OVGA Amateur Golf Tour

The Vineyard played longer and wetter than most would have liked, but two players withstood the test to earn their first OVGA victories and another notched his 2nd career win in runaway fashion.

In the Eagle Flight…

Dan Furlong got out of the gate like Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness with a net eagle on the first hole.  Furlong would maintain a lead through seven holes before Chad Roidt would grab the lead at the turn at -2, net 34.  Roidt would maintain the lead alone until Joe Vlachos tied him after 14 holes at -3.  After 15 holes, Ron Spencer had made it a 3-way tie atop the leaderboard.  A bogey on #16 would put Vlachos a shot back and the 2004 OVGA Player of the Year would finish one shot back.  Roidt would bogey #17 to fall a shot back of Spencer who played the final five holes in -2 to win his first OVGA Tour event.

AVG SCORE - 83.8
Medalist - Chad Roidt (77)

In the Birdie Flight…

Carl Cowan came to the turn with a one shot advantage over Matt Johnson at -1.  Johnson quickly erased the deficit by pulling even and then taking a one shot lead thru 11 holes.  However, Cowan, with a net birdie on #12, drew even once more.  Cowan’s net birdie on #13 gave him a one shot lead that would grow to 2 shots thru 15 holes.  Johnson would pull to within a stroke after 16 holes following a net birdie, but a bogey on #17 would spell doom for Johnson as Cowan would finish three shots clear at -5, net 66 to claim his first OVGA Tour victory.

AVG SCORE - 92.2
Medalist - Carl Cowan (83)

In the Par Flight…

If ever there was a strategy for winning tournaments at Vineyard it would be to keep your ball in the fairway.  Frank Hill apparently heard about this as he hit 12 of 14 fairways and all seven on the back nine.  Hill made the turn at -1 and then blew away the field on the back nine carding an impressive 46 (net 31) to finish five shots ahead of Ray Hatfield at -5, net 66.  The win was Hill’s second on the OVGA Tour.  His first came in July of last year at Sebastian Hills.

AVG SCORE - 106.3
Medalist - Anthony Eckinger (93)

Today’s tournament at The Willows was arguably the toughest test in golf in the history of the OVGA.  No players were under net par for the first time in an OVGA event since April 12, 2008 at Elks Run.  That round was played in mid-40 degree temps with rain and wind.  Today’s round was in the high 60s with wind and some wet spots from last night’s rain, but the course proved to be a monster.  The average score for the entire 55-player field was 100.9 (Eagle - 88.9, Birdie - 97.5, Par - 114.9).  Only two players played to even par with the rest of the field above par.  Let’s get to the results.

IN THE EAGLE FLIGHT

Five players held a share of the lead over the first nine holes of the tournament but Mark Murphy, who won last week at Sharon Woods, held a share of the lead for all nine holes and made the turn with a one shot lead over Matthew Sehnert, Tab Nelson and Darin DePew at even par.  Sehnert would draw even with Murphy and the two would co-lead until Sehnert grabbed the lead on the 13th hole.  Murphy fell a shot back and would get no closer the rest of the way.  Sehnert’s lead would grow to 3 shots thru #15, but the man known more for heckling hockey players than hitting golf balls was making his move.  Kevin Gadker, aka The Heckler from Hell at Cincinnati Cyclones games, was two shots back after #16, but a birdie on the 17th hole, followed by Sehnert’s triple bogey gave Gadker a 2 shot lead heading to the finishing hole.  Gadker’s net par on the 537-yard par 5 was enough to hold off Mark Murphy by a shot and claim his first OVGA Tour victory in his first tour event.

1.  Kevin Gadker - 73 (83)

2.  Mark Murphy - 74 (82)

3.  Matthew Sehnert - 75 (84)

IN THE BIRDIE FLIGHT

Michael Frank burst out of the gate leading for the first eight holes, but a double bogey on #9 opened the door for Harry Bradley to grab a 2 shot lead at the turn at -3.  Bradley maintained his 2 shot lead thru the 12th hole, but a string of four straight net bogeys eliminated Bradley from contention.  Owen Warner would hold a share of the lead on the 13th hole, but a net birdie by Cy Zibrik moved the Columbus resident into the lead after 14 holes.  Zibrik’s lead would get to two shots after the 15th hole, but Doug Chalk was making a run at the leader.  Chalk got to a shot back after 16 holes and remained there as they Zibrik and Chalk headed to #18.  Chalk’s net par would tied him with Zibrik at net 72 (E) as they went to the first OVGA Playoff of 2009.  Both would record net bogey on the #1 handicapped hole before Chalk would record the victory with a net birdie on the #2 handicapped hole.

1.  Doug Chalk - 72 (86)  *WON IN PLAYOFF

2.  Cy Zibrik - 72 (89)

3.  Owen Warner - 75 (88)

IN THE PAR FLIGHT 

We already saw from Kevin Gadker in the Eagle Flight that sometimes your first event might be your coming out party.  That sure looked to be the case for Jeff Scroggin who held a share of the lead on each of the first nine holes of his OVGA career.  Scroggin would head to the turn with a 1 shot lead at -2 net.  However the 420-yard par 4 10th hole would prove a problem for Scroggin whose net double bogey allowed Anthony Eckinger to tie at even par.  Scroggin would fall off the lead on #11 as Michael Fischer replaced him in the tie with Eckinger.  Fischer would take a 2 shot lead after 12 holes, but Scroggin would storm back to take the lead after 14 holes at -2.  Scroggin would stumble on #15 which allowed Michael Fischer to grab a 4 shot lead following a net birdie.  Fischer would tee off on #18 holding a 3 shot lead over Eckinger at -1.  He would putt out having lost the lead and now heading to a playoff with Matt Johnson who was 4 shots back at the start of the hole.  Johnson’s net par got him into the playoff and his net birdie on the first playoff hole was enough to claim his first OVGA Tour victory.

1.  Matt Johnson - 75 (99) *WON IN PLAYOFF

2.  Michael Fischer - 75 (101)

3.  Anthony Eckinger - 76 (105)

The OVGA TOUR returns to action next Sunday at The Vineyard for Round 2 of the Great Parks Championship.  Charles Johnson currently holds a 1 shot lead over Steve Waterhouse at -7. 

Deadline for entry at Vineyard is Monday at noon.  Only 64 spots are available for this tournament.

There were a few incorrect HCPs on the cards today caused by some players who have not played 5 OVGA rounds to date.  Because of that, we are using either USGA (if the player has it) or Callaway HCP (if the player does not have USGA).  Once a player has played 5 rounds on the OVGA, their OVGA HCP will kick in.  I apologize for any confusion and the scoring below is accurate.

In the Eagle Flight
Doug Chalk led for six holes on the front nine while a total of six players had a share of the lead over the first nine holes but it was Michael Bowen who took a one shot lead at +1, net 36 at the turn.  However, Michael Gaines would take the lead on the 10th hole, before Chalk wrangled it away on #11.  Gaines would grab the lead back on #13 before the field bunched up with five players sharing the lead after 14 holes (Gaines, Chalk, Bowen, Mark Murphy and Chris Mulligan) at +3, net 56.  After 15 holes, Gaines and Mulligan would drop a shot back and get no closer.  After 16 holes, Bowen would fall off the pace and three shots off the lead.  Murphy and Chalk would head to #18 tied at +1, net 67.  Murphy’s net par would give the Eagle flight it’s first non-Sam Melton winner of 2009 and for Murphy it would be win #5 in his OVGA career.

In the Birdie Flight
A few players, Phyllis Bare, Rick Lingo and Jim Cachat got hot early, but Rich Lakes took the lead on the 6th hole and made the turn at +1, net 36.  Rich Coleman would tie Lakes after 10 holes, but Lakes would begin to pull away, building a 3 shot lead thru 13 holes at E, net 49.  Bare closed to within a shot after 15 holes, but Lakes quickly extended his lead back to three shots after 16 holes and cruised to his first win of 2009 and his 3rd career OVGA Tour victory with an even par net 70.

In the Par Flight
Charles Johnson started the day going net eagle, net eagle, net birdie and had a five shot lead thru the first three holes before hanging on for a one shot lead at the turn at -5, net 30.  Frank Hill (-4), James Crockett (-3) and Steve Waterhouse (E) were also in the hunt after the first nine holes.  Johnson would build a three shot lead thru 13 holes, but James Crockett would pull within one after #14 and would take a one shot lead after #15 at -4, net 53.  But as quickly as Crockett took the lead, Waterhouse would snatch it away with a net double eagle on #16 to hold a one shot lead over Crockett and Hill.  Waterhouse’s net birdie on #17 gave him a two shot lead heading to the final hole.  But the pressure was too much as Waterhouse would post a net bogey and Johnson would finish with a net eagle to steal his first career OVGA Tour victory finishing at -6, net 64.

Congratulations to Mark Murphy, Rich Lakes and Charles Johnson on their victories at Sharon Woods.  Saturday’s event was the first round of the Great Parks Championship which is a 4-round tournament played at the four Hamilton County Park Courses this season (Sharon Woods, Vineyard, Miami Whitewater and Mill Course).  The player with the low net (no flights) for all four rounds will be named the winner.

Top 5 after Round 1
1.  Charles Johnson, -6, 64
2.  Steve Waterhouse, -5, 65
3.  Frank Hill, -2, 68
4.  James Crockett, -1, 69
5.  Rich Lakes, E, 70

Last season’s GPC Champion, Rich Coleman is 10 shots off the lead after a +4, 74 on Saturday.  Round 2 of the Great Parks Championship, is Sunday, May 17 at Vineyard.

CTP Winners - $32 - Skins will be announced tomorrow night

Eagle/Birdie Flight

#8 - Joe Wieland

#11 - Rich Lakes

Par Flight

#2 - Frank Kilgore (Bevans/Chalk were on the sheet but not Par flight players)

#8 - Anthony Eckinger

Hole 2 - Larry Redmond, 2
Hole 4 - Sam Melton, 4
Hole 7 - Michael Huber, 3
Hole 10 - Sam Melton, 4
Hole 16 - Bill Shannon, 3

PAYOUT = $25 per skin