1st Lazarchick, Mike 98-20 =78
2nd Larson, John 91-11 = 80
3rd Cummings, Jim 98-16 = 82
4th Finger, Bill 107-24 = 83
On the 18th hole at Pinelands, he was still talking to himself. The crowd heard “Come on Lazarchick, down the Middle.” It went down the left side and it did stay on the fairway. Out came the famous Two Wood. Strategically, he had practiced hitting it off the fairway in all the tournaments in the latter half of the season. It was more of a gamble than his easier to hit 4 plus wood, but the payoff was much larger. He hit the sweet spot sending a slight fade just in front of the middle of the green, close enough to follow with a putt within four feet of the cup. He said, “Make A Putt,” and hit the center of cup eliciting a satisfied fist pump.
This was the arguably the strongest Final Four in the history of OCAGA. John Larson was both the reigning OCAGA Champion and Pinelands Champion. Jim Cummings played in the top five all season. Had he played all the tournaments he might have caught Larson for point total. Bill Finger improved dramatically with each passing tournament. By the end of the season The Hammer was long and more likely to be in the fairway. Michael Lazarchick had the best number finding the fairways.
John Larson, two times in a row and current Pinelands Club Champion, was giving Michael 10 strokes. John took the point lead early in the season and held it to the end. The 79, net 59 that won White Oaks by 8 strokes, separated him from the crowd. As partners, John was averaging 9 hole scores from the low to mid 40s. Michael’s scores were moving up, hitting 53 in his last match. While disappointments, Michael felt they were also learning experiences. Early in the season he missed tournaments or fought to not finish last. As his handicap climbed he was more competitive, but very few saw him as a serious threat. Both he and Bill Finger were far luckier than skillful tying for the victory that launched them into the playoffs. In the finals he was focused on every swing. His objective was straight shots in the fairway. He did not want to embarrass himself. VEGAS has John as the favorite with Jim a close second. Bill was no longer a long shot. Michael was not sure he could play 18 holes!
On the sixth hole it took Michael 3 strokes to get close enough to try to get over the water. He hit the bridge and got a nice bounce that got him closer to the green. On in five, he was able to two putt for a double. On the back, in a Jekyll and Hyde performance, two sevens and two eights separated two pars and three bogeys. In the Polish American Tavern, Agnieszka started crying watching him struggle. Stanislaw and Andrzej winced each time a body movement or his posture suggested a joint pain or needed conservation of energy. Michael was not the scorekeeper and had no idea how anybody else was doing. He was not even sure of how he was doing. The Testosterone deprivation used to starve Cancer also played havoc with his memory. He was mildly surprised when John told him he won. Tears welled up in his eyes when he told his wife. It had been truly a struggle for a close two point win.
In the Irish Pub the video coverage showed Lazarchick’s bag to be jam packed. An inquiry started, asking him if he knew how many clubs he was allowed to carry. Of course he knew it was 14. Jim said to him “Not 15, right?” After he counted seventeen, he remembered putting all his clubs in the bag when taking it out of his car. His wife needed to borrow the car. He put the bag back the next morning for the tournament, not remembering the number or even thinking about the clubs. His wife cried when she heard he would be taking a four stroke penalty for the infraction. She knew the effort and energy expended and the amount of will he needed to even compete. The promenade was aflame with scurrilous affronts towards opposing declared opinions. The Polish American Tavern stopped the process of adding his picture next to Art on the Tavern wall. John Larson stepped in, squashing the brouhaha, with a strong statement ending any wishful thinking or dogmatic adherence to rules. He publicly Refused to Accept a tournament Win by a Technicality.
With his fourth OCAGA Champion Title now in the bank, 2014, 2017, 2020, 2026, Michael Lazarchick has finally entered the realm of the legendary Art Czachorowski. Art won five Championships and is widely considered one of, if not the best in OCAGA history. Folk lore stories have him with Marc’s father, in the group that started the OCAGA Tour. With the daunting stage four Cancer diagnosis last spring, and quick loss of coordination, VEGAS had to raise odds significantly to get even die hard fans to bet money on a Championship run. In the Tavern Stanislaw and Andrzej were shaking wads of their bountiful winnings in the faces of all the naysayers.
Le Petite Café was rocking with cheers. Raphaël boasted that Marc could have won the Scramble without a partner. He was giddy proclaiming that watching his teammates putt, Ed Borillo and Phil Stocker, made it too easy. They cruised to a four stroke victory. Fran Middleman and Troy Midgette took second place fighting through pressure from Sue Cummings and Ruthann Finger. The girl scouts following dreamboat Andy Swanson, increasingly migrated to watch the women climb the ladder. Dave Kissinger and Joe Champion slipped past Andy Swanson and Ed Hannan in a hotly contested battle for fourth place. Raphaël posted that it was undoubtedly one of the best ever Scrambles, eliciting a slew of Likes on the Promenade Feed.
1ST MARC ED B PHIL = 74
2ND FRAN TROY = 78
3RD RUTHANN SUE = 80
4TH DAVE JOE = 84
5TH ANDY ED H = 86
The Tour will play the 12 Hole Mays Landing Course then eat, to finish the season and hand out Prize Money. MAYS LANDING NOVEMBER 4th WEDNESDAY 12 NOON
