Northeast Ohio Golf: Greater Cleveland and Akron Tournament Golf News

Mark Foss made the most of his chip-in birdie at the 378-yard 12th hole at Powderhorn last week and “cleaned up” — taking home the entire $345 skins pot.

The fiery Foss was shut out after the first three weeks of the season, but now sits atop the 2008 Greater Cleveland Skins Game Leaderboard, in quest of the Thompson Cup. Updated standings are posted below.

Geoff Nicely and Jim Lebzelter each captured the pin shots worth $52.50 each.

The Skins game moves to Fowlers Mill this coming Thursday, May 15 starting at 5:00pm. Green fees at Fowlers are $22.00 riding, which includes a beverage. Any players that want to play in a “warm-up 9″ before the scheduled skins game must call the course first to make such arrangements.

2008 GREATER CLEVELAND SKINS GAME LEADERBOARD
1) Mark Foss - $345.00
2) Steve Blackburn Jr. - $303.60
3) Paul Kish - $268.60
4) Geoff Nicely - $236.50
5) Dave Sotka - $187.50
6) Brian McGinty - $184.00
7) Garry Zehe - $166.50
8) Phil Bosc - $103.50
9) Jeff Ettinger - $84.00
10) John Niedzialek - $63.00
11) Steve Blackburn Sr. - $59.80
12) Jim Lebzelter - $52.50
13) Tom Bond - $45.50

– John Niedzialek

Register today for the Championship Golf Association’s 2-man scramble at Turkeyfoot this Saturday! This event always has a large field and a big pot, and the turf conditions at Turkeyfoot are perfect right now.

To enter, either visit the CGA Website or call Jeff Jenkins at 216-556-0219. Initial entries close today and pairings will be posted this evening, but late registrations (with an extra $2 per player fee) are accepted through Friday…

–Allen Freeman

The 47th Annual Ashland Am-Am will be played June 14-15 at the great Country Club of Ashland. This 2-player Better Ball event is one of the better amateur events of the season, so get your entry in early.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE ASHLAND AM-AM ENTRY BLANK WITH COMPLETE TOURNAMENT DETAILS (PDF)

–Allen Freeman

The Chippewa Golf Club Monday Night 2-Man Scratch League kicked off last night, and the conditions and weather could not have been better. The golf course was in great shape and a great turn out made for a perfect starting event for the season.

Allen Freeman and Ryan Stefanski bested the field with a 4-under par score in the 2-man scramble format, winning by a single shot over three teams. Stefanski made a sweeping uphill 15 foot putt on the 18th hole to secure the win. Complete details follow…

Monday Night Scratch League Week No. 1 Results
Monday, May 5th 2008
Back Nine, Scramble Format
 
1 Freeman - Stefansky  (32)
T2 Cea - Pulk (33)
T2 Mallette - Kracker  (33)
T2 Spino - Oates  (33)
T2 Jones - Schonover  (33)

Pro Pot - Freeman - Stefansky (32)  $140
 
Skins - Chappy - Johnston  (#14)  $540
 
Senior Skins
Weaver - Weaver  (#10)  $46
Cea - Pulk  (#11)  $46
Chappy - Johnston  (#14)  $46

– Allen Freeman

The tricky Spring Valley Country Club in Elyria proved to be tough for the CGA field to handle, as only four players broke 80. Greg Thomas won in convincing fashion with a smooth 37-37=74, winning by four shots over Todd Selzer.

There were four skins: Brian Smith (3 on #7); Greg Thomas (3 on #12); Adam Selzer (2 on #13); and Ted Koelsch (3 on #16).

Complete Spring Valley results can be found on the CGA website.

The next Championship Golf Association event is the big 2-Man Scramble at Turkeyfoot GC in Akron this Saturday, May 10. The golf course is in perfect condition and there should be a quality field for this event — so sign up early. To enter, visit the CGA Website or call 216-556-0219.

– Allen Freeman

The team of Vaughn Snyder and Brad Wright lapped the field at Turkeyfoot on Saturday, winning the 2008 ADGA 2-Man Better Ball event with a sterling six-under par score of 65. Their score was a winner by three shots over three other teams.

The weather was rainy, wet, windy and cool, and many teams struggled with the conditions and the difficult pin positions. But Snyder and Wright didn’t seem to notice in cruising to victory. Complete results below.

Kudos to the staff at Turkeyfoot for the perfectly conditioned golf course, and to ADGA Director Tim Davis for working hard to attract such a large field for the event. (Equally impressive, only two “no-show” teams even though the weather was bad right from sunrise!)

The ADGA will play its second event of the season on Saturday, May 17 with their 4-Man Scramble at The Fairways of North Canton, presented by Sattler Machine. Entries close at the end of day on Wednesday, May 14, so call the ADGA voicemail at (440) 848-8364 or visit ADGA Online Registration page.

2008 Parke H. Thornton Better Ball sponsored by Foxy Golf
Turkeyfoot Lake Golf Links, Saturday, May 3, 2008

1 Vaughn Snyder / Brad Wright 65 -6 $700
T2 Tom Seever / John Kern 68 -3 $500
T2 Chris Minear / Rich Slivinski 68 -3 $500
T2 Mark Thomas / Joe Nemeth 68 -3 $500
T5 Mike Burnett / Mike Mozingo 69 -2 $250
T5 Jim Cea / Dave Pulk 69 -2 $250
T5 Charlie Schrader / Tom DeFrancisco 69 -2 $250
T8 Tim Davis / Dan Marr 70 -1 $130
T8 Allen Freeman / Ryan Stefanski 70 -1 $130
T8 Mark Juve / Riley Rindo 70 -1 $130
T8 Charlie Manocchio / Tom McBride 70 -1 $130
T8 Michael Considine / Matt Considine 70 -1  $130
T13 Tommy Li / Mike Stiller 71 Even $100
T13 Dave Oates / Sam Spino 71 Even $100
T13 Nick Lambos / Jeff Mallette 71 Even
T16 Tom Stiller / Dave Petracca 72 +1 $100
T16 Joe Swiatkowski / Chris Reuscher 72 +1
T16 Tom Markham / Alan Mellan 72 +1
T16 Steve Kimson / Curt Wilguess 72 +1
T20 Stephen Marshall / Steven Kalail 73 +2
T20 Jeff Meighen / Tom McClary 73 +2
T20 Jeff Leonard / Mike Riley 73 +2
T20 Pat Feeney / Gary Kaser 73 +2
T20 Russell Rybka / Mike Balzano 73 +2
T20 Dave Cutlip / Brett Walchalk 73 +2
T26 Fred Martin / Tom Stack 74 +3
T26 Joe Hedrick / Jim Tarter 74 +3
T26 Dave Chapple / Mike Saxon 74 +3
T26 Scott Kline / Chad Kline 74 +3
T26 Dan Bickett / Les Bickett 74 +3
T31 Dean Cutlip / Randy Skorman 75 +4
T31 John Johnston / Don Gallegly 75 +4
T31 Steve Fricker / Rich Lowry 75 +4
T31 David Trier / Jim Grosso 75 +4
T31 Mike Armour / T.J. Price 75 +4
T31 Rick Bryson / Jim Herchek 75 +4
T31 Rick Merrow / Bill Stemple 75 +4
38 Dennis Kyle / Ted Koelsch 76 +5
39 Joel Recht / Steve Wilson 77 +6
T40 David Marshall / Jim Niskanen 78 +7
T40 Aaron Crewse / Jeff Gainer 78 +7
T42 Brett Sarver / Scott Coates 79 +8
T42 Dave Woodrum / Ron Sonodecker 79 +8
T42 Frank Livak / Derek Duda 79 +8
45 Jay Carpenter / Warren Lynum 81 +10
T46 John Zelenka / Joe Dazey 82 +11
T46 Kevin Larizza / Brad Stewart 82 +11
48 Andy Minno / Nick Marchette 83 +12
T49 Tony Cox / Dave Heffelman WD WD
T49 Vic Kline / Roger Kline NC NC

SKINS - $490 each
Eagle No. 5 Pat Feeney / Gary Kaser
Birdie No. 8 Fred Martin / Tom Stack

–Allen Freeman

The Blackburn family had a field day at Pleasant Hills this past Thursday, birdieing 11, 12, and 13. Steve Blackburn Jr. earned two skins (#12 and 13) worth $120, while Steve Blackburn Sr. took home $60 with his birdie on #11.

Paul Kish led the day, however, with a great chip-in birdie on #15 plus a pin shot and birdie skin on the par-3 18th hole. Kish took home $160 for his efforts.

Tom Bond captured the other pin shot on #17 for $45.50.

Steve Blackburn Jr. of Willowick is now on top of the Greater Cleveland Skins Game Leaderboard after Week 3 with a total of $303. Paul Kish moves into second place after his big week.

The Skins game moves to Powderhorn this Thursday, May 8 starting at 5:00pm. Greens Feess at Powderhorn are $13.00 riding and $6.00 walking. Any players that want to play in a “warm up 9 hole round before the scheduled skins game must call the course first to make such arrangements. Please thank the course for giving the Greater Cleveland Skins Game participants such great rates.

2008 Cleveland Skins Game Leaderboard
1) Steve Blackburn Jr. - $303.60
2) Paul Kish - $268.60
3) Dave Sotka - $187.50
4) Brian McGinty - $184.00
5) Geoff Nicely - $184.00
6) Garry Zehe - $166.50
7) Phil Bosc - $103.50
8) Jeff Ettinger - $84.00
9) John Niedzialek - $63.00
10) Steve Blackburn Sr. - $59.80

– John Niedzialek

One of the best weekly amateur golf leagues in Northeast Ohio, the 2-player Monday Night Scratch League at Chippewa GC in Doylestown, begins this Monday, May 5th.

The 9-hole amateur league is contested at scratch and features a different two-player format each week (scramble, better ball, aggregate score, and 3/3/3 jumble, etc.). The league features weekly gift certificate prizes, plus a weekly optional cash skins game and a cash “pro pot”. Season long points are tabulated to determine a year-end winning team.

The 9-hole Monday scratch league begins at 4 p.m. and the tee is held open for the league until 6:30. That timing allows anyone who also wants to play in the Monday $100 Big Skins Game, which starts at 11:30 a.m., to roll right into playing the evening scratch league. But the biggest bonus is that the greens fees and cart fees are covered for the entire day when participating in the $100 Big Skins Game, making a Monday at Chippewa one of the best golf deals in all of Northeast Ohio!

New teams looking to join the league should contact Dan or Don in the Chippewa pro shop at 330-658 6126 to get on the waiting list. A year-long league entry fee is required from both members of the team to join, which is used to pay the gift certificate portion of the pot each week. Teams can designate more than two players as members of their team, allowing for substitutes on various nights throughout the season.

Weekly results and the season-long points totals from the Chippewa Monday Night Scratch League will be posted to this web site, so look here for complete information as the season progresses…

– Allen Freeman

The first “big field” event of the year will take place this Saturday, May 3rd as the Akron District Golf Association kicks off its 2008 season with a 2-player Better Ball at Turkeyfoot Lake Golf Links.

48 teams are currently registered for this event! Groupings and starting times are now posted.

Last minute teams can register online at the ADGA website or can call the ADGA voicemail at 440-848-8364 and leave a message. Teams will be put on a waiting list and entered into the field if space is available.

This is what tournament golf in Northeast Ohio is all about – great golf course conditions, strong competition, a big field and a great prize pot…

–Allen Freeman

Norton Brick of Elyria has begun his post-hip-surgery comeback in style, winning the Championship Golf Association event on Sunday, April 27 on a challenging Pine Hills GC layout.

Brick posted a 1-over par 35-38=73 to edge Brian Smith by a stroke.

The greens at Pine Hills were firm and fast, and with a steady wind and some tricky pin positions, Brick’s round was a great show of patience.

Smith jumped out to a big lead with a great front-9 score of 4-under par 32, but a triple-bogey 7 on hole 14 and three other bogeys derailed his back nine for a 42.

Complete scores and skins winners can be found at ChampionshipGolf.org

The CGA will host a newly announced individual stroke play event at Spring Valley Country Club in Elyria on Sunday; sign up at the CGA website or call 216-556-0219.

– Jeff Jenkins