By TONY CHERBY
BUENA — Partly cloudy skies and humidity that came and went with the breeze made the day mostly bearable for the Ocean City Senior Golf Leagues July 30. The forecasters told us this would be the case, and they were right. Of course, at times we end up with 3 to 5 inches of “partly cloudy” on the ground when they say that.
The day also saw Ed Lyons tie his traveling companion, Dane Mayson, for the best single-day putt count of the season. Dane had sole possession of that record for exactly 1 week. They must have had an interesting ride home. Lyons’ prowess with the flat stick this time around epitomized what consistency is all about. He turned in a card featuring five one-putts on his opening nine, and he followed that up with the same number coming home. Combined with two-putts on all the other holes, Ed manufactured a gem of a performance on the short grass. Mayson and Lyons expended a mere 26 putts on July 30 (Dane), and on Aug. 2 (Ed).
Ed also had a pin win on his favorite hole. Just ask him; I’m sure he’ll agree that it’s the 17th where, twice in 2023, no one came any closer than he did. Rich Hawthorne has owned that hole this year, however, with three pin wins so far. But Rich sat this round out, leaving the place wide open for someone else to take the prize for a change.
I say Jeff Mitchell is a shoe-in for the best shot on that hole in 2024, where his ball came to rest 23 inches from the cup July 16. The best shot we’ve seen so far, on any par-3, is RD’s 18-incher, on opening day, on No. 12. (Anyone who has been paying even a little bit of attention around here knows who “RD” is.)
Another headline comes in the form of 3 birdies by Jeff Mitchell. He bagged his first one on the tough par-4 sixth, our third-hardest hole. Then he Immediately followed up with another bird on the par-5 seventh. But he wasn’t done. Jeff punked another fluttery fellow into his bag of tricks on the now-famous par-3 17th. (Of course, the most birdies we’ve ever seen during our tenure at BVCC is Bill Wright’s four-bagger a few weeks ago.) Jeff completed his best round of the year, at least according to – well, according to him. That’s what he reported in his post-game interview in front of the two of us. Jeff shot a sterling 87; unfortunately for him, he was engaged in the Match of the Day wherein his opponent, Captain Dave Carter, had an even better round, albeit not by much. Dave fired an 85, our best score of the day. Not only that, but for the third week in a row Carter captured the prize for Low Net.
Another story, this one of the not-so-good variety, was that, for the first time this season, Ralph DeLanzo lost a match by a 4-0 score. He shot a 91, which was also a first for him; as in, it was the first time he failed to bring home a sub-90 scorecard. That, combined with his having to spot Borucki a few too many, translated into a loss to Scheduler Stan. But before we organize a pity party for Ralph, let it be known that he’s still in first place in the points race and he still occupies the top rung of that leaderboard by a very comfortable margin.
Carter’s 4-0 sweep propelled him into second place on the points ladder, but Dave has a 9-point deficit to overcome if he’s going to take that prize away from RD and hoist the Most Points Won crystal in six weeks or so. And thanks a sweep of his own, Stan Borucki is tied with Dave in the runner-up slot; they own 23 dings to RD’s 32. Perennial contender Tony Cornell, who also swept his match, is next with 22 points.
Dave, Stan and Tony have a tough row to hoe if they are going to catch Ralph. Four matches remain so 16 points are yet to be had. And I say that the smart money would not find its owner betting against Steady Ralph, despite his stumble this time around the track. Anyone who knows DeLanzo knows that he’s an erstwhile student of the game, so count on it. If history is any guide, the one thing I can absolutely assert is that with just four weeks to go, one of these four players will win the crystal for “Most Points” when we wrap up yet another glorious season in Buena.
In the other big races, DeLanzo, Hawthorne and Wright look to be the only ones in contention for Low Average Gross. And for Low Average Net, less than 1 stroke separates Carter and Cornell, especially after that stretch of three Low Net wins in a row tossed by Carter and his stogie-less countenance; have you noticed the absence of that thing?
Go to the “Documents” section on our website (ocstgl.golfleague3.net) for all the numbers about us, our many contests, and, in general, what it is that we do, or we think we do.
And last but certainly least, Dane Mayson broke his new driver shaft again. And in the exact same spot. He needs a bigger cudgel.
Here are all the match results: Bill Wright 4, Tom Bowman 0; Dave Carter 4, Jeff Mitchell 0; Stan Borucki 4, Ralph DeLanzo 0; Doug Baird 4, Frank Coppenbarger 0; Tony Cornell 4, Tom Gahr 0; Ed Lyons 4, Bill Gardner v 0; Charlie Smyth 4,Dane Mayson 0 ; Jack Hiner 4, Bruce Goldberg 0;The Ghost 4, Tony Cherby 0 (Hawthorne recruited the ghost)
WEEKLY PRIZE WINNERS
LOW GROSS Dave Carter (85)
LOW NET Dave Carter (64) the third week in a row
FEWEST PUTTS Ed Lyons (26) ties for Best of 2024
CLOSEST TO THE PINS
No. 5 Nobody Home
No. 8 Dane Mayson, 28’6”
No. 12 Jeff Mitchell, 5’9”
No. 17 Ed Lyons, 7’7”
BIRDIES Jeff Mitchel (3)
MOST PARS Dave Carter (6)