Tuesday, June 10, 2008

McCarthy Takes SLGO in Style

Greg McCarthy of Midlothian has looked forward to this day his whole life, or at least for the seven years he knew of long grass golf’s existence. Finally, the green jacket was draped over his shoulders and he was the champion on the 2008 Southern Long Grass Open (SLGO). “It was an emotional moment; I’ll never forget the look in my children’s eyes as they saw their daddy put on the jacket.” McCarthy set a new course record of 52, bettering by a single stroke the one year old record of Greg Adkins.

At the end of the opening round, McCarthy and Adkins were tied with a 26 and the talk around the course was that Adkins looked strong to defend his crown. They were not alone after the front nine as seasoned pro Ed Hughes loomed just two strokes back at 28 and tour rookie Jerry Hentman stood next to him with his own 28. McCarthy however proved up to the challenge as he birdied the first hole of the championship round which he said, “…calmed the butterflies fluttering in my stomach”. Adkins tightened it up with an ace on hole number six, but McCarthy was able to efficiently put the round away with an ace of his own on hole number eight. A conservatively played birdie on hole number nine sealed the deal. Tim Williams did make a run in the group in front of McCarthy and Adkins. He shot a nine hole record of 24, but his front nine 34 was just too much to overcome.

In the ladies flight, it was Cindy Endredy donning the lovely yellow jacket with a solid round of 71. The tour rookie ran out of the gate with a front nine 32 and never looked back. Seasoned pro Vicki Dwyer loomed early in the championship round to compete but a poor showing at hole number nine finished her day. Endredy is looking forward to the many formal occasions in which she can don the golden jacket and can’t wait to show it off in her hometown of Charlottesville.

The junior championship was the largest flight of the day with nearly 40 competitors. The course was jammed all day with juniors and there was much grousing by the men’s flight about slow play and the juice boxes littering the course. The level of competition was raised by the volume of competitors as Torin Prentice shot a solid 77 (37-40) to finish off the other members of the final junior foursome: Seth Hentman, Peyton McCann, and Joey Hentman. Torin’s win was all the more impressive as he learned that long grass golf existed just 24 hours prior to the event. Way to go Torin!

Course architect and SLGO founder Dave Dwyer was very excited with the results of the day. “We dodged the rain and there was the usual grousing about water and the length of the grass, but the crowd was fantastic, the competition was fierce, and of course the beer was cold. Who could ask for a better day?” Dwyer also wanted to say a special thank you to the Williams Fireworks Company for the fantastic end of the day fireworks display, “It is always nice when people risk their lives for the enjoyment of others”.