When 32 = 33.

I am sure you think 32 is lower than 33. We were all taught that in elementary school right? Well, when it comes to playing golf it is all in relation to par. Yesterday, Norm Pelletier shot the lowest score in league history with a 32 or was it? His round was awesome and I hope you don’t think we are trying to take anything away from him but his score was actually three under par and there has been one other player in the league that has done the same, Bill Wilson shot 33 on the front side which has a par 36 which also equals 3 under par on July 9, 2008. Other notables for 33’s are Tom Hale at Pine Valley back in 1992 or 1993, Bob Trottier on 6/16/2010 and Jim Waterman on 8/18/2010 all on the back nine with a par 35. Congrats to all the great low scores. So is 32 the lowest score?

With one week left in this years regular season we see Team Wilson, Vigneault, Maloney and Juknavorian on top of the leader board by 2 points over Team McGillicuddy, Comeau, Acciard and Gray for the 2nd half championship and the right to play the first half champs from Team Trottier, Marnie, Duzenli and Landry/Serafino.

First half MVP Bob Trottier is awaiting to see who he will play in the final field day September 18th. Looks like he could play Rich Juknavorian who has a slim one point lead over Glen Acciard 116-115. Norm Comeau is 7 points behind and in striking distance. Bob Trottier Glenn Acciard leads all players in the overall points total 222 – 221 over Acciard Trottier and four points ahead of Norm Comeau.

One match-up this week saw Norm Pelletier defeat a near perfect Jim Waterman 32-35. Waterman’s even par 35 was quite impressive in it’s own right but when you go up against a buzz saw like Pelletier there’s not much one can do. Congrats to Waterman for hanging in there and not flinching. Pelletier wins 13-7.

Bill Wilson trying to keep his team in first place teed off against the red hot Steve King and Wilson fell behind quickly by losing 10-11. Wilson & King halved 12 but King started to unravel on 13 & 14 but each parred 15 and then Wilson took control and won 16 & 17 to seal the deal and defeat King 13-7.

George “I will be an A player next year” Vigneault took on Paul “I have all the league’s money” Comeau. Vigneault has been the seconded hottest player lately and to beat George Paul is going to have to bring “Norm Comeau’s A game”. Vigneault this week was just too much for Comeau as Vigneault jumped out to a quick 3 up lead by parring the first 4 holes. Comeau was getting a stroke on 14 and captured that hole but that was not enough as Vigneault took 15 and 17. Vigneault trounces Comeau 14-6 as Vigneault shoots an impressive one over par.

Rick “I have a loud voice” Maloney vs. Dominick “I am a Yankee and Jets fan” D’Orio. This match see sawed back and forth until Maloney’s long par putt echoed at the bottom of the cup. That was not the only thing that echoed from the 17th green and the 16th tee box. That clutch putt by Maloney grabbed him a well deserved 12-8 victory over D’Orio.

Rich “I forgot my hat” Juknavorian played against Steve “Hurricane Irene won’t ruin my vacation” Maddox. Maddox jumped out to a one up lead after the 11th hole and Juke took the 12th but Maddox sprung to life and captured 13 and 14. Juke stole 15, 16 and 17 but Maddox was able to grab 18 and squeak out an 11-9 victory. Maddox was getting 4 strokes and won with his handicap 45-48(44 net).

Eric La Francis vs George Duffield and this week Duffield started to play like his ole self as he birdied the 10th hole and dropped the 13th to La Francis but bounced right back to win 14, they both halved 15 and 16 and with Duffield one up Duffield parred 17 and La Francis bogeyed Duffield parred 18 to cruise to a 14-6 victory.

Mike Berry faced off against Dennis Croteau and Berry won the 10th only to lose the 12th and 14th. Berry grabbed 15 but couldn’t hold on as Croteau captured 16 and 18 and Croteau walked away with an easy 13-7 victory. We all thought Berry was back on his winning ways but Croteau was just too much for Berry.

Tom Hale wore his golf shoes this week and jumped out to a quick two up lead over Alan Imlach but Imlach showed signs of life as he captured the 13th hole but Hale stormed back to win the next three holes. Imlach showed us a turnaround as he finished very strong with a one under par on 17 & 18. Hale stomps Imlach 13-7.

Jim Marnie vs Norm Comeau should have been closer but it looks like Marnie started off his round like he usually looks for balls in the woods, no where to be found. An uncharacteristic double bogey to start the round on 10 & 11 put Marnie back on his heels against Comeau and trying to dig his way out of this hole proved to be too tough. Comeau is 7 points out of first place for this halves MVP and only 4 points behind overall points total. Comeau cruises as he birdies 16 and wins 13-7 easily 40-45.

Glenn Acciard vs Erkan Duzenli is usually a great match and it looked like nothing much changed here as these two battled tooth and nail. Acciard jumped out on the par 3 11th hole with a par to go one up but Duzenli captured 12 & 13 to regain the lead. With a halve on 14 Acciard stormed back to win 15 & 16 with pars and Duzenli grabbed 17 but Acciard’s length was too much as Acciard birdies 18 and wins this match 11-9. Acciard wins 4 holes to Duzenli’s 3 holes and they halved 10 & 14. Acciard had to give Duzenli one stroke and they finish Acciard 41 Duzenli 42.

Vinny Serafino vs Ed Miele (sub). This match saw these two warriors battle the course in pain. Serafino with a bum ankle and Miele with a bad back. Miele jumped out to a two up lead but Serafino took the 12th only to falter on 13 & 14. The 14th was a disaster for Serafino as an approximate 10-15 minute wait on the tee found Serafino’s tee shot way right. Then his approach shot found the hazard on the right side. Serafino finally found the bottom of the cup but it was too late. Both players bounced back nicely with pars on 15 but Miele finishes strong and crushes the hobbling Serafino 17-3.

Bob Trottier vs Jay McGillicuddy was as close as close can get but it wasn’t pretty. Not too many great things came out of this match other than Trottier hates to play poorly. Trottier led off with a great drive and approach shot and Trottier sank the birdie putt to go one up. Trottier got confused on the 11th tee as the wind started to swirl and Trottier found himself a club short. A double bogey 5 and a 3 putt by McGill on the aerated top dressed greens saw McGill halve the match. McGill decides to pull out the 3 hybrid on the tee box on 12 and stripes it down the middle as Trottier pulls his tee shot a little left and an awful approach shot and chip leaves Trottier one down. McGill launches another decent 3 Hybrid on 13 and Trottier finds the soup as his tee shot can’t skip across the pond. McGill wins his third straight hole to go two up and then the traffic jam on 14 befuddles McGill and Trottier strings together 2 great shots to tie the match.

On 15 Trottier wins closest to the pin with a sneaky shot that is hard to see exactly where it lands from the tee box but upon further review his shot is closer than Ed Miele’s. McGill off to the right side of the green starts to bring the club back as a loud roar comes from the 17th green and McGill’s rabbit ears forces McGill to fluff the shot and it leaves him still short of the green. A pissed off McGill grabs the putter and drains the par putt. As the foursome approaches the 16th tee another roar comes from the 17th green and that is when McGill lost it and yelled for quiet. Trottier wins 16 with a great approach shot but on 17 McGill’s great 3 Hybrid shot and weak 2nd shot leaves McGill to the left side of the green with an up hill chip and a large mound to navigate to get it close. McGill almost pulls a Trottier and leaves his chip 6 inches short of the pin. Trottier’s approach shot goes long and his chip shot was short and McGill goes one up with one to play. Trottier and McGill are on the 18th green in regulation and McGill’s 6 footer for par comes up short and they halve the match 10-10.

Things to look for during next week’s match ups. Can Wilson’s team hang on to their 2 point lead. Can Juknavorian capture MVP for the second half. Can Acciard hold onto the most total points.

All these and some great matches coming up in week 20 will make it a fun week. Let’s hope we can get all the play in before darkness sets in. See you Wednesday…