By TONY CHERBY/For the Sentinel
BUENA VISTA – Greg Harlan described how he managed the Ocean City Tuesday Senior Golf League’s “Best Shot Ever” at Buena Vista Country Club June 30.
“As I always say, sometimes it’s good to be lucky. It was hole 12, one of Ralph (DeLanzo’s) favorites. He was beating me so I just wanted to get it close,” he said. “It was 118 yards and I used a pitching wedge. The pin was behind that big front bunker so we couldn’t see the cup. It landed about 4 feet to the left and must have spun in.
“We all got to the green and were looking for my ball. I said, ‘Is it in the cup?’ And it was! My first after trying for 50 years.”
Such modesty. Reminds me that every non-golfer I know says getting an ace is pure luck but their knowledge of the game is misleading.
Hal Sutton and Robert Allenby share the record for holes-in-one in PGA events (10) not because they were lucky, but because they hit more shots closer to the hole than just about anyone, maybe even Tiger Woods, who “only” has three. That exponentially increases the chance to sink the ball. This isn’t rocket science; it’s not even paper airplane science. It also explains why Harlan leads the league in birdies and pars. He shot even par the week before.
Congratulations, Greg. In my 14-year tenure, his was our league’s second hole-in-one. Tom Brunnaband bagged the other one in 2015 at “Mays XII,” the reimagined and just reopened Mays Landing Country Club.
Footnote: Lou Salgado’s name and 50-foot shot was recorded on the Closest to the Pin placard on No. 12 after Greg’s ace. Hawthorne speculates that Cornell, who was in Lou’s foursome, measured after seeing 0” and “HIO” on the placard because “his foursome was confused.” I was 780 miles away at the time, so I have no idea what happened. Could be just one more “senior moment” in the 35-year annals of our league’s golf and golfing in Beautiful Downtown South Jersey.
The Greg Harlan/Ralph DeLanzo dustup was the Match of the Week. Going into the fray, RD was our points leader with 20 and a 5-0-0 record. In the end, he withstood Harlan’s ace and his score of 81, the fourth time Greg has won Low Gross bragging rights. He won the previous three weeks with two 78s and a 72, an unprecedented streak for us at BVCC. Steady Ralph won the match by firing a great 83, his YTD best. Greg had to spot him more than that 2-stroke difference, so DeLanzo kept his perfect record intact.
Both golfers deserve a big round of applause, but in our game, nothing generates more noise and attention than an ace. You could even say the chance to get one of those is kind of why we play the game. It’s the only thing you can do in golf that’s perfect, but only for one hole.
The prior week, just three players had birdies, but this time seven did. The one Ed Lyons caged on the monster 10th, a rarity for those hellish acres, is notable. And Ed also continued putting well. His 30-count tied Harlan, DeLanzo and Tony Cornell. And Cornell also notched a birdie after he almost got his own hole-in-one on No. 5, finishing a bit over 7 inches from the hole. Had Harlan not got his ace, Tony’s pin win easily would have been our Shot of the Day. In any case, it almost certainly will earn him a crystal come September for the best all year on No. 5.
There were four sub-90 rounds in addition to Harlan’s 81 and the 83 that DeLanzo tossed. Mark Lapham and Chris Ramsay came home with 86s, Bill Wright shot 87, and Rich Hawthorne fired an 88. As I like to put it, “80 is the new 70” for golfers of our vintage.
In our four Races to September, as noted, DeLanzo is our Points Leader with 24. Cherby is next, 18; Mason, 16; Ramsay, 15; and Lyons, 14.
Harlan will probably never be dethroned atop the Average Gross ladder, averaging 77.25. Roger Probert’s 82 follows; then Lapham, 85.5; DeLanzo, 85.7; and Ramsay, 86.5.
The Average Net race also finds Harlan at the top with 69.75; Cherby, 72.6; Bob England and Lou Salgado, 74; then DeLanzo and Mayson, 74.7.
Harlan also leads Average Putts with 28.5; followed by Probert, 31; Lyons, 32; DeLanzo, 32.2; and Cherby, 32.4.
Believe it or not, we’ve now logged about half our total matches for the season, so it’s time to remind everyone that players have to compete in at least 75 percent of all match play rounds to end up completing to qualify for our four Season’s Best awards. Also, no one can go home with more than one. But there are always those bragging rights that you can’t take away from multiple on-paper winners.
Here the results of all the June 30 matches: DeLanzo 4, Harlan 0; Lapham 4, Schultz 0; Ramsay 2, Hawthorne 2; Wright 4, Van Zandt 0; Hurston 2, Lyons 2; Carter 4, Mayson 0; Gardner 4, Gahr 0; England 4, Curtis 0; Cornell 4, Salgado 0; Franks 4, Baird 0; Ghost 4, Hollerbach 0.
WEEKLY WINNERS
Low Gross (81): Harlan
Low Net (69): Cornell
Fewest Putts (30): Harlan, Lyons, DeLanzo, Cornell
Birdies: Harlan Hollerbach, Ramsay, Gardner, Franks, Lyons, Cornell
Most Pars (9): Ramsay
Most Bogies (11): Gardner
Closest to the pins:
No. 5 Cornell 7’1/4”
No. 12 Harlan Hole-in-one
No. 8 Baird 5’ 1/2”
No. 17 Carter 11’
