OVGA Amateur Golf Tour

In the Eagle Flight

Apparently once was not going to be good enough for Sam Melton.  The sweet swinging 5-handicap recorded his first OVGA victory yesterday at Deer Run and completed Opening Weekend with a clean sweep at Walden Ponds.  Melton held off a late charging Rich Lakes, along with a trio of others at net 73, with a par on the 18th hole (Lakes had bogey) to finish at even par net 72.  Melton became the first player since Jerry Inebnit to win as the lowest handicap golfer in the field.

In the Birdie Flight

Rich Coleman started strong, but handed over the spotlight to two rookies who decided to make their impact known on Opening Weekend.  Matt Johnson held the lead until the 15th hole when Brett Maynard made a charge and pulled away for a two shot victory in his first OVGA event.  Maynard became the first player since Opening Day last year (Cole Cartwright and Trevor Gummere) to win in their first OVGA tournament.  Maynard finished the day at -2, net 70.

In the Par Flight

It looked like Jamie Hayes was going to run away with the tournament, building a 6 shot advantage through 12 holes, but he faltered late while Bill Shannon made a charge on the back nine.  Playing holes 10-15 in just 18 net shots, Shannon erased the 6-shot deficit and took a two shot lead after 16 holes in route to an 8-under, net 64. 

All in all, Walden Ponds played much tougher this year with an average score of 97.5 compared to 93.8 strokes in 2008. 

Next week, the OVGA heads to Sharon Woods for the first leg of the Great Parks Championship.  The GPC encompasses four events at Hamilton County Park District Courses (Sharon Woods, Vineyard, Miami Whitewater and Mill Course).  The player with the lowest net score in these four events will be crowned as the Great Parks Champion complete with trophy that you can keep as well as having your name displayed on a traveling trophy that can be viewed at the Mill Course.  Rich Coleman is the reigning GPC Champion.