But one who came to play was a red-hot Eric Aronson, who came right out of the box with a tough downhill birdie on his first hole, 16, and never looked back. In his first 11 holes, Eric amassed an amazing 24 quota points before coming back to earth down the stretch. Still, his 27 points were good for a +7 which led his team to first place money. Along with two skins and other awards, he went home with (or at least left Easton with) a cool $535 in cash. Congratulations, Eric for what we think is an SIGL record for cash won in a tournament.
First place was a modest +5, and as noted, Eric was +7 himself, and teammates Bob Frick, Rick Walsh, and Jim Egan were steady enough to take the cake and will collect $200 each.
Second best performer of the day was Greg Willard, who came in at +4 and led his team of Mike McNeice, Saul Payne, and Ed Burke to 2nd place at +1.
And it was a big day for Ralph Ippolito who, on the 3rd hole, had his first birdie ever. Ralphie Boy chose an unconventional method to get his 3 by yanking one into the neighbor's yard before a delayed reaction spit-out put him in the fairway. After a nice approach, he coolly (well not really) ... he nervously sunk the 18-footer to make his day, and to make his day's quota, all with one stroke. Ralph's +3 led the way for Larry Barry, Sean Costello, and Mark Spears who took 3rd place, also at +1.
Those were the only teams of the 12 that finished above quota. The remaining teams ranged from a respectable -2 to a pathetic -27.
After Eric, Greg, and Ralph, the only other SIGLers to exceed quota were solid citizen Len Lima at +3, Jim Lyons,+2, Ed Burke at +1, and this humble hacker (LB) at +1. Len had an outstanding day, but just like the regular season, seemed to have been snake-bitten. This time it was being paired with 3 teammates who contributed a very disappointing -18 to the cause, although Lenny was able to snag high net in the B class. Jim Lyons again came through big in the year-end with a high gross in B of 26 points. After being shut out in the regular season, J.L. pocketed $275, partly due to a skins birdie on 13 and a CTP on 4, which gives him just under $900 in the last three year-end tourneys. The other CTPs were won by Paul Raynard on 6, Terry Moore on 14 and Bino on 16.
Also playing very steady golf were Bob Frick, Rick Walsh, Bob Loring, Saul Payne, and Mark Spears, who all hit their quotas. In addition to Lenny, another hard lucker was Bob Loring who did his job as the A player but drew three teammates who were a combined -17. However, Bob at least had one envelope come his way as he won the Senior (65+) Longest Drive on 18. (Due to the original mislabeling of the marker, we created an additional Senior (60 - 64) Longest Drive, which was won by T.J. James.)
And it was a profitable day for Jared Cacciapaglia who shared high-pointer with Bob Frick at 29, won Longest Drive (big hitter, Cacci,,,,,,,long) and birdied 18 to snag a $140 skins for a total of $272.50. And to prove that one good shot, and a little luck, can make your day, Terry Moore struggled all day but came through on the 14th hole when he striped one in to within 3 ft for Closest to the Pin, sank the $140 putt, and walked away with a total of $265 by being on a good team.
And finally, the three golfers who stiffed the league by not showing up will be billed and if they do not pay, will be removed from the sign-in sheet next year. (If there is a next year.)
LB
And speaking of that, Heeeeere's .....Johnny !!!
This unfortunately is my last year in the SIGL. I have been sentenced to a maximum security prison for 1 1/2 years for violating my probation.
I want to thank Larry for bringing me into this league over 15 years ago and letting me co-run the league and offer my opinion on making it better.....after spending the previous 5 years playing at Franklin Park where the echos of police sirens were the norm while playing.... and to Paul Obuchowski...aka Obo our friendly neighborhood bartender for many years, keeping the bar open even though it was time to leave. I had to duck to keep from being hit with a flying bag of peanuts.
I've gone through playing partners during my tenor, but the one I started with and played with all the years Frank Larosa had a game I had not seen before and still has it at 70 years old. I got tired of saying good shot Frank.
Hope no one took offense to any of the pictures....just try to put a smile on your face. Remember it's just a game and after the long winter...April can't come soon enough. Larry will let you know the future of SIGL in 2015.
All righty then I'm going to take a little trip down memory lane with some pictures I dug out of the archives.
Enjoy!!!
Bino
.jpg)
.jpg)
-001.JPG)
