By Greg Gulas
Greatest Golfer
POLAND – The top prize in Greatest Golfer’s Men’s Open division was — like the last few years — was in the grasp of someone else’s hands coming into Sunday’s last day at The Lake Club.
And for the 3rd year in a row, it came down to the last hole.
Again, five-time winner Brandon Pluchinsky found a way to claw back for a win in the 13th annual Farmers National Bank Greatest Golfer 54-hole tournament looking to make up a three-stroke deficit.
In women’s open division action, Kiersten Klekner-Alt (72-71-73) finished with 216, leading from pillar to post to defeat Katie Rogner (82-77-78) by 21 strokes.
“What a great event,” the Ottawa, Ontario native added. “The course was in great shape, but the key was staying relaxed. It was fun playing with Katie, and it’s easy golfing when you have good weather.”
Pluchinsky made up one stroke at the turn, then added two birdies on the last nine holes to shoot 68 and outlast Garrett Frank (69-64-73) and take his 6th championship in the past seven years.
Frank held a 1-shot lead coming into the final hole — a par-3. Frank’s shot just missed the green and caught a bad bounce to carom into a hazard. A penalty stroke and a tough chip opened the window Pluchinsky needed.
Last-hole breaks have been the story of Pluchinsky’s 3-year run. He had nothing but championship on his mind when he made the turn.
“My mindset was to let everyone come back to me but stay within myself,” Pluchinsky said. “Golf is about not making mistakes and while I didn’t exactly play mistake-free today, I was able to hold it together when I needed to. The last nine holes were the difference.”
In senior 60+ open division action, Dick Marlowe (73-70-72) won his third championship, carding 215 to outdistance Glenn Milton (76-70-74) by five strokes.
“I didn’t have my ‘A’ game today, so it was a grind for me,” Marlowe stated. “I made a bunch of pars and two birdies that really helped me in the end.”
Boardman’s Rick Kurth (76-76-81) carded 233 to finish one stroke ahead of Brad McDevitt (77-80-77) in men’s senior 7-12 play. In the senior 13+ division, Campbell native Steve Sofocleous (83-82-81) picked up his second Greatest championship with a three-day total of 246, one stroke better than John Dunch (80-81-86) who finished at 247.
For Kurth, it was his fifth tournament, but the first time that he was able to advance to Sunday’s championship round.
“I didn’t have much working for me today,” Kurth noted. “Going birdie, birdie, par on the last three holes was what decided it for me.”
Sofocleous has now played in the Greatest nine times, picking up his second title.
“I hit the ball well, didn’t putt like I had hoped, but sunk a putt on the last hole to seal it,” Sofocleous said. “It’s just a nice feeling to win once again.”
Chuck Montgomery (81-74-78) fashioned a 233 to win by one stroke over Pete Bennett (85-78-71) in Legends 8+ action.
The win was Montgomery’s second in six tries.
“I was up eight strokes going into today’s round but felt like I played too cautious,” Montgomery noted. “Pete made everything inside 20 feet, we were tied after 16 holes and I went up a stoke after 17. We both two-putted on the 18th hole but he needed a birdie to win. I knew where I was at all day and what a great feeling to win once again.”
In men’s 3-6 play, Victor Daprile II (74-71-70) authored 215 to win by two strokes over Justin Sympson (74-73-70) in the men’s 3-6 flight. Daprile picked up his first win in seven tries, winning his first championship after finishing eighth a year ago.
“The pins were in some tricky spots, but I have to credit my caddie, Marcus Rivera, who knows this course really well,” Daprile added. “Credit him. All I had to do was execute.”
Charles Loomis (80-75-77) carded 232 to win by two strokes over Kyle Flory (76-83-75) in men’s 7-9 division action, In the 10-12 flight, former YSU baseball twirler Bob Haseley (77-85-77) shot 239 to win by two strokes over Mick Engle (77-87-77).
For Loomis, it was the first time in four tries that he advanced to Sunday’s final.
“I was good off the tee and had a lot of two-putts today,” Loomis stated. “I’ve never played The Lake Club, but got to know the breaks, which helped me pick up the win.”
Haseley pitched for the Penguins from 1979-82 under their late, great head coach, Dom Rosselli.
“The key for me was that I hit some great wedges and was able to knock the ball close to the pin,” he said. “I had three birdie putts from less than five feet and that also helped.
In men’s 13-15 action, Girard native Josh Marsh (77-81-79) carded 237 to win by 10 strokes over Jay Moore (76-85-86). In the men’s 16-19 division, Ryan Miller (91-82-85) posted 258, four strokes better than Joe Fanto (85-86-91).
It was Marsh’s first win after three runner-up finishes in nine Greatest tries.
“I lost by one shot all three times when I finished runner-up, so this was sweet,” Marsh added. “My biggest thing here was getting off the tee. You have an advantage when you hit the fairway because it is much easier to hit your approach shot.”
Miller’s first win came in just his second Greatest event.
”It is hard to play a competitive 54-holes because it is a long, three-day grind,” stated Miller, who serves as a financial advisor at WRS Wealth Advisors. “I was good off the box today and made some nice shots. But I didn’t hit a whole lot of greens. My chipping was alright but I was able to just one or two putt, which was key.”
Jim DiMuzio (93-97-82) carded 272 to win the men’s 20+ division by six strokes over J.T. Gorman (97-91-90). In women’s net flight, North Lima’s Vikki Branca (74-72-68) topped Veronica Trigo (68-79-78) to win in her first Greatest attempt.
“I shot 82 because I stayed out of trouble the entire round,” DiMuzio noted. “The course was in beautiful shape, the greens were true and my putting was lights out.”
Branca credited her putting for her win.
“I putted better than usual,” she said.
A total of 340 golfers played the three-day tournament at seven area golf courses.
In addition to the Lake Club, Avalon Lakes, Mill Creek Metroparks North and South courses, Squaw Creek, Tippecanoe Country Club, Trumbull Country Club and Youngstown Country Club were the other six courses utilized.
ALL SCORES
Mens Open
Name Fri Sat Sunday 3-Day
Brandon Pluchinsky 65 71 68 204
Garrett Frank 69 64 73 206
Jonah Karzmer 72 68 69 209
Bryan Kordupel 71 69 70 210
Joseph Cilone 73 68 74 215
Josh Zarlenga 69 73 73 215
Scott Porter 70 73 72 215
Griffin Todd 73 73 72 218
Jake Sylak 75 71 77 223
Cade Kreps 75 72 76 223
Chris Okeson 73 74 81 228
Conner Stevens 73 73 85 231
MISSED CUT
Name Fri Sat 2-Day Corey Hines 70 78 148
Michael Porter 77 74 151
Matt Kempe 77 73 150
Bryan J. Horne 78 72 150
John Doughton 3 74 77 151
Michael Porter 79 74 153
Bob Kish 73 79 152
Brian Newell 73 79 152
Luke Eyster 75 77 152
Nolan Snyder 77 76 153
Gavin Batdorff 80 73 153
Brian Beebe 75 79 154
Danny Phillips 80 74 154
Michael Ray 77 79 156
Evan Cravener 81 75 156
Nick Braydich 75 82 157
Bradley Craig 78 79 157
Josh Hettrick 78 80 158
Cole Christman 78 81 159
Bobby Jonda 78 86 164
Jimie Collins 81 83 164
Nicholas Lising 86 81 167
Brandon Bush 85 88 173
Payton Snyder 74 — —
Dave Kilgore 80 — —
===
Mens 3-6
Name Fri Sat Sunday 3-Day
Victor Daprile II 70 71 70 211
Justin Sympson 75 73 70 218
Alex Rapp 76 69 76 221
Jake Snyder 74 78 70 222
Kyle Firm 75 74 74 223
Hunter Todd 76 76 74 226
Joseph Cubellis 74 77 76 227
Rory Vandenberg 73 76 79 228
Jake Detec 75 76 78 229
Dylan Todd 76 76 79 231
Randy Braham 76 76 82 234
Anthony Vantilburg 75 78 86 239
MISSED CUT
Name Fri Sat 2-Day
Dan Bertolini 73 81 154
Anthony Graziano 75 79 154
Matthew May 77 77 154
Zachariah Gehm 78 77 155
Brandon Schmitt Jr. 79 76 155
Tim Marlowe 79 76 155
Jordan Rogers 76 80 156
Paul J Harris 76 80 156
Will Klucinec 77 79 156
Steve Smoot 78 79 157
Sam Ward 78 79 157
Josh Dankovich 80 77 157
Rob Venrose 77 81 158
Ken Sympson 79 79 158
Bill Braham 80 78 158
Daniel Martin 80 78 158
George Rohan III 80 78 158
Keith Schubert 79 80 159
Ethan Sicafuse 81 78 159
Shane Heasley 78 82 160
Vinny Gala 81 80 161
David Dees 80 82 162
Tony Perry 78 85 163
Chris Eddinger 76 88 164
Andrew Murphy 79 85 164
Jason Nagy 81 83 164
Stephen Zubyk II 83 81 164
James Nolen 84 83 167
Justin Karzmer 83 85 168
Tim Eddinger 86 85 171
Mark Munger 87 87 174
Eric Leeworthy 87 88 175
Nicholas Colbert 84 94 178
Lorenzo Sabella 90 90 180
===
Mens 7-9
Name Fri Sat Sunday 3-Day
Charles Loomis 80 75 77 232
Kyle Flory 76 83 75 234
Robert Odvar Jr. 80 79 78 237
Gary Goodrick 81 76 81 238
Billy Loomis 84 76 78 238
Jamie Palumbo 77 80 83 240
Jim Gaca 85 79 76 240
Justin Thomas 80 81 82 243
Craig Gabel 80 79 85 244
Zac O’Brien 83 77 84 244
Shane Kibler 81 82 82 245
Nick Setting 81 80 87 248
MISSED CUT
Name Fri Sat 2-Day
John Hazy 79 85 164
Chad Dager 79 85 164
Joe Mosca 84 81 165
Dave Howard 85 80 165
Paul Keller 82 84 166
Dominic Fabiilli 84 82 166
William R Papp Jr 86 80 166
Rob Leonard 80 88 168
Cody Vocature 90 79 169
Mike Moore 82 88 170
Rebell Strollo 88 82 170
Dominic Giudici 90 80 170
Zach Gay 83 88 171
Michael Keller 84 87 171
Noah Zoldan 88 83 171
Nick Hough 88 83 171
Peter Margiotta 89 82 171
James Wilcox 88 84 172
AJ Myers 91 81 172
African Grant 87 86 173
Bob Tinney 93 85 178
Andrew Robbins 96 84 180
Jack Ferreri 90 91 181
Seth Brine 96 91 187
Corey Keller 89 — —
Dan Stanton 93 — —
===
Mens 10-12
Name Fri Sat Sunday 3-Day
Bob Haseley 77 85 77 239
Michael Engle 77 87 77 241
John Poultney 77 81 84 242
Adam Hill 77 86 79 242
Adam Clayton 78 84 82 244
Jeff Mast 77 87 86 250
Michael Vargo Jr. 77 91 82 250
Hank Morris 86 80 85 251
Brian Jackson 85 83 83 251
Ray Polombi 81 83 88 252
Ryder Kreps 78 88 86 252
Corey Susany 84 84 86 254
Bradley Koch 79 88 88 255
Jason Schafer 84 85 91 260
Frank Popio 84 85 92 261
MISSED CUT
Name Fri Sat 2-Day
Dave Kiraly 79 91 170
James LaPolla Jr. 83 88 171
Brian Forman 84 87 171
Angelo Bianco 83 89 172
Chuck Hodge 86 86 172
Jeff Rust 81 92 173
Jason Rivello 83 90 173
Nelson Toles 84 89 173
David Kozy 84 89 173
Brandon Simmons 87 86 173
Casey Croysdale 87 86 173
Ron Snyder 84 90 174
Chris Childers 85 89 174
Joseph Alfano Sr. 85 89 174
Jeff Longo 86 88 174
John Mayo 86 88 174
Merrill G Whippo 88 87 175
Jim Carpenter 92 83 175
Stephen Pasco 88 88 176
Rocky Page 88 88 176
Tony Sandy 89 88 177
Razor Rob 91 86 177
Patrick Modelski 88 90 178
Jordan Morell 89 89 178
Thomas Daley 90 88 178
Ryan Grim 86 93 179
Bill Wittman 88 91 179
Zachary Noll 95 84 179
David Ray 88 92 180
William Stanton 102 78 180
Mike Melewski 85 96 181
Jeff Simcox 88 93 181
Richard Santisi 88 93 181
Michael Mastoris 90 91 181
Patrick Sanders 90 93 183
Gabriel McKee 91 93 184
Aaron Meyers 89 96 185
Tom Skook 94 91 185
Tony Amendola 88 99 187
Erik Rigby 91 96 187
Mason Morell 88 101 189
Greg Banner 96 95 191
Eric Grunenwald 96 100 196
Kevin Hynes 107 93 200
===
Mens 13-15
Name Fri Sat Sunday 3-Day
Joshua Marsh 77 81 79 237
Jay Moore 76 85 86 247
William Heid 80 83 84 247
Jeff Meyers 86 81 80 247
Phil Eubank 77 90 84 251
Ben Carkido 83 81 90 254
Felepa Lowery 80 87 89 256
Kevin Soltis 89 80 90 259
John Rudolph 83 83 95 261
MISSED CUT
Name Fri Sat 2-Day
Nick Stanton 86 83 169
Raymond Deluco 84 85 169
Tyler Stanley 82 88 170
Kevin Holden 83 87 170
Ralph Blanco 83 87 170
Ron Rogers 87 83 170
Anthony Petrillo 80 91 171
Nick vanoverbeke 84 88 172
Derrick Beachum 86 86 172
Mark Isaacson 85 89 174
Andrew Midgley 84 91 175
Connor Sperati 85 93 178
Dom Velasquez 88 91 179
Peter Rich 82 98 180
Andrew Batchelor 89 92 181
Carmine Petrillo 89 94 183
Ed Nappi 88 96 184
Lucian Clewell 91 96 187
Bryan Ziak 94 93 187
Paul Harris 91 97 188
Bob Brown 95 94 189
Christopher Burke 90 100 190
Stone Elias 94 117 211
Kevin Kennedy 93 — —
===
Mens 16-19
Name Fri Sat Sunday 3-Day
Ryan Miller 91 82 85 258
Joe Fanto 85 86 91 262
Donald Newell Jr 81 99 83 263
Curtis Tanner 91 89 87 267
Rance Garrett 86 92 93 271
Tom Klim 91 88 100 279
MISSED CUT
Name Fri Sat 2-Day
Steve Puhl 89 93 182
Daniel Novello 88 95 183
Donald DiClaudio 86 98 184
Danny M Duvall 94 90 184
Michael Yourstowsky 94 97 191
Matt Bostian 98 96 194
Robert E Vanes 94 101 195
Jason Barnot 101 96 197
John Johnson 95 104 199
Joe Palumbo 85 — —
Jim Fulk 95 — —
===
Mens 20+
Name Fri Sat Sunday 3-Day
Jim DiMuzio 93 97 82 272
James T Gorman 97 91 90 278
Zach Dankovich 91 99 96 286
MISSED CUT
Name Fri Sat 2-Day
Dan Monico 91 109 200
Chris Vargo 94 109 203
Nicholas Lamb 99 107 206
Jon Rose 102 104 206
Andrew Wilding 98 110 208
Joseph Z Guerrieri 109 100 209
Ryan O’Donnell 113 106 219
Jeff Cole 124 118 242
===
Seniors Open
Name Fri Sat Sunday 3-Day
Richard Marlowe 73 70 72 215
Glenn Milton 76 70 74 220
JP Jones 71 76 76 223
Ed Seeco 74 74 76 224
Jim Cogar 77 69 79 225
David Cooper 73 71 85 229
MISSED CUT
Name Fri Sat 2-Day
Frank Santisi 73 75 148
Perry Pogany 75 73 148
George Allen 76 73 149
Robert Gintert 73 78 151
Fred Gintert 76 76 152
Gary Trybus 78 76 154
Dennis G Gaume 80 78 158
John Franks 80 78 158
David Lauer 80 79 159
Rob Zimmerman 80 82 162
Jim Kinney 90 85 175
Roland “Butch” Taylor 86 — —
Joe Bordonaro 89 — —
===
Seniors 7-12
Name Fri Sat Sunday 3-Day
Rick Kurth 76 76 81 233
Brad McDevitt 77 80 77 234
Joseph Bettura 79 78 82 239
David Hillman 81 74 85 240
Guy DiLullo 78 81 82 241
James Lessick 81 78 83 242
MISSED CUT
Name Fri Sat 2-Day
Joe Bellino 78 82 160
Dave Tabak 79 81 160
Ray Calcagni, Jr 81 79 160
Don Newell Sr 78 83 161
Mike Seiser 80 81 161
Louis Bokros 80 81 161
Richard W Gent 82 79 161
Patrick Alcorn 84 79 163
Eugene Biser 83 81 164
Jim Rosen 84 80 164
John F Donadee 79 87 166
Pat Pico 86 83 169
Bob Backes 83 87 170
Lennie Gessler 87 86 173
John Beard 90 88 178
Eugene Hazy 90 90 180
Michael D Ramun 85 100 185
Michael Hearn 95 — —
===
Seniors 13+
Name Fri Sat Sunday 3-Day
Steve Sofocleous 83 82 81 246
John Dunch 80 81 86 247
Robert Chenet 85 82 86 253
Paul Buzas 91 80 87 258
Paul Parteleno 83 88 88 259
Dane Stilgenbauer 84 89 86 259
MISSED CUT
Name Fri Sat 2-Day
Leo OMalley 87 87 174
Daral Brett 90 85 175
Ron Merrell 89 87 176
Joe Canann Jr 85 92 177
Thom Russo 87 90 177
Joe Ducay 90 92 182
Tom Miokovic 98 92 190
Philip Regano 97 94 191
Ray Duffett 85 108 193
Tim Ryan 93 — —
===
Legends 8+
Name Fri Sat Sunday 3-Day
Chuck Montgomery 81 74 78 233
Pete Bennett 85 78 71 234
Ray Briya 85 81 82 248
MISSED CUT
Name Fri Sat 2-Day
Jim Santini 82 86 168
Bruce Berry 90 84 174
William Jones 88 93 181
Jim Zarlenga 92 90 182
Patrick Cannon 93 89 182
Tom Scott 93 90 183
Frank Davidson 92 94 186
Jeffrey Rogner 95 96 191
===
Ladies Flight 1
Name Fri Sat Sunday 3-Day
Kiersten Klekner-Alt 72 71 73 216
Katie Rogner 82 77 78 237
Jayne Bernard 78 79 85 242
MISSED CUT
Name Fri Sat 2-Day
Jackie Adler 78 81 159
Maddie Myers 80 80 160
Erika Hoover 85 83 168
Kate Brown 88 87 175
Alyssa Rapp 89 90 179
Jackie Kinnick 89 91 180
===
Ladies Flight 2 (Net)
Name Fri Sat Sunday 3-Day
Victoria Branca 74 72 146 81
Veronica Trigo 68 79 147 90
Alexa Tringhese 64 65 129 94
MISSED CUT
Name Fri Sat 2-Day
Pam Porter 73 76 149
Denise Gorski 75 77 152
Sandra DiMargio 72 83 155
Ellen Tressel 76 80 156
Janet Porter 75 82 157
Diane McCall 76 81 157
Kim Bellatto 81 78 159
Linda Burke 81 83 164
Jean Scarsella 83 85 168