hitting balls on the range, it has just reinforced how excited I truely am."

Cornhole, 40 decks of cards, the latest video games, college football, golf clubs, boxes of apparel, steaks, and Dosky's porn collection are packed and ready to return to Terra Alta, WV.

Spackler members Greg Garrett, Jason Watson, Rick Dosky, Pat Boland, and Greg Long will represent Spackler inside the tournament field.

Brian "Butter" Flanagan, winner of the 2007 Carl Spackler Open Championship, will attempt to win two majors in one season. Rick Dosky returns with two worthless hips and Golfapalooza Championship Trophy.

Pat "Hurricane" Boland, who had a major heart attack last month with 98 percent blockage, is ready to give it a go in his second major of the season. "Doctors are happy with my progress," said Boland during a conference call. "I am back to work now and feeling a lot better with 70 percent of my strength back." Boland is reportedly considering more than his normal 3 hours of sleep at Golfapalooza. He also quit smoking last month and has mapped out Garrett County Memorial Hospital as a contingency.

Speaking of Garrett, the 5-time winner of the Stroke Award, is scheduled for his traditional putting clinic on Thursday morning. He enters the tournament with some putting struggles and punishing driver.

Jason "Randy" Watson returns from Houston, TX. He reportedly flew into Pittsburgh Monday morning and headed into zero cell phone coverage for relaxation. Watson enters his 15th major in 8 years with a fine-tuned golf swing and a comprehensive notebook of the tournament course.

Lastly, Greg Long returns for his 15th major championship. He hopes to win his 8th low-stroke championship. "It is all about patience and maturity at Alpine Lake," says Long. "You need to understand some holes should be birdied and some holes should be bogeyed."

The new tournament date was moved up one week on the calendar last year. The date change avoids the aeration season and adds a few degrees to the thermometer.

The weather forecasts in West Virginia are expected to rival Michigan. The tournament rounds are expected to produce perfect golf conditions with beautiful fall foilage.

"My overall goal is to par the first hole and take home a substantial profit at the poker table," said Flanagan. "Everything else is just cream cheese."

The unique tournament course returns for its 9th year. The par 72 Alpine Lake Resort provides the majority of its character through its six-par-3  six-par-5 Ron Forse design.

Live practice round scoring will be available at golfapalooza.com with tournament scoring beginning Thursday evening. Thursday's opening round is also scored in a 4-man Best Ball format. Friday is a 2-man Best Ball format with optional 9-hole scramble. The final round on Saturday will be in a unique 2-man scramble format.