The last group had just sent their drives into the 10th fairway. The sun was still shinning, pumping down the heat and humidity, eliciting sweat on the brows of the most sensitive. All had heard the distant sound of thunder rumbling. Suddenly, lightning struck on two different sides of the Tour Players. The warning siren quickly followed calling all golfers back to the clubhouse. When players heard there would be at least a half hour delay waiting became problematic. Too many had after the tournament commitments. President John Larson, with astute problem solving skills, consulted with past President Joe Champion. Never before in OCAGA Tour history had there been a Nine Hole Tournament. Joe smiled with appreciation of the new president’s quick creative thinking. Rich Antczak, newly appointed to the executive board as Tournament Scheduling Czar and William Tiberius Finger, newly appointed as Executive Director Recruiting and Scheduling, concurred with the “out of the box” solution. The President directed the Secretary to poll the tour players for consensus. William Tiberius, considered to be One of the Great Financial Minds in the whole country, directed the Secretary to ask for 9 hole Rain Check resulting in $560 towards a new round of golf. With a strong, indeed almost overwhelmingly positive set of course experiential evaluations being bandied around, the Vineyard was booked for a second tournament on July 2nd. Hildegard, tending the bar in the Hofbräuhaus, commented, “Our Johnie is far more than just a Pretty Face.” Larson’s Hot Stone Massage Stock took a Bullish Jump!

Out of the gate Richie Antczak dropped the only par on the first hole. The girl scouts swooned. Marc Bohan, Bob Westcott and the Doctor fought for the early gross lead. Le Petite Café erupted when Marc was Closest to the Pin for 3 Points, polished off with a beautiful Birdie Putt. On the first and shortest par Five two of the longest drivers, Marc and Joe sunk par. The Flanders Nature Center with 60 year ties to those with Flemish heritage, were thrilled when Wayne Flemming executed a beautiful putt for par. And yes, the Godfather smiled when one of his favorites, Bob Daino also did the same. At that point, no one knew how short the tournament would be, nor the importance of each stroke in what would be very close match.

Holes six and seven were the two lowest handicapped holes and they took a toll on all the tour players. The average score was a little over 12 or slightly over, three over par for the field. With a par and a bogie, John Larson brought himself in striking distance of the lead. In his first OCAGA Tournament, George Dilks energized the English Pub playing two over. He was in fast company with point leader Marc Bohan, last year’s winner Bob Wescott, and Dave Kissinger, tied with John Larson for second place in point total. At the other end of the spectrum, Richie Antczak played the two holes five over par, with Eddie Borillo, Phil Stocker, and Bob Daino, greatly diminishing chances for victory. The Fingers, along with Lazarchick, used four strokes over par. LZ tarnished a great start, opening the door to most of the field, while Bill and Ruthann slipped farther off the pace.

Because Golf is so important to the locals who frequent the Promenade the Godfather financed installation of Doppler Radar plus GOER-R. The Doppler transmits short pulses of radio waves into the atmosphere which bounce back. The returning echoes analyze the speed and direction of “weather” events. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite – R Series are sophisticated satellites that provide high spatial and temporal imagery of the Earth using the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) with a Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM). With a personal invitation from President Larson, Meteorologist Klaus Hasselmann, Noble Laureate and founding director of the Max Planck Institute, was visiting the Hofbräuhaus. Purportedly he contacted John to let him know it was unlikely that the last group, would finish the 10th hole. Klaus leaked their conversation and the news spread fast through all the drinking venues. The possibility of a nine hole event escalated excitement. The Rasmussen Reports Presidential Tracking Poll showed Larson’s popularity continuing to climb. With Richie Antczak fully paying the remainder of his dues and the procurement of rain check money, OCAGA is financially sound. The new John Larson administration can now boast 14 paid members supporting the Tour. They get to compete for Championship money and fame. Another seven have played as guests this season.

At the Champions Club they were recognizing Joe for his successfully completed Presidential Term of Office, arguably the most transformative and innovated throughout the history of OCAGA. It was his vision that lead to the possibility of allowing tournament makeups. They give players the opportunity to earn points towards making the playoffs without disrupting the points earned on the day of the scheduled tournament. The move greatly expanded hope and enjoyment, while increasing full participation longer in the season. The crowd in The Club equaled the celebration when they hung Stephanie Champion’s Breaking the Glass Ceiling Portrait.

Almost everyone was in play with two hole to go. John, Richie, Bill and Andy faltered, while Dave Kissinger and Eddie Borillo sent the Italian Bistro towards delirium. Virtually everyone upon entering touches the shrine of the man who took a Faint Glimmer of Hope to the Championship Title. With a total of nine strokes Ed went ahead of Larson and Antczak, who would tie for 9th place. He caught Finger and Swanson. Eddie finished 7th, in between Bill and Andy by virtue of handicap. Dave Kissinger with two Bogies caught Bob Wescott and stayed a stroke ahead of Marc Bohan, both with a bogie, par finish. The Tavern sent up a jumping shower of Zywiec when Lazarchick sunk par on eight. They “oohed and ouched” the five foot miss which became a bogie on 9. The handicap tie breaker placed Wescott second, Lazarchick third and Kissinger fourth.

The top five played well, but the ultimate winner on the OCAGA Tour, usually plays extraordinarily well. Joe Champion hit a magnificent drive on number 8. His iron shot was pristine. His third shot dropped into the cup for a Birdie! He took the lead and no one would catch him on 9. The kids at the Champions Club had a very good day!

SCORECARD

RESULTS

SCATS Bohan and Champion take Lion’s Share. Antczak, Larson, Kissinger and Daino make a profit.

POINTS AFTER 3:

68 Bohan, Marc
60 Champion, Joe
56 Kissinger, Dave
55 Swanson, Andy
54 Lazarchick,Michael
49 Larson, John
42 Finger, Bill
41 Hannan, Eddie
41 Swanson, Dan
40 Borillo, Ed
38 Finger, Ruthann
36 Antczak, Rich
30 MacGregor
26 Hannan, Eddie
24 Fleming, Wayne
24 Swanson, Dan
23 Wescott, Bob
22 Stocker, Phil
22 MacGregor, Keith
21 Cummings, Jim
10 Dilks, George
6 Daino, Bob

NEXT BACK TO VINEYARD NATIONAL FOR 18 HOLES, WEDNESDAY 2:00 JULY 2ND