KARZMER: Greatest numbers provide reason to cheer

Greatest 10 — from the weather, to the host courses, to the champions on Sunday, I have to congratulate Todd Franko, Ted Suffolk and Team Vindy for another great weekend.

What a week for numbers.

The number 3. Three wins for Brandon Pluchinsky in the Pete Mollica Open Men’s Division and three wins for my friend Geno Bellatto in the Men’s Senior Open Division.

The number 2. Two great Mill Creek courses presented on Friday after what’s been a brutal summer weather season. A less momentous event could have seen some negative chatter. Todd, Brian Tolnar and team didn’t let that happen. A well-calculated change to the rules (lift, clean, and place through the green) kept the pace of play going. It eliminated an obvious potential complaint for those golfers looking for a reason why their score wasn’t what they thought it should be.

Two hundred eighty. As in the number of players who competed this last weekend. Two hundred eighty golfers. Seven different courses. One beautiful Sunday afternoon. If you think that’s easy to coordinate, think again. And yet, for those of us who competed, it came off as a seamless experience.

Hard 4. For those “non-craps” gamblers out there, Hard 4 is a 2 – 2. That’s my personal finish. Second place — for the second time to Brandon Pluchinsky. Two years ago, Brandon passed me at the end for the 2017 title. This week, we each came in with two championships on our resume. I was hoping to be the first player to win three.

After Friday, we were tied at the top of the leaderboard. Saturday’s second round at Youngstown unfortunately included two triple bogeys and a double bogey for me. Seven birdies helped keep me within striking distance at eight behind. Unfortunately, my putter on Sunday couldn’t convert a decent amount of birdie opportunities. My final round 69 was good. But not good enough.

Looking back on the week that was, I am so thankful for Todd and Ted and what they have established here in the Valley. Monday’s Coors Light scramble finale at The Lake Club brought a lot of the area’s top talent and scramble teams together.

Thursday’s HBK Long Drive challenge continues to amaze us “average” hitters with some of the distances these guys can hit it today. The addition of the first “under the lights” Closest to the Pin challenge was awesome.

Scotty Porter put up a great fight in the overtime playoff, but a big congrats to my friend Josh Zarlenga on winning the inaugural challenge. For those who didn’t come watch, you should really try to be there next year. The setup was terrific. The shots into the green were impressive. And as a competitor who got to stand at the tee and look at the green, the crowd was amazing! Honestly — one of the coolest events I’ve seen on a golf course in a long time.

Lastly, I was to follow up on the sentiment above with one final number — 11.

We all know what’s happening with The Vindicator next week.

I know I’m not alone here, but I can’t count the number of times I’ve been asked — “what’s going to happen with Greatest?”

I can’t speak for anyone else, but here’s what I’ll commit to today:

Greatest 11 will happen next year. The event has become golf’s major championship in our Valley. We’ve had the Greatest sponsors, the greatest organizers, the greatest course partners and most importantly, the greatest participants.

As a competitor, I’m always looking for “mo” on the course. A good drive leads to a good wedge which leads to a good birdie. Two birdies lead to three; three leads to five.

“Mo” equals “momentum.” It’s fun when it happens.

And that’s what Greatest has going right now!

Congrats again to Todd and team for a great week. Congrats again to all the well-deserving winners.

Here’s to seeing everyone again next year for Greatest 11.

Jonah Karzmer is a former player at YSU and a member at The Lake Club. He works in insurance when not writing a golf column every Sunday in The Vindicator. Email him at Jonah@thekarzmerinsurance.com.