John Buechner was superb at Pinelands, not shanking even one drive. Playing from the Gold Tees was just what the doctor ordered, allowing a smooth, slow swing and the needed perfection.  The gallery was amazed as John dominated the very hot Rob Juliano by 4 strokes on the Scorecard.  Pinelands fairways were in remarkably good shape, however the greens, as expected,  were still on the slow side. The course is tight and quickly penalizes errant shots.  John purportedly has been practicing Tai Chi and Qi gong movements to improve his form and concentration. Clearly the practice paid off.  Stock in Buechner  Incorporated, the jewelry giant, skyrocketed, steady growing faster as the tournament neared completion! John clearly is now in contention for the final four.

The Godfather was sipping Limoncino, sent from his close friend Sandro Bottega in Italy. Rob Juliano who was blazing hot winning Ocean Acres, continued to smolder at Pinelands.  Rob tied Marc Bohan for low gross on the day (85). Rounds of free drinks were flowing at the Italian Bistro. Bruno knew something was happening not remembering how long it had been since  his patron was so happy.  Not only did Rob take second place, Big Charlie came in fourth. The Godfather lowered the odds on two Italians making the final four!

In the reduced field Don St George finished 3^rd.  Still playing from the white tees, this time the strategy worked for St George. He is back in the hunt for a return trip to the final four.  Bohan was 5^th followed by Shaw, Hamm, Czachorowski and Chabotar.  Everyone raked in points with last place delivering 12!  The rescheduled tournament did not work for too many of the league players. This was the lowest showing ever for a mid-season tournament. Weeks after the Shaw administration achieved the highest approval rate in modern OCAGA History, the fickle fans lambasted Shaw for the poor tournament draw!

TOP TEN AFTER FOUR  –  Bohan, Juliano and Czachorowski have comfortable leads at the half way point.  Shaw taking 4^th is formidable wanting to defend his title. The missed tournament dropped the Doctor to 5^th, but he does like Golden Pheasant finished 2^nd the last two years.  Buechner, St George and Ranucci could use a very strong showing in the next tournament.

83           Bohan, Marc

77           Juliano, Rob

76           Czachorowski, A

67           Shaw, Scott

60           Lazarchick, Mike

54           Buechner, John

53           St George, Don

53           Ranucci, Charlie

46           O’Brien, Mike

39           Hamm, Glenn

33           Fowler, Chris

SCATS

Charlie Ranucci and Scotty Shaw took the Big Bucks!

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