John Larson was in the Final Four. He is the early Big Favorite to retain his OCAGA title. It will be held at Pinelands where John has just made it two in a row taking another Club Championship. When he stays in the fairway or very short rough, he sends soaring bombs to the greens in regulation. Bohan’s poetic golf swing, Kissinger’s power and accuracy and Jim Cummings finesse had them sitting pretty, eyeing the final three spots. They needed only to keep out of the cellar. Finger and Lazarchick were almost long shots six strokes off the Final Four Pace. Pretty much, they knew they would need victory to have a chance. The Vineyards was in great shape, beautiful fairways leading to lightening fast greens. It was a truly beautiful fall day, sunny with a very pleasant cool breeze.
In the Polish American Tavern Stasiu and Casimir were waxing nostalgic. There was a time when Lazarchick was considered the next Art Czacharowski. Art won 5 OCAGA Champioships including the one where he shot his age at 87. Glen Hamm won back to back in 2012 &13, but in 2014 could no longer beat Lazarchick, who then proceeded very quickly to accumulate three big wins. No one else has more than two and LZ holds the record for most second place finishes. Last season he had a very weak ending and in early spring this year the stage four Cancer diagnosis shocked the Tavern world.
After a truly magnificent drive, Lazarchick was the only player to make par on the first hole. Both Stasiu and Cas moved their body with the long Putt that just missed on 2. It was a tap in Bogie. On the third hole and fourth holes he dropped Par. The Polish American Tavern fans were in an early Ecstatic Frenzy. This was Championship Form Lazarchick.
Bill Finger struggled to a 7 on four and an 8 on six eliciting moans in the Bierhaus. But otherwise he was putting on a show of his own, igniting roaring cheers. Bill is being called the most improved player on the Tour, a True Contender! He and LZ would finish the front with gross 45 tied for second behind John with a sweet 41.
For John it was a fairly relaxing day. He tried shots and took risks outside his normal conservative approach. Jim Cummings was focused and deliberate. He wanted a decent game as one of the favorites. He took his spot in the Final Four. Despite the very fast greens and difficulty getting close to the holes John and Jim both adjusted well enough to tie with low gross at 90. Marc Bohan and Dave Kissinger were not so lucky. Normal shots were hitting the green and rolling through, some into the rough. Despite acknowledgements of how fast were the greens, far too many putts continued to roll farther than expected. Putts too soft would near the hole, slow down and turn away from the cup. Eddie Hannan, Joe Champion, Fran Middleman and Phil Stocker with handicaps in the 20s and scores over 100, all beat them, Marc finishing 10th and Dave 11th.
Michael Lazarchick delivered his best day of driving off the tee all season, consistently hitting the fairways with considerable distance. However, Stasui and Casimir were lamenting his obvious fatigue midway through the front nine, watching him struggle to 8 strokes over par in the last 5 holes. They had heard the interview when he discussed experiencing peripheral neuropathy, numbness in his hands and feet, a side effect of Chemo. Stasui noticed his hero was counting strokes, talking to himself and moving beads on a string to keep track. Casimir told him that Michael’s short term memory was compromised and apparently every swing required substantial concentration.
Lazarchick opened the back with a 12 foot putt for par on ten, but quickly squashed blowout hope following with a double, triple, double bogie. While now clearly hobbling back and forth from the golf cart, he was also taking deep breaths and still delivering beautiful tee box drives. But, he had virtually no natural feeling in his hands and feet. Little pains were distracting. His body felt strange. Short irons, pitches and chips were the problem. He could no longer loft a ball and stick it next to the pin with confidence. By the end his only shot from 130 in, was bump and run or a putt. After the par on number 3, he played the other par 3 holes, 10 over.
Bill Finger was beaming, very pleased with his play on most par fours and all the par threes. He did play the tenth hole three over par and the par fives, two over on 15 and three over on eighteen. Brunhilde told Wolfgang that Bill seemed to be playing just of the opposite of Lazarchick. It was in fact a very up and down match, with the lead going back and forth between the two. After the first few holes no one else was close to them throughout the tournament. They had the same handicap. Michael’s score was climbing all season and Bill’s was dropping all season. They both finished with net 72, displaying a perfectly matched handicap, in a dead heat tie for the Victory, a very rare event! They joined Larson and Cummings in the Final Four.
SEASON FINAL POINTS
FINAL FOUR
148 Larson, John
135 Finger, Bill
132 Lazarchick,Michael
127 Cummings, Jim
123 Bohan, Marc
120 Kissinger, Dave
114 MacGregor, Keith
107 Hannan, Eddie
102 Champion, Joe
86 Swanson, Andy
81 Stocker, Phil
79 Borillo, Ed
75 Midgette, Troy
70 Fran Middleman
61 Finger, Ruthann
56 Cummings, Susan
CHAMPIONSHIP October 21st 10am PINELANDS
HANDICAPS
14 G Larson, John
14 G Cummings, Jim
21 G Finger, Bill
21 R Lazarchick
TWO PERSON SCRAMBLE – LOWEST HANDICAP MATCHED WITH HIGHEST, MOVING TOWARDS THE MIDDLE
14 G Bohan, Marc
18 R Cummings, Sue
22 G Middleman, Fran
22 G Swanson, Andy
23 G/R Kissinger, Dave
23 G MacGregor, Keith
24 R Borillo, Ed
24 G/R Champion, Joe
26 R Midgette, Troy
26 R Hannan, Eddie
28 R Finger, Ruthann
28 R Stocker, Phil
