LOCAL GOLF
Pyontek rallies to win 2nd straight Senior Met Open
EWING >> Down four shots and just three holes remaining in the final round of the Senior Metropolitan Open on Sunday, even St. Jude, patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes, may have considered Ray Pyontek good for second-place and a scorecard-worth of laments.
Desperate though not toast, Pyontek, the defending champion and second-round leader following a 1-under 71 on Saturday, rallied to tie Ed Erickson in regulation then won a first playoff hole to claim his second consecutive championship. Pyontek and Erickson each posted 9-over scores of 225 at the 6,692-yard, par72 Mountain View GC.
“Dude, the towel was just about thrown in because Eddie was playing great golf. He was down the middle and on the green for most holes. By the time we reached No. 16, I just figured we were just about finished,” Pyontek admitted. “I wasn’t giving up but the way he played up until then and a bunch of putts that lipped out for me, the writing looked on the wall.” Erickson delivered a 2-under-par 35 for the first nine, good for a three-shot lead.
The script changed at the short par-3, 16 where Pyontek carded birdie and Erickson added a bogeyfour. Erickson drove left into the trees on No. 17 and left with a double-bogey six opposite Pyontek’s par. They were tied with Erickson in with 75, good enough to erase Pyontek’s one-shot lead.
“Then we both made bogey (5s) on No. 18 before a playoff hole on No. 10,” Pyontek noted. Erickson drove left into trees again and found trouble while Pyontek made a par for the victory. In 2018, Pyontek carded a final-round 2-under 70 to erase a three-shot deficit with Erickson. Pyontek won by seven shots.
“Golf is just a strange game. He was playing well and I wasn’t. And then he hits two bad drives that cost him the tournament. It was a gift, I had it handed to me.”
St. Jude might disagree. Wrap of other Senior Metropolitan Open age division contests.
50-54: Mark Rubino, a lifetime Ewing Twp. member and teacher at Central Bucks East High School, made consistency a hallmark for victory with rounds of 80-82-80242. David Krausse (78-81-85-244) began the final round with a threeshot lead but could not foil the Rubino comeback win.
60-64: Mark Cubberley succeeded in his role as favorite with scores of 74-72-78-224 and a nineshot win over George Carroll (75-7880-233) and Brian Rafferty (83-7971-233). Rafferty rebounded with an impressive 1-under-par final round, 12 shots better than his opening offering.
65-69: Richard Timbrell, a retired financial researcher from Summit, created room between himself and challenger Neil Pomphrey with a birdie on the challenging par4, No. 17 hole. Timbrell (78-78-81237) held a two-shot lead but his bogey-5 at the last gave Pomphrey (8175-82-238) “a putt to tie the lead,” said Timbrell. “I found out about the tournament from the (Mercer County) website and decided to give it a go. I like the courses.” Ansley Jessup (82-78-83-243 claimed thirdplace.
70-74: Jim Byer, a member at Springdale Golf Club in Princeton, has found form since an autumn 2018 surgery. Byer (74-71-78-223) entered the final round with a sevenshot lead over Terry Law (79-73-77229). Dal Shin (82-76-71-229), a perennial challenger in most Mercer County golf events, stormed to a tiesecond with a 1-under-par 71 finale.
75-and-above: Rich Jannotti (8791-91-269) went wire-to-wire in the old timers’ bracket. Dave Pullen (9290-91-273 could not overcome a fiveshot deficit from the opening round. John O’Keefe (90-94-92-276) finished third.