Monday, August 29, 2011
Go Penguins: Youngstown State University golfer Anthony Conn wasn’t the only Penguin to win on Sunday. Katie Rogner, a four-year golfer for YSU, won the women’s division by shooting a 74 for a 218. She finished 18 strokes ahead of Joan Ash, the 2010 women’s winner. Today, Rogner begins her final semester for her industrial engineering degree. She’s happy that YSU faculty will be in the classrooms after a strike was called off on Thursday. “I was ecstatic,” said Rogner of how she felt when the strike threat ended. “I don’t want to have to go any longer [than necessary].”
Pipino remembered: Flags at The Lake Club were lowered to half-staff in honor of Donald Pipino, the former owner of the Fonderlac Country Club. Pipino, 83, died on Friday. Years ago, Pipino sold the course to club members. The course was renamed The Lake Club when Pipino’s son-in-law Ed Muransky purchased it.
Super repeat: Ed Antonelli, who repeated as super seniors winner, said the Lake Club is a “very, very tricky golf course to play when you have no knowledge of it. But this golf course is beautiful.” Antonelli trailed Ralph Roberts by five strokes before a surge. Roberts said he began pressing when his lead started evaporating.
Special shot: Scott Porter of Canfield finished with a 224, two strokes behind Conn and Josh Zarlenga. But he needed a special shot to finish fourth with his older brother, Mike, and Dick Marlowe. On his final hole, Scott Porter’s tee shot missed the green and hit a hazard. With the gallery watching, he chipped the ball into the hole. “I was just struggling all day long and to chip that in and get that reaction from everybody was nice.” Porter knew he had a lot of eyes on him as he swung. “But I thought they were more there for the guys who were leading. It was just nice to end the day on a good note.” Porter’s shot came just after Josh Zarlenga came close to aceing the Par 3 No. 9 hole. His one-foot putt for birdie forced the playoff. “It was close,” Zarlenga said. “It was a great birdie to tie — there’s nothing like that.”
Windy conditions: Greg Cook, who finished in third, said Sunday’s wind made a difference. “It was a lot tougher [but] I don’t think it mattered to me so much because I was punching out so much. But it was tougher.”