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Teeing Off

Golf in the Lower Hudson Valley, from high schools to the pros

More from May Madness

May
23

Like the name? That’s the term I’m coining for the Section 1 boys golf championship, especially after all that transpired yesterday.

I’ll start with Marisa Kamelgarn. It goes without saying that a girl winning the BOYS championship is a remarkable feat, but a few things make it even more amazing.

A. She shot a 75 on a brutal golf course playing well over 6,600 yards. For a point of reference, the LPGA’s Corning Classic this week is being played on a course measuring 6,223 yards. That’s the LPGA!

B. That 75 tied with Brewster’s Mike Miller for the low round of the day and it included a an even-par 36 on the back nine.

C. After waiting for the leaders to finish she had to tee it up again in a playoff against Arlington’s Andrew Graham, who made last year’s state team. With a big crowd watching, she striped her tee shot and wound up making a fantastic up-and-down for par and the win.

D. She’s only a junior.

But there were plenty of other crazy things happening. Some great and some that were tough to watch.

Miller, the top player by average during the regular season, looked done after an opening triple bogey and a front-nine score of 6-over 41. That gave him nine-hole scores of 40, 41, 41 to start the tournament, but he pulled it together for a flawless back nine. He birdied No. 10 and No. 12 and had pars on all seven other holes for a 2-under 34 to finish in a third place tie and make the state team easily.

Then there was the Mark Mumford issue. The Rye junior didn’t find out his fate until well after his final round when it was established that his score on the 7th hole would go down officially as an 8 instead of a 4.

If you haven’t heard, what happened is he hit his tee shot well left and in a wooded area where it appeared his ball was gone. Frustrated, he decided to hit another tee shot instead of looking for his first ball. But since the area the first ball went was actually marked as a hazard and since he didn’t properly declare the second ball a provisional for a lost ball, he automatically had to play the second ball even though he found the first ball.

But Mumford picked up the second ball and played the first ball making a four. When it was suggested he play out both balls just in case, he placed his ball back (a 1-stroke penalty) and made an 8 from there. After the round, coaches, the club pro and even the USGA was consulted, and it was ruled that the 8 would count. Unfortunately for the Rye junior, that left him one shot shy of a playoff for the last state team spot instead of being comfortably in.

It’s a shame because Mumford clearly deserves to be on this team. He lost the Section 1 Championship last season by a shot and went onto miss All-State honors by a single shot as well. Hopefully, he along with all the other golfers will learn from this incident though.

Stephen Scialo, a favorite going in, also had a tough day that began with a disastrous 8 on the first hole (If you ever play Hollow Brook, do not, I mean do not go into the cavernous right fairway bunker. This bunker also did Graham in during the playoff). An all-state player last year, he nearly pulled off a miracle when he hit his approach shot to 1-foot on the 18th hole. But the closing birdie wasn’t enough as he missed that playoff for the final spot by one shot.

Harrison’s Andrew Lichtenauer suffered the same fate, winding up with a two-day total of 161. The senior, who made states last year, probably had the most unfortunate finish of all with back-to-back 8s on 15 and 16 that were mainly caused by his ball hanging up on the side of a hill several times. His tee shot on 15 wound up in a spot marked off as a nature preserve as well meaning he had to take a penalty and even when he took the drop he ended up with a terrible side-hill lie. Lichtenauer was one of many players who felt the sting of not being familiar at all with this beautiful but treacherous course.

Two other players who just missed making it were Mamaroneck’s Hayden Novikoff and Pelham’s Andrew Emerson. Emerson, really rallied on day two with a 77, including a 36 on the back nine.

But back to some happier endings, New Rochelle’s Dylan Newman, one of the first-round leaders, nearly let it slip away, but gutsy up-and-downs for par on 17 and 18 got him to an eighth place finish.

In total, six first-time state qualifiers made the team. Remarkably, three of those players come from Mahopac in Kamelgarn, Luke Feehan and Joe Raitano. The Indians matched Rye’s incredible feat from last year and will have 1/3 of the team going to Cornell.

Drew Clayton (Somers), John Casey (North Rockland), and Stu Kaufman (Byram Hills), who defeated Scarsdale’s David Spiro by nearly acing the third hole in a sudden-death playoff for the final spot, round out the list of newcomers.

So to wrap up, my predictions were pretty bad, while others did better. I sabotaged Miller by picking him to win it all at the beginning and then completely hexed Mumford by predicting him to win before round two. Once again, my apologies.

I was correct in saying at least one Mahopac golfer would make the state team, but I never saw this coming. Not only did the Indians have the winner, but all three of their players finished within two shots of the lead. I also correctly predicted Mike Miller would make the team, but he definitely went a more dangerous route than I could have imagined by turning it on for the back nine after a rough front.

Meanwhile, other May Madness predictions from Jon Renza and the Somers insider, who said Clayton would make the team, were pretty on point. Renza was correct in saying someone might be able to shoot a 74 and that those who didn’t know the course well were in for a long day.

I certainly learned a lot about the gorgeous course from just watching it. And if I ever have the fortune of getting on, I’ll be sure to load up my bag with extra golf balls.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 23rd, 2008 at 3:57 pm by Alex Myers.
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One Response to “More from May Madness”

  1. Upset Citizen

    Drew Clayton (Somers)...i feel he will win states, with his new caddie Giacomino

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About this blog
Writers Sam Weinman and Alex Myers share their thoughts on the local and national golf scene.
About the authors
Sam WeinmanSam Weinman
The lead golf writer for The Journal News and LoHud.com, Weinman, 31, has placed among the top three in the Golf Writers Association of America writing contest in three consecutive years, including a first-place finish in 2004. READ MORE

Alex MyersAlex Myers
A sports reporter at The Journal News for nearly three years, Alex Myers has covered a bit of everything, but a lot of golf, ranging from the high school level to last year's U.S. Open at Winged Foot. His golf writing goes back to his college days when he attended Wake Forest University. Myers is also an avid player who is constantly trying to improve on his current handicap of 8. Perhaps his biggest thrill came earlier this summer when he conquered the famed 17th hole at the TPC at Sawgrass by hitting a 9-iron onto the island green and walking away with a 2-putt par.

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