Seven Walk Away Victorious at the 9-Hole Championship
University City, MO - It was a warm one out at Ruth Park Golf Course for the 9-Hole Championship. Players across four divisions competed to win with both gross and net scores. 34 players made their way around the course and were done in time to make it home for lunch.
In the Junior Division, John DeLuca of Forest Hills Country Club was a Lone Ranger, but that didn’t stop him from putting together a good round. On Hole 7, he made birdie to get to one-under par, but unfortunately a bogey on Hole 9 brought him back down to even (E) par. With this round, the 13 year old DeLuca still went home with the hardware for the juniors.
Two competitors in the Women’s Division battled it out for the win. Emma Hill of the Metropolitan eClub took the trophy with her gross score of three-over (+3) par. Hill sat at even par going into the last hole, but an unlucky finishing hole pushed her to +3. When strokes were applied for a net score, Eileen Love of the St Louis Women’s Golf Association took the cake. Applying those strokes gave Love two birdies which brought her score to one-under (-1) par, and walking away with the Net trophy.
The Senior Men’s Division came in next. Jim McLaughlin of Norwood Hills Country Club came in with a score of two-over (+2) par to win the trophy for the gross scores. Despite being unable to find a birdie on the course, it was enough to keep McLaughlin on top of the leaderboard. Vincent Featherson of the Metropolitan eClub was close behind, and once strokes applied, he sat on top. A birdie on the last hole helped his score, and then applying the strokes put Featherson at one-under (-1) par to take home the net trophy.
The Men’s Division had some fierce competition. Three players shot [gross] even par or better. Robert Hogan of Gateway National Golf Links came in with a bogey-free four-under (-4) par. This put Hogan on top of the leaderboard and the Men’s gross score title. Once again, handicap strokes were applied to determine a net score winner. Jackson Unteriner of the USGA/MetAmateur GC let those strokes help him out and carry him to victory with a net score of two-under (-2) par.