During that particular season, Woods laid claim to two majors, the Masters in early April followed by a wire-to-wire victory at the British Open in July.

That summer, New Zealander Michael Campbell would become a surprise winner at the U.S. Open, and Phil Mickelson would capture his first PGA Championship at the Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey.

That same year, several familiar names also showed up as winners in the popular two-man best-ball events held at local clubs across our region.

The following is a summary of the winning teams at area two-man tournaments in 2005.

Fink

Down River Invitational: The team of J.P. Stultz and John Handrigan were the victors of the 13th annual Down River Invitational. Stultz, out of Park Hills, partnered with Handrigan, from Canada, who had been standout golfer at nearby Saint Francis University.

The pair scored rounds of 64 and 67 to finish the 36-hole event at 13-under par. Finishing one shot back that year, at 12-under par, was the team of Artie Fink Jr. and Steve DeStefano. Joel Neuder and Bill Troutman finished in third place, two shots back.

Sinking Valley Invitational: Playing in their first tournament as teammates, Artie Fink Jr. and Bernie DiLoreto were the winners at Sinking Valley after posting a 54-hole total of 20-under par, 196. Fink and DiLoreto were able to hold off the team of Handrigan and Jimmy Gillam, who finished three shots off the pace. Six shots back, in third place, was the team of Chris Gambacurta and J.P. Stultz.

DiLoreto, a native of Greensburg, sadly passed away in 2022 after a brief illness. He was a force in area golf tournaments for many years and counted 13 local best-ball titles among his many victories.

Park Hills Classic: The next major two-ball during the summer of 2005 was won by Sinking Valley’s Jimmy Gillam and Iron Masters’ Josh Jackson. This annual match-play event saw Gillam and Jackson defeat Sean McLanahan and Brett Daskivich in the semifinals before meeting Artie Fink Jr. and Todd Homan in the championship finale.

Sunday’s final match was close the entire way, but Gillam eventually sealed his team’s victory that year by chipping in for birdie on the 17th hole.

Iron Masters Classic: Familiar names continued to dominate the 2005 season as Jimmy Gillam and John Handrigan teamed up to post consecutive rounds of 62, 68 and 68 and earn the 29th Iron Masters Classic title.

At that time, Handrigan was head coach of the Coker College golf team in Georgia. He now leads the nationally-ranked Fighting Irish team at Notre Dame and still comes back to the area each year to play in the Sinking Valley Invitational.

Gillam and Handrigan finished the 2005 Iron Masters Classic two shots in front of Frank Frontino and Bernie DiLoreto. Chris Cambacurta and Ken Fisher were four shots back in third place.

Summit Invitational: Summit’s Invitational tournament in 2005 saw the dominant team of John Zack and Frank Frontino take home the trophy, their seventh title over an 11-year span.

Zack and Frontino shot rounds of 65 and 64 to finish three strokes ahead of Ken Fisher and Jimmy Gillam. The team of Greg Ferguson and Leonard DelBaggio finished third, five shots back.

Scotch Valley Invitational: The final two-ball tournament in our area each year is typically held at Scotch Valley, and the winner of the club’s 2005 edition was the team of Artie Fink Jr. and Leonard DelBaggio.

Surprisingly, this would be the only win as teammates for these good friends, both Sinking Valley members. The victory marked the 15th, and final, best-ball title for DelBaggio. For Fink on the other hand, it was an early win. To date, Fink has collected an amazing total of 62 local best-ball victories.

Fink