Tommy Kennedy went undefeated through an extraordinarily short field of 10 entrants who competed in the J. Pechauer SE Open 9-Ball Tour’s $1,000-added Bob and Brad Martin Memorial Tournament held on Labor Day weekend, August 31-September 1 at The Miscue Lounge in Fort Myers, FL.

 

“We had a small turnout,” said Kennedy in a Facebook post, “but not a lack of talent.”

 

Kennedy battled twice against Stephen Richmond to claim the title. Kennedy had sent Eric Huddleston to the loss side 9-3 in one winners’ side semifinal, as Richmond was sending Willie McBride west in the other one. In their first of two, they battled to double hill before Kennedy prevailed to claim the hot seat.

 

On the loss side, Huddleston drew and defeated Eric Gouder 7-3 and advanced to the quarterfinals. He was joined by McBride, who had picked up Keith Lennox and sent him home 7-4.

 

McBride took the quarterfinal match 7-4 over Huddleston and had his brief loss-side trip halted by Richmond 7-4 in the semifinals.

 

The race was extended to 11 for the finals rematch. Kennedy completed his undefeated run with an 11-6 victory to claim the event title.

 

Kennedy thanked Bobby and Rick Martin, co-owners of the Miscue Lounge for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor J. Pechauer Cues, Simonis Cloth, Mueller Recreational Products and tournamentsnearme.com. The next stop on the J. Pechauer Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for the weekend of September 21-22, will be hosted by Mr. Cues II in Atlanta, GA.

Tommy Kennedy successfully defended his title at the Eighth Annual Bob and Brad Martin Memorial Tournament, hosted by the Miscues Lounge in Fort Myers, FL, owned previously by Bob and Brad Martin, in whose name the tournament has been held. The tournament, held under the auspices of the Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour (Stop #5), was broken into amateur and Open divisions, with the $600-added Open event on Saturday, August 24, drawing 15 and the $400-added amateur event on Sunday, won by Jared Schlauch, drawing 26.

 

Kennedy defeated Anthony Meglino among the winners' side final four 9-3 and then defeated Chris Gentile 9-2 to get into the hot seat. Meglino came through two, loss-side matches to face Gentile in the semifinals and took an early 3-0 lead. Gentile, though, fought back to earn a second shot at Kennedy in the hot seat. Kennedy finished his undefeated run with an 11-5 victory.

 

In the amateur event, Schlauch and Eric Gouder faced each other twice. Schlauch won the battle for the hot seat, sending Gouder to a semifinal against Phil Davis, who had just defeated Jose Ybarra in the quarterfinals. Gouder defeated Davis and got his second chance against Schlauch. Schlauch completed his undefeated run to claim the event title.