Paul Ruth waited to the 17th hole at the Vineyards to deliver his best drive of the day sending a rocket down the left side of the fairway. He was trailing leader Eddie Borillo in gross score, and Rob Juliano and Phil Stocker, tied for second. He was getting a stroke from Juliano, but giving a stroke to both Borillo and Stocker. Juliano had held the lead after 9, but battled with Borillo and Stocker throughout the tournament. Stocker tied Rob on 10 and held the lead through 14. Eddie caught Phil there and went up by one on 15. After 16 it was Borillo up by 1 over Phil and Rob
The gallery was on the edge of their seats, once again totally enthralled with an exciting, drama packed finish. Paul sent his second shot onto the 17th green, twelve feet above the hole. He glanced at the leader board and saw that Stocker had doubled bogeyed. Borillo had bogeyed and Juliano had dropped par to catch Eddie in score. Paul focused. He had been putting fairly well all day. Now he needed a great putt. A slow back swing and a smooth, soft delivery, sent the ball, ever so slowly, down a slight incline. With anticipation, it seemed almost everybody was holding their breath. Then in an instantaneous moment of realization, Cheering Thunder reverberated from the crowd as it dropped into the center of the cup. They screamed “BIRDIE” jumping to their feet! With that placement on the Scorecard, Paul was now tied for the lead with one to go. The galery was beginning to believe it was another day of destiny. With a gentle soul, pleasing soft smile and genuine sense of humor Paul Ruth is a fan favorite.
Rob, Eddie and Phil all finished with bogey on 18, and they had all heard the loud screams from the gallery. As Paul reached the tee box his confidence was strong. His swing was no longer labored and his approach was methodical. He gave himself a relatively short putt for par and his execution was perfection. He extended his regular season lead and has secured a spot in the Final Four. VEGAS has him at 4 to 5 odds to win the Championship with a handicap still on the high side of robust!
Needless to say, his fan base was in Ecstasy. Some say when they wrote the book on being a nice guy, Paul was one of the models. While everyone knows that Paul requently rakes in the money when others challenge him and foolishly are duped into giving him strokes, Paul does not play as much as he could if he were not donating so much time to serving those with visual impairments. He accepts a small salary from the State of New Jersey, well below his true value in the marketplace. Of course many of those he encounters cannot see what Paul is all about.
Points with 2 to go
128 Paul Ruth Has Clinched Spot in Final Four
110 Michael Lazarchick Has 22 point lead over 5th place but has been fading
99 Rob Juliano Has held 3rd place for a while & Handicap is High
93 Phil Stocker Plays well at Avalon with still a Highish Handicap
88 Glenn Hamm Not quite in 4 time Championship form, but Dangerous
87 Charlie Ranucci Needs a low score with his handicap
86 Andy Swanson Has proven he can beat Ruth & MEGACAP at 29
78 Art Czachorowski Would need a couple of victories
74 Ed Borillo Never count out the Glimmer of Hope
72 Marc Bohan Needs two low final rounds, maybe in the seventies
62 Dave Kissinger Two victories and two CTP for 56 pts, enough?
On a sad note, former tour player and son of 5 time Champion Art Czachorowski, Steven
Roy Czachorowski passed away unexpectedly at home on August 11. Steve will forever be remembered for his heart of gold and the unwavering love he had for his family. With great sadness the OCAGA Tour Players extend sincere condolences to the Czachorowski Family.
NEXT: AVALON
Ocean City Amateur Golf Association 