The Irish Pub was far more boisterous than normal downing the first kegs of Guinness and Galway Hooker with audacious jubilant toasts to Michael O’Brien. Chants of “OB, OB” permeated out onto the promenade as he waged a titanic battle with Fast Eddie Borillo and held off the charging phenom Stephanie Champion. O’Brien took the gross lead on the first hole matching low handicapper LZ in gross score through 8 and after 4 was leading two time winner this year, Phil Stocker. At the turn he was ahead of both. Only Mike Deckard and Marc Bohan, had him head to head and by handicap he was far in the lead. At the Italian Bistro, patrons were indulging in a bath of Birra Peroni selections, filling the air with splashes from raised mugs. Ironically the Godfather imported kegs to honor Borillo’s 20th anniversary, 2002 Faint Glimmer of Hope Championship. It was pure ecstasy when when he tied OB on 3 and then again on 9 and 11. When he took the lead on 12 and held it through 15, it was utter delirium!

While the old men were reliving the glory of their youth, the youngest player on the tour was steadily knocking off the strokes she was giving. The girl scouts were in vigil, some praying, others crossing fingers in superstition, some just holding themselves in a quite vicissitude of vacillating fear and hope, overall experiencing a relatively reverent view of the tournament. They were watching the giant screens on the promenade which showed the tournament as if played on the same day by all tour professionals, another courtesy from the Joe Champion administration. But opening the door that brought his daughter into the competition, was in their eyes, his greatest gift to the Tour. Stephanie caught Ed Borillo on 16 and was only 1 stroke behind Mike O’Brien who had recaptured the lead.

Mike O’Brien established the record for most tournament wins in his Prime and historians remember the day he knocked off the Doctor in more recent years at the Epic Battle, Centerton in 2017. In this tournament, only three players posted numbers on the Scorecard that delivered a net score under 80. Ed played the last three, 8 over par, slipping back into third. Stephanie Birdied 16 while OB bogeyed, tightening the match. The girl scouts held their breath and everyone in the Irish Pub fell silent. Stephanie had out driven OB on every fairway, but OB was relentlessly down the middle on virtually every hole. They both finished 4,6 and once again the Tour had delivered an exceptionally exciting finish. Michael O’Brien added to extensive regular season set of victories winning White Oaks while Stephanie Champion took a giant step towards Rookie of the Year.

POINTS AS THE SEASON NEARS ENDING

122 Champion, Joe
117 Stocker, Phil
113 Lazarchick, Michael
100 Bohan, Marc

91 Deckard, Mike
90 Champion, Stephanie
89 Cole, Chuck
86 Swanson, Andy
79 Kissinger, Dave
72 O’Brien, Mike
70 Daino, Bob
69 Czachorowski, Art
64 Borillo, Ed
49 Spickler,Jeff
24 Antczak, Rich
13 Mauro, Nancy

The big question on the Promenade is whether or not the Final Four has been set. Normally at this time in the season, players are trying to catch whoever is in fourth place. Fans believe, with so few active players, Joe Champion, Phil Stocker and Michael Lazarchick are virtually and numerically almost impossible to catch. At Le Petit Café, Pierre was explaining that 4th place Marc Bohan with an unlikely last place finish in another tournament, would still finish with around 110 points. Mike Deckard or Stephanie Champion would need to best Marc Bohan by at least a ten point margin to take his position.

For diehard fans the month of September turned out to be difficult. Twisted Dune became problematic, when they did not respond adequately to Art Czachorowski’s inquiries. The tour switched to White Oaks which offered a much better price and a decent review from a member. Unfortunately there was a delay first by aeration and then by Rain and on tournament day, only 4 players showed up. When a subsequent day was booked, only four players showed up with reports of unavailability for many reasons coming from players. With the Secretary leaving the country until late September, the future of the league is murky. There has been discussion about a Championship in October at Pinelands. Without his Secretary, President Joe Champion would be the contact for those asking for another White Oaks Make Up Tournament.

SCATS