Photo by Kyle Coburn/NAPGT & Story by Matt Byrne/NAPGT
July 18, 2007 (Bernardston, MA)—Day three of the Crumpin-Fox Open brought early fog, late rain and low scores from some, while others ground out their toughest round yet.
Winner Dustin Cone, whose game proved to be solid last week at Blackstone National Golf Course, carried his momentum all the way to Bernardston, mounting a steadily rising swell of momentum over the 54 holes.
Standing on the sixteenth tee Cone was fifteen under par for the tournament when his good karma began to run out, finishing his third round with a triplet of bogeys.
Despite the late fall from grace, Cone’s earlier efforts stood the test, winning by a comfortable four shot margin.
“I was just ready to come out and make some birdies, as many as I could,” Cone said. “So if something happened, I could make a bogey and things would still be all right.”
His strategy worked perfectly, as others fell from earlier leads.
Among those claimed in the fray was James Renner, leader after both round one and two, who managed one under through nine before going on to shoot seven over on the back.
“I just started missing short putts is what it was,” Renner lamented. “I really didn’t think I shot what I shot.” Although disappointed, Renner kept things in perspective. “It seemed like it was a compound of mistakes. These kinds of days happen,” the Plainville, MA, resident said. 
Another standout performance came from Steve Zokol, who made strides toward the top of the board early in the third round, inking four under at the turn with no bogeys.
Sokol ended four behind the lead at eight under par, totaling 208 strokes for the tournament. As Sokol’s aggressive run turned into a chase for first, risk got the better of him coming in.
“[Seeing the leaderboard] definitely effects how you think out there, what you try to do out there, instead of just trying to make pars you have to just let it happen,” Sokol said. “We’re out here to win.”
Pittsfield, MA, professional Matt Donovan turned in an eight under effort to tie for second, and was quick to recognize how the course setup tested the field.
“I’ve played here a long time and this is the best two rounds of golf I’ve put together. The best I’ve seen it condition-wise, all around, I was very, very impressed,” he said.
Crumpin-Fox head PGA professional Michael Zaranek, who played the first two rounds as a sponsor-exemption but failed to make the cut, said that despite his game being off, it was good to see other players score so well.
“Taking this tour another step would be great and being a part of that would only be a positive for us,” Zaranek said. “It’s awesome for us to have a tour like this come in.”
