ROUND 7 ON DECK

August 14, 2016 at 12:10a.m.

Mahoning Valley golfers are set to test their skills on the links again in Greatest event

YOUNGSTOWN

Ask any participant in his year’s Farmers National Bank Greatest Golfer of the Valley field, and chances are they will tell you that the competition, making new friends and the courses on which they play are underlying factors that drive them back each summer.

It’s been seven summers now.

The seventh annual Greatest Golfer gets under way this week with almost 500 golfers expected to play in either the championship scramble, the long-drive event or the adult championship.

The adult individual event that will be played from Friday to Sunday is the cornerstone of Greatest. For many players, they’ve never lost their competitive edge. For others, regaining that edge and hopefully recapturing the glory of their youth remain reasons they enter.

Mike Porter of Canfield is one of five family members to take part in the area’s premier summer event with father Tim, defending Senior’s champion, brother Scott, his Aunt Pam and cousin Chris having also taken part.

Porter, the inaugural Open Division champion in 2010, said the event has drawn many of the area’s top male and female golfers over the years and just keeps getting better and more competitive.

“We all know what we are playing for so we have fun, wish one another ‘Good Luck’ and then go about our business,” Porter said. “This is one of the only medal play, stroke play events that we have as far as individual events are concerned.

“The goal every year is to win it all, and that goal is no different this year.”

Mill Creek North and South courses, The Lake Club, Tippecanoe, Youngstown and Oak Tree country clubs return as sites this year, with Avalon Lakes the newest member as a final week host.

Glenn “Uncle Milty” Milton, 63, is a Springfield Local graduate — Class of ’71 — who refuses to play the Senior Division, saying the Open challenge is what he wants and it has been that way since the event’s inception.

“I’m still that dreamer who wants to give it a go with the youngsters out there on the course. In the olden days, we had best ball and individual tourneys, but those have all but disappeared,” Milton said. “This event reminds me of the tour in that it works out for everyone in their respective divisions. I really like this format.”

“My claim to fame is low score at Mill Creek on the first day and I’ve been lucky enough to make it to the Lake Club on three separate occasions. That’s the goal again this year as I hope to make to Sunday’s final round.”

The Miller Lite Greatest Scramble Championship on Monday starts the week. Next is the Greatest Long-Drive Championship on Thursday hosted by Tippecanoe Country Club. Then the Farmers adult event runs Friday through Sunday at six Valley courses. Almost 300 golfers ages 18 to 82 will play, and 100 will advance to Sunday’s final round.

“Make Sunday at The Lake” is enough of a feat for most golfers, and Porter said everyone’s checklist remains the same.

“The key is to keep the ball on the fairway, putt like a madman and play one shot, one hole at a time,” Porter said. “You don’t dare look ahead because the field is bigger, deeper and just keeps getting stronger.”

Hubbard’s Marilyn Woods never took up the sport until she was 41 years old and has been leaving her mark ever since.

A Hickory High School graduate – Class of 1969 – she is credited with starting the first girls basketball team at her alma mater, that coming in 1969 at the Buhl Club in Sharon. This will be the fifth year in which she is taking part, having won her division in 2012.

“I am looking to end that championship drought. But this year, it will be pretty tough because the tournament has been opened up to a wider section of participants,” Woods said. “I know some of the participants and there are just so many great golfers overall that seek the title.

“The courses that we play on are always a challenge and my hope is that more women will take part, simply because it’s a lot of fun and the competition is always top notch.”

Like Woods, Mary Kane waited until she was 35 years old before taking up the sport.

This week marks her seventh tournament as she looks to hoist a first Greatest trophy.

“This is the only tournament that I play all year and my secret is to have fun and just make some new friends,” she said. “I didn’t golf while I was in high school, but my basketball coach was Joan Ash and over the years she has provided me with sound golf advice and encouragement on countless occasions.

“While I haven’t won it all, my goal remains to get to the final and then see what happens.”

Bob Leonard and Kurt Beler are both 69 years old and after this year, will move from the Senior Division to the SuperSeniors.

Leonard is a two-time champion, having defeated Beler in a four-hole play-off in 2010. He also won his division in 2012, shooting a 71 on the final day at the Lake Club for his come-from-behind victory.

“To me, this is the most special of all area golfing events because it gives golfers a chance to play individually,” Leonard said. “It’s the last year of senior play for me before I head to the Super Senior division next year, so to win it all would be my crowning achievement.

“This year is shaping up to be the most competitive yet with plenty of excellent golfers all set and ready to go. If I am to qualify for a spot on Sunday, then playing steady, making putts and keeping any big numbers off the board is paramount. Consistency and focus is the key.”

Beler is a Sharon, Pa., native. He, too, has played in all seven events, qualifying for the Sunday finals on three separate occasions.

Last year, however, he was forced to withdraw after the first day due to a torn rotator cuff.

“It’s still a little sore, but I am currently playing three or four times a week in order to get ready. I’m all but set and cannot wait to get started,” Beler said. “To me, driving isn’t that critical, but putting is and that’s a weak spot for me. The plan is to use my hybrids.”

For Beler, each of the previous six tournaments holds a special moment, however, that initial tourney is one that he won’t soon forget.

“That four-hole playoff with Bob [Leonard] in 2010 was really something and just a lot of fun,” he said. “It was a smaller field back then and I expect the competition to be just as fierce this year.”

Brad Koch is a 2009 Boardman High School graduate, having earned four letters for the Spartans’ golf team under the tutelage of head coach Ron Moschella.

A senior personal loan specialist at Springleaf Financial, he has entered each Greatest tournament with a sixth-place finish in 2015 his high-water mark.

“My motivation from Day 1 has been to win it all and the goal remains to play in the final group on the last day,” Koch said.

It has been feast or famine for Koch, who also missed the final cut by two strokes in both 2012 and 2013, and by single stroke in 2014.

“It has been all or nothing for me with no middle ground,” he said. “It’s always more fun to be playing on Sunday than to have to watch and follow the other golfers as they compete for the title.”