The race gets even tighter

What a great week this was as all 6 teams remain in the hunt. The difference from 1st to 6th is only 30 points and with 2 weeks remaining it is anyone’s guess as to who will win the first half.

In the feature match of the week we saw George Duffield take on Ricky Maloney. George fired an impressive 36 on the back nine a couple of weeks ago and Ricky scored his best round on the front since 8/17 of last year. Having watched Ricky play in the Wilderness league since it’s inception I have never seen Ricky swing so easily and with great results. Duffield somehow this week didn’t start off the way he normally does and found himself in a hole right off the bat. Maloney went one up after one and they halved 2 and 3 and then Maloney got red hot has he captured the next 4 holes to close Duffield out on the 6th hole which is rarely done. But Duffield did gain some momentum for next week as he won 8 and 9. Maloney 14 Duffield 6 Maloney shoots 42 and Duffield 43.

Eric ” I need to learn how to keep score” La Francis took on Jim Waterman and what was funny about this match is how Eric kept score. NORMALLY we all keep score by using the initial that is on the scorecard that is under the word Player on the beginning of the back side of the card. Well it just so happens that Eric decided to use L for the holes that he LOST and W for the holes that he won. When I looked at the card and I tallied up the W’s as wins for Waterman and L’s for wins for La Francis I was befuddled as I wondered how could Eric lose to Waterman when Waterman shot 45 and Eric 40. Things just didn’t look right until someone said La Francis took the match and that’s when it dawned on me how Eric scored the card. La Francis wins this match 13-7 over Waterman.

Alan Imlach teed off against Vinny Serafino and it looks like Imlach is on his way back as this match ended up all square at 10 apiece. They halved the first hole but Serafino’s par on 2 put Serafino one up. They halved the next two holes and with Imlach getting a stroke on 5 evened up the match. Again they halved the tricky par 4 6th. Imlach jumped to one up with two to play with a great par on 7 as Serafino doubled. On the uphill par 4 8th Serafino turned things around with a victory to even up the match. Imlach bogeys the 9th to win the match 3 holes to two but when it came to strokes Serafino wins to grab a tie. Serafino 51 Imlach 53.

Duzenli and Landry squared off and this too was another close match with Duzenli jumping out first with a quick one up lead after one. Landry bounced right back to take the 2nd hole with a bogey. Both players made nice pars on 3 and the long par 4 4th yielded yet another halve along with the par 5 5th. Duzenli made par on the tricky dogleg right 6th to recapture the lead only to give it right back on the par 3 7th. Landry wins the uphill 8th as Duzenli cards a triple on this hole but Duzenli doesn’t falter and grabs the uphill 9th with a bogey and Landry returns the favor with a triple of his own. A bogey would have proved an even split but Duzenli wins 11-9. Duzenli 49 Landry 53.

Tom Hale and Dominick D’ Orio were paired off and Hale scooted out quickly to a two up lead by parring one and two. D’Orio wasted no time in bouncing back as he captured three and four. Hale then went on a tear as he went over three over par on the last 4 holes to crush D’Orio 14-6. Hale shoots a respectable 45 and D’Orio scrambles to a 52.

In another close match we saw George Vigneault challenge Steve King. If you had the privilege to play in this foursome or see them in front of you, you would see a couple of sweet swinging players. Smooth as silk these two.  These two halved the first hole and then Vigneault went par par to take a two up lead. King grabbed the tough par 4 4th and they halved the 5th. Vigneault tripped up King on the 6th to take a 2 up lead with 3 to play. They halved the 7th which King won closest to the pin and missed the birdie putt. These greens really haven’t come in yet. King won big on 8 as Vigneault slipped a bit. King needed a par on the 9th to square the match up but he fell short as he and Vigneault halved and Vigneault wins 11-9. Both players carded 42’s.

Number one Norm Pelletier teed off against number 6 Jay McGillicuddy and both players bogeyed  the first with poor approach shots. On two Pelletier split the fairway and McGill found the right rough. McGill’s hybrid shot found him a sand wedge away and with a smooth swing McGill found himself about 10′ below the hole and with a nice putting stroke the ball trickled in for a birdie and McGill went one up. They halved 3 and Pelletier grabbed 4 but McGill was getting a stroke there and McGill remains one up. On 5 McGill was getting another stroke and with two good shots McGill couldn’t chip his way out of a paper bag. Pelletier found the hazard and McGill goes up 2. Pelletier makes his charge and pars the 6th as McGill doubles. Pelletier ties the match up with a par on 7 and on 8 McGill found the front bunker on the up slope and Pelletier found the grass in between the traps. Both players found the green on 2 and made easy pars. On 9 Pelletier was on in two but at least 60-70 feet away and McGill found the cart path and the ball rested about 5′ off the green just past the pin. McGill chipped on and although he didn’t pull a Trottier he was in gimmie range. Pelletier made a bomb of a putt and he too was given the putt and this match ended up 10-10. Pelletier shoots a 3 over 38 and McGill shoots 41. One of their better matches in a long long time.

Bob Trottier and Bill Wilson matched up this time with Wilson ailing a bad back. Seems that bad backs are in this season along with bum knees. Poor Wilson. Looked like Wilson split the first fairway but when we saw him in the right rough we wondered if his back prevented him from making a a full turn. Trottier pars and Wilson doubles. One down for Wilson. On two Trottier birdies and goes two up but Wilson salvages a bogey on three and finds himself one down. Trottier pars the tricky par 4 fourth to go 2 up. On 5 Trottier finds the hazard and gets a favorable drop and his 3rd shot lands about ten feet from the stick and voila another birdie but Wilson strokes and they halve the hole. Both players par 6 and Trottier pulls away on seven and eight and then on 9 Trottier pulls a typical Trottier by chipping in and now has 11 birdies and 6 of them have come at the expense of Wilson. Trottier crushes Wilson 16-4. Trottier shoots a 1 under 35 and Wilson shoots 42.

Glenn Acciard and Jim Marnie met again and this time Marnie kept pouring it on as in their first meeting Marnie won 12-8 and extended his streak against Acciard. They halved 1 and 2 and then Marnie captured 3 with a closest to the pin win and a birdie. Then he won the 4th and they halved 5 and Marnie won the 6th. They halved 7 and 8 and Marnie put the pedal to the metal and trounced Acciard 15-5. Marnie shoots a great round of 40 and Acciard shoots 45. Marnie seems to be climbing the leader board and finds himself 14 points out for MVP.

Mike Berry and Norm Comeau teed it up against each other this week and can someone please tell me where Berry was this week as Comeau pummeled Berry. This one wasn’t even close. Comeau closed this match out on the 5th hole as he was 5 up with four to play. Berry finally halved the 7th hole and actually won the 8th with his first par. They halved 9 and Berry can only hope he can get his game back on track as next week he faces the ever steady Waterman. Comeau wins huge 16-4. Comeau 41 Berry 48.

Dennis Croteau and Paul Comeau matched up this week and they halved the first hole. On 2 Comeau was getting a stroke and Comeau goes one up. Croteau wins the par 3 third with a bogey. Comeau’s favorite number must be 6 as he reeled off 4 in a row starting at number 2. They halved the 4th and the 5th as Comeau was stoking again. They halved 6 and Comeau tally’s a nice win on 7 and goes dormy. Croteau finally wakes up and pars 8 and 9 and wins on strokes 44 to 49. Croteau wins 11-9.

Skip Gray took on Rich Juknavorian this week and it looks like Juke is playing like an all star as Juke jumped out strong by going 2 up after 2 and Gray bounced right back with a nice par on 3 and on the difficult par 4 Gray wins that outright. Juke righted the ship on 5 and 6 with pars to go 2 up with 3 to play. They halved 7 and Juke won 8 and they halved 9. Juke takes this match easily 14-6. Gray 56 Juknavorian 46.

This week it seemed the pace of play had to have been the best yet this season especially for the front nine.

Weather was mostly sunny and 72 degrees.