Bic Brothers Glide to Jug Title

Dalton, Mass. (Aug. 21)—You’ve heard of the Blues Brothers. Well, yesterdays final round of Wahconah’s Little Brown Jug produced an even better moniker—the Bic Brothers.

Ed Budz and Matt Scarafoni, whose games were almost as spotless as their noggins, rallied with a closing 4-under 67 for an 11-under-par total and a two-stroke victory over second round co-leaders Andy Congdon and Steve Soule.

“I told him Saturday night, ‘you’ve got to get rid of [the hair],’’ joked Budz. “You’re trying to grow hair. You’re not trying to grow hair. I called him [yesterday] morning and his wife said he was shaving his head. I said ‘Thank God.’”

Budz, who has sported the clean-shaven look for four years, pressured Scarafoni to conform. Once the final round began, though, the long-time duo joined forces, putting a choke hold on the 112-team field en route to claiming their second Little Brown Jug.

Trailing by one entering the final round, Budz and Scarafoni figured they needed a birdie barrage to catch the veteran team of Congdon and Soule, who opened with rounds of 67-67. Oddly enough, though, a 15-foot par save on the eighth hole jumpstarted their round.

“That was huge,” Scarafoni said of his saving putt. One hole later, Budz stuffed his approach to four inches on the uphill ninth. Budz also birdied no. 11 and 12 to assume a lead they would never relinquish.

Not that they didn’t have to sweat it out.

While Budz’s birdies early on the inward nine appeared to open the floodgates, Scarafoni held their round together with dramatic pars coming in. And the commentary that came with it, unlike any lock-jawed PGA Tour event, was worth the price of admission.

After Budz short sided himself on the lengthy 227-yard 13th, Scarafoni drilled a 3-iron onto the green for par.

“My man,” Scarafoni joked as they strode to the next tee. “Let me help you out on a short par-4.”

Two holes later, with Budz eyeing a seven-foot par putt, Scarafoni calmly sank a sliding six-foot par putt of his own to maintain their three-shot advantage over Soule and Congdon, who narrowly missed a pair of 15-foot birdie putts on no. 15 and 16.

“Imagine that: Having to ride me for an entire hole,” Scarafoni kidded. “I almost gave him a heart attack.”

On no. 17, a 186 yard par-3, Scarafoni, following a Budz bogey, iced the tournament with a four-foot slider for par.

“You better start pulling your weight,” chirped Scarafoni, while grinning at Budz.

Ten minutes later, with the sun quickly setting behind Wahconah’s clubhouse, the duo tapped in for par, lowering the curtain on the County’s final major of the year.