By PETE DAVIS
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP – After a week off due to the July Fourth holiday, 37 members of the Ocean City Thursday Senior Golf League headed back out for the second half of their season at Harbor Pines Golf Club.
While very hot, some overcast skies kept the day from being unbearable. Speaking of hot, two of our B Flight players had the rounds of the day.
Rick Schultz took on John Rutter in an evenly handicapped match. At the turn John led in stroke play by one shot. In match play both players claimed two holes on the front. Rick, aided by a key birdie on the 14th hole, covered the back nine in 44 while John turned in a 47. As Rick won three match play holes coming home, his strong finish carried him to victory and 4 points. John shot a net 62 but on this day that was not going to get it done versus Rick’s net 60.
Meanwhile Tony D’Ottavio faced off against B Flight points leader Mike Janel. Tony played a very fine round, shooting 45 on both nines, bagging three pars and a slew of bogeys. Mike didn’t have his normal magic and found himself down considerably at the turn. Mike rallied on the back but Tony’s consistency was too much to overcome. Tony finished with a gross score of 90 and a net 61. Four points to Tony.
Tom Szkaradnik tangled with new member Brian Lefke in a very tight match. At the turn Tom was up by five strokes but Brian stormed back to nearly tie it, falling just one stroke short. In match play they halved with eight holes apiece. Couldn’t have been any closer! 3 points to Tom and 1 point to Brian.
Dom Scalfaro went out against Garth Moyle. Dom played a very steady front nine and avoided trouble by posting a gross 43 and taking a five-shot lead in the match play. Garth pressured him on the back nine and closed the match play gap, but just ran out of holes. Dom ended up with a net 66 and claimed 4 points.
Other B Flight winners were Jack Dersheimer, Tom Gahr, Joe Szkaradnik and Mike Coffman, all of whom won 4 points in their matches.
Over in A Flight the match of the day featured Jim Soukup versus Jim Guidotti. Jim G. is spotting Jim S. two handicap shots. Jim G. had the lead at the turn by five strokes and two match play holes. Jim S. turned it on for the inward nine, winning by three shots and three match play holes. The handicap strokes came into play big time as both players ended up with net 69s, halving. Jim S. edged out the match play by one hole 7-6, despite Jim G. posting eight pars on the day. 3 points to Jim S., 1 point to Jim G.
Ron Gibson and Bill Clarke played a tight match as well. Three strokes were all the difference as Ron posted a gross 88 with seven pars. Bill had five pars but Ron handled the 14th hole through the 18th holes very well, finishing strong on those difficult, critical holes. Ron’s pars on the 16th and 18th were the difference. Ron finished net 62 to Bill’s net 66. 4 points to Ron.
Another close match, which came down to the 18th hole, was played by Phil Gaffney and Bob Quinn. At the end of the day there was a five-stroke lead for Bob but as he conceded five handicap strokes, the match halved with net 72s. Bob managed to secure the tie with a birdie on the par three 15th hole (2’2” away) and a clutch par on the 18th. Phil won the match play so 3 points to Phil, 1 point to Bob.
A Flight points leader Glenn Giveans went out versus Joe Dempsey. On the basis of a 41 on the front and seven pars overall, Glenn was able to sweep 4 points. Joe made a run but couldn’t overcome Glenn’s early lead.
Jay Ammon and Drew Klein, both 20 handicaps, tangled in a close match. Drew, buoyed by a birdie on the 7th hole, led at the turn. Jay continued on with his very tidy play (four back nine pars) and strong putting to overtake Drew and claim 4 points.
Ron Venturi and Ben Fong were one stroke apart at the turn in their match. Ron captured the stroke play with steady play on the back nine, particularly the final holes. Ron had six pars on the day and a birdie on the 7th hole. Ben birdied the 11th. Ben held a match play edge of 7 holes to 6. Two points to each player.
In other play Frank Mancini fired 11 pars and a net 67 to claim 4 points from Pete McInerney. John Blady broke 80 again as he posted a 79 with eight pars and two birdies (7th and 16th holes). It should be noted that the pin on the 16th was the difficult blue flag position. John’s opponent, Bob Pierce made excellent use of his handicap strokes and managed to halve the match play with each player claiming five holes. 3 points to John, 1 point to Bob. Paul Sullivan shot a net 68 and claimed 4 points from Pete Davis. Mike Bogdash, with birdies on the 6th and 8th hole, turned back Jim Hoagland and earned 4 points. Jack Mahon shot a net 64 and claimed 4 points in a match of cards.
UNOFFICIAL STANDING
A FLIGHT POINTS
Glenn Giveans 26
Frank Mancini 23
Pete McInerney 21
Paul Sullivan 20
Mike Bogdash 20
B FLIGHT
Mike Janel 24
Rick Schultz 23
Mike Coffman 20
Tom Gahr 19
Mike Collins 16