TOO CLOSE TO CALL

August 23, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

Competition is extremely tight as final round shifts to The Lake Club

WARREN

Former champions and familiar faces will highlight final round action today during The Vindicator’s 6th annual Farmers National Bank Greatest Golfer of the Valley competition.

With The Lake Club in Poland set to host the 96-player championship field, the fact that anyone can walk off with a title in any of its 10 divisions says a lot about the strength of this year’s overall competition.

Three strokes separate the top three contenders in the Pete Mollica Men’s Open Division. Just one stroke stands between the top three qualifiers in the Men’s Senior Open Division.

“In championship play, the general rules are off the table,” Vindicator editor Todd Franko, producer of the event said. “In terms of home course, better player and such, playing for a title changes the game.”

Jonah Karzmer (141) held on to his lead in the Men’s Open, shooting a 72 Saturday at Trumbull Country Club while brothers Mike Porter (142) and Scott Porter (144) shot rounds of 72 and 73, respectively, to remain within striking distance.

“Like yesterday, it feels a lot better to be a stroke up than a stroke down,” Karzmer said. “The course was fair, the greens really nice and if you hit the ball well today, then you had a good birdie chance.

“If you hit it long, then you had to try and save par,” Karzmer said. “The strategy on Sunday will be to play my own ball and not pay attention to anyone else’s score. Being in the last group, however, will make it tough not to know those scores.”

Mike Porter called today’s pairing the ultimate.

“This is a dream for me to be paired with my brother and Jonah,” Porter said. “Sunday’s strategy will be to take it one shot, one hole at a time and just have fun.

“I didn’t putt as well as I had hoped today,” Porter said. “The course and greens were firm so you had to keep the ball down because it was bouncing a lot.”

Scott Porter is happy to be sitting where he is while looking forward to the final round.

“I struggled a little today off the tee and hope to have that corrected by tomorrow,” Scott Porter said. “In order for me to win, I must go deep and bring my ‘A’ game.

“If I could be with any group on the final day, then Mike and Jonah would be my choices.”

In Men’s Senior Open play, Tim Porter (77-79, 156) enters the final day with a one-stroke lead over Barry Piper (75-82, 157) and John Doughton, Jr. (77-80, 157).

“I’m fine, but had a few problems today that need to be corrected,” Piper said. “I was two over par with five holes remaining, then on the 14th and 15th hole went double bogey.

“Hopefully, I’ve taken care of that. But like the weather, it changes every day.”

Piper was playing Tippecanoe Country Club for the very first time.

“It was a pretty long course for me and not having played here before, was somewhat tricky,” Piper said. “I played The Lake Club in this same event two years ago, so I should be a little more comfortable with the surroundings. On Sunday, it will be all about the putting.”

Doughton, Jr., whose family owned Doughton Golf Course, a Hubbard staple for 87 years before selling it in 2014, said he’s really missed the competition.

“I had four double bogeys in two days so I’m looking to play better on Sunday,” Doughton said. “I need to make good shots and keep the ball in the fairway, that way I won’t make as many bogeys.

“I love the competition and didn’t realize until this weekend how much I actually missed it. I truly believe that anyone within four or five shots can win it all.”

Joan Ash (79-87, 166) will take a six-stroke lead over Patty Brant (82-90, 172) into the Women’s 9+ final while Ariel Witmer (76-76, 152) has a four-stroke lead over Katie Rogner (81-75, 156) heading into the Women’s Open finale.

Ash, who has played in all six Greatest events, won the inaugural championship in 2010.

“I realized my goal this year and that was to make it to the finals,” Ash said. “For me, it’s never been about winning or losing as much as it has been about competing,” Ash said.

“Competing at The Lake Club will be a real joy,” Ash said. “For those of us who don’t play country clubs on a daily basis, greens can take their toll as it’s tough to putt with any authority. Many of us are public links players and used to slow greens.”

Brant added that it has been fun because of the parity in her division.

“It’s been a great tournament because we’re all pretty equal. [Trumbull] is a long course for me and I struggled with my driving today,” she said. “The shade also made it tough when putting because you had a tough time reading the greens.”

Witmer, a 2009 South Range High School graduate and four-year letter-winner at Longwood University, said playing Trumbull Country Club for the very first time was a challenge.

“I grew up playing Mill Creek and this was my first time playing [Trumbull] so I went in blind. Today was like any other day in that I hit some good shots and also had some rough shots that I will need to correct before Sunday’s final,” she said.

“It’s really great to be back home because it brings back so many great memories. The Lake Club was our home course my senior year in high school and as long as I play relaxed and concentrate on just one shot at a time, then I should be alright,” Witmer said.

Dennis Miller, Lake Club director of golf, said the course is ready to go.

“The golf course is in tremendous condition,” Miller said. “We have some excellent pin placements and are ready to host the finals.

“This is a great event for competitive golf in the area, and the last six years have been absolutely great. Everything this year has gone off without a hitch.”

The championship round gets underway at 9 a.m. The Open divisions will tee off from 10-11 a.m. The event is free to the public to watch.