A two-stroke penalty at the start did not deter Jeremias Cipriano, from RedGate Golf Course and David Lughermo, from the University of Maryland GC, as they combined for a 3-under-par 69 to earn low gross in the A division of the final playday of the season at Sparrows Point Country Club, October 16. The program is sponsored and conducted by the Maryland State Golf Association.
It was the climax of two winning days for the pair, although neither this nor the earlier Washington Metropolitan Four-Ball was without incident. In the previous event, at Mount Vernon CC, Lughermo played the first four holes (a birdie and three pars) alone when Cipriani was delayed in reaching the course, but they still produced a winning 64 in the Regular division.
This time, Lughermo eagled the par-4 eighth when his wedge shot from 110 yards found the cup, and Cipriano birdied the ninth from 10 feet to send them to the turn 3 under par. They finished with a par-36 on the back.
In the B Flight, Larry Storck, Hayfields CC, and Mark Storck, Sparrows Point CC, won low gross with 68, and the Women’s bracket was led by Patricia Gafford, University of Maryland GC, and Phyllis Stephenson-Jenkins, CC at Woodmore, 98.
The A and B divisions needed a match of cards to sort out the net leaders. The father-son entry of Garrett-Teagan Stephenson, Clustered Spires GC won in A with a 65, relegating Tom Giampaolo, Mountain Branch GC, and Dave Long, MSGA eClub, to second place with the same score. Teagan highlighted his team’s effort with a net-eagle at the 463-yard sixth.
In B, Rob Clark-John Newman, Naval Academy GC, won out over Zac Beres, Clifton Park GC, and Ron Brown, Jr., Mount Pleasant GC, after both pairings returned a 10-under score of 62. Newman had a net eagle at 10 and a natural one at 14 (with a stroke for a double-eagle), and Clark had a net eagle on 13, as the team knocked seven strokes off par in the three holes. Meanwhile, Brown parred the ninth with two strokes for an eagle to cap a 29 for that side that included five net birdies. On the back, they had four net birdies and a bogey.
For the Women, Diane Crowley, Bowie GC, and Maggie Whall, Argyle CC, earned low net with 73.
Rounding out the prize-winners, Dan Dolch, Sparrows Point CC, and Bryan Shepherd, Aberdeen Courses, had second gross in A with 71, while Joseph Hills, Pedro Carrasco, Blue Mash GC, took third net behind the two 62’s with a 67.
In B, Barry Andrews and late replacement J.T. Goddard, from the Naval Academy, out-pointed Harvey Lee-Michael Myirski, Aberdeen Courses, after both registered low-gross scores of 69. Among the net players, Zoran Avramovic, MSGA eClub, and C Bettencourt, Poolesville GC, posted 63 for third, and Craig Birmingham, Columbia CC, and Mike Shaver, Hillendale CC, followed with 66 for fourth.
The event attracted 48 teams in the four divisions on a sunny but cool and windy day.