Birdies were made on three of the nine holes, but each of those holes was tied out.

Six holes were open with no birdies made — including the two par-five holes.

The only winners on the night were the two pin shot winners.

Steve Blackburne Jr. was the Mulligan’s pin shot winner on the 220-yard par-3 13th hole and won $60.

Bob Karshner grabbed the other pin shot on the 16th hole worth $45.

$23 was returned to each player for the skins game portion.

Mark Borlin still holds the top spot on the 2012 Leaderboard as the Greater Cleveland Skins Game heads to Week 6, which will be held at Legend Lakes Country Club in Chardon next Thursday starting at 5 pm.

2012 GREATER CLEVELAND SKINS GAME LEADERBOARD: WEEK 5

With almost no wind and relatively straight-forward hole locations, a 2-over par aggregate team score of 74 was all it took to get the job done and tie for first place on the evening.

Yes the rough was a bit thick, and yes the greens still aren’t 100%, but the course was there for the taking.

The teams of Dave Oates / Nick Lambos and Rick Bryson / Ryan Maxwell played well enough to take advantage of the opportunity,tying for first place on the evening to get their names well up on to the 2012 League Standings list.

Three skins were won from the $1,000 pot; one of those skins was earned by the Bryson/Maxwell team, making them the big winners on the evening!
 

2012 CHIPPEWA SCRATCH LEAGUE: Week 2 May 14 – Aggregate Back 9
T1 – Oates – Lambos 74 GCs-TBA $240.00 PP
T1 – Bryson – Maxwell 74 GCs-TBA $240.00 PP
3rd – Mallette – Kracker 75 GCs-TBA
 

Skins
Helaney – Berkheimer #11 (7) $333.00
Bryson – Maxwell #12 (5) $333.00
Skorman – Stephen #16 (7) $333.00

Carl “Unc” Quercioli of Munson Township, who finished fourth on last year’s Leaderboard with a four-figure winnings total, captured the only skin on the night — and with it a giant payday.

Unc’s birdie on the 158-yard par-3 5th hole was worth a whopping haul of $482!

Another senior, Geoff Nicely took home the pin shot on that same 5th hole, hitting it 5-feet away. But Nicely missed the putt, allowing “Unc” to be all smiles when he came into the clubhouse to learn of his good fortune. Nicely earned $63 for the pin shot.

(Both Nicely and “Unc” play in the “over 55″ category, where the rules permit senior players to hit from the white tees. But the advantage did not make any difference in today’s round, as all players hit from the blue tees on the par three holes each week.)

The other winner on the night was Erron Gomez, who was the only player in the 21-man field to hit the green on the par-3 205 yard 8th hole. Gomez took the Mulligan’s Pin Shot on that hole, worth $84.

Holes #1, 3, 6, 8, and 9 went without a birdie made — a pretty large number for 21 players.

The greens rolled true and the course was in excellent shape, and the Skins Game thanks Powderhorn for the great green fee rate offered.

Mark Borlin still holds the top spot on the 2012 Leaderboard, but “Unc” and the rest of the field is in hot pursuit of Borlin as we head to week 5 next Thursday at Tanglewood National G.C starting at 5 p.m.

2012 GREATER CLEVELAND SKINS GAME LEADERBOARD – WEEK 4

The entry fees paid in for Week 2 will carry-over; both the skins pot and the cash game from this washed-out week will be added in to the event next week Monday, May 14th. That means double-prize amounts from all three games will be riding next Monday! (Players who did not compete in the Week 2 event will have to pay double entry fees for Week 3 to participate.)

The league format for next Monday, May 14th: Combined Aggregate Score played on the back nine. Should be interesting…

Three skins were won on the evening, which paid a tidy $222.33 each. And a double-dip by one player pushed him closer to the top of the 2012 Leaderboard.

Skins Game Director John Niedzialek captured the first skin of the round with a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-3 11th hole.

But Bob Karshner grabbed the pin shot on that hole, hitting it just 7-feet away for $87.

Then Dan Predovic double-dipped with a 15-foot birdie on the long par-3 15th hole while capturing the Mulligan’s pin shot for another $116 — which moved him into second place on the 2012 Leaderboard.

And Nick Anagnost hit it five feet away from a difficult pin placement on the par-four 17th hole and made the putt for the last skin of the night.

The greens were recently aerified, but the staff at Manakiki did a great job in getting them ready for play.

Birdies were tied out on all other holes except for the par-four 14th hole, which was left open. Two eagles were cancelled out on the par-five 12th hole.

Mark Borlin still holds onto the Thompson Cup lead after week number three, but the field is gaining on him.

Next week, the Greater Cleveland Skins Game moves to Powderhorn GC in Madison, starting at 5 p.m.
 

2012 GREATER CLEVELAND SKINS GAME LEADERBOARD: WEEK 3

The level of golf played on the first week of the 2012 league season backs up that statement.

The team of Dave Oates and Sam Spino made EIGHT birdies in nine holes on a breezy day with some truly tough hole locations. Offset by a lone bogey, the pair shot a 7-under par 29 on the lengthened back nine at Chippewa to win the first event of the season by two shots.

Spino and Oates also nabbed half the skins pot with their birdie on the 14th hole, splitting the skins with the eagle made on the 10th hole by Quinn Parker and Mark Thomas, good for $280 per team.

Should be another season of high-quality team golf at Chippewa in 2012. Practice hard and bring the A-game…
 

2012 Chippewa Scratch League: Week 1, April 30th – Scramble Back 9

1st – Oates – Spino 29 - $270.00 PP – GCs TBD
2nd – Cea – Seever 31 - GCs TBD
T3rd – Freeman – Kovach 32 (SC) - GCs TBD

Skins:
Oates – Spino: #14 $280.00
Parker – Thomas: #10 Eagle $280.00

Birdies were rare, and every birdie paid off. But even though the pot was split small among a number of different players, a past champion already is gaining on the big early-season leader.

Five skins were won on the night, worth $64.40 each.

Phil Bojc doubled-dipped with the pin shot on the 165-yard par-three 13th hole, hitting it 3-feet away and making the birdie for a skin. Bojc’s pin shot paid $42.

Nick Anagnost birdied the difficult par-4 12th hole for a skin with a 20 foot putt.

Erron Gomez made a birdie skin on the par-four 14th hole.

Past Skins Game Champion Steve Blackburn Jr. birdied the par-five 16th hole for a skin — and also took home the Mulligan’s pin shot on the 17th hole worth $56 to help him climb up the 2012 Leaderboard.

The final skin of the night went to Mike Angie after rolling in a 10-foot putt on the par-four 18th hole for a skin.

Mark Borlin was shut out on the evening but still holds a big lead on top of the Greater Cleveland Skins Game Leaderboard after last week’s giant $529 solo skin.

Next Thursday, the Greater Cleveland Skins Game moves to Manikiki GC in Willoughby Hills, with play starting at 5:15 p.m.
 

2012 GREATER CLEVELAND SKINS GAME LEADERBOARD

Mark Borlin rolls his birdie effort at the seventh hole during the first event of the 2012 season.

The Greater Cleveland Skins Game opened the 2012 season at Fowlers Mill Golf Course in Chesterland today, and while it was a beautiful, sunny April day for all 23 players, for one player in particular it was a spectacular evening.

Mark Borlin of Solon wasted no time in getting his name onto the Skins Game Leaderboard by making a birdie on the 350-yard par-four 1st hole of the Maple nine. And that seemingly innocuous birdie, which everyone in the group assumed was for a tie, paid off big.

Borlin sunk the curling 15-foot putt from off the right fringe to take home the only skin on the night — and a whopping $529! Borlin birdied the second hole as well and made par on the remainder to shoot a smooth 33.

A few of the night’s dollars were left to other players: pin shot winners were Steve Blackburn Jr., who won $92 for the Mulligan’s pin shot on the 165-yard 9th hole, and Steve Blackburn Sr. with $69 for his pin shot on the 140-yard 5th hole.

All holes were birdied on the Maple nine except for the par-four fifth hole and the par-three ninth hole.

Borlin jumps off to a big lead on his quest for his first ever Greater Cleveland Skins Game Championship and with it, the Thompson Cup.

Next week, the Greater Cleveland Skins Game travels to Aurora Country Club with a 4:45 p.m. starting time.

A number of the players competing in the first event of the 2012 Skins Game season

Dave Sotka of Chardon kicks off the 2012 Greater Cleveland Skins Game season, earning the right to hit the first shot of the year as defending champion.