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Bayou moves up in Interclub series

By DAVE THEALL
Published January 27, 2007

The Bayou Club tied for first in the Pinellas Interclub match at Belleair last week to move up to second after five matches of the 10-event monthly series.

The Bayou Club tied Cove Cay at 1-under its quota. Overall, Seminole Lake took over first place in the standings. Countryside slipped to third followed by Dunedin and Cove Cay.

Each of the 12 Pinellas teams consists of a pro and nine club members.

Ken Mellem and Jim Moore, who carry handicaps of 2 and 11, respectively, had the best round of the day in the better-ball format with a 10-under 61.

"The key for us was making a lot of 5- to 10-foot putts," said Mellem, a retired business administration professor at the University of North Dakota. "Jim hits it long and straight off the tee and is very competitive. But what really helped us was 'ham and egging' it. One of us came through on just about every hole. Sometimes, that's just a matter of luck."

Mellem said he was pleased his team did so well considering it was cold and damp. However, he said, "The West course at Belleair is in great shape, and the greens are smooth and true. And that makes a big difference."

MORE MELLEM: Mellem missed the second and third matches of the league's series due to a prior commitment. He has an annual eight-week teaching assignment in international business at the University of Shanghai.

Countryside's Randy Wehling and Mark Wilkins netted 62, the same score posted by Innisbrook's Frank Sharpe and Steve Mihalek, but took second on a match of scorecards.

Host Jim Slattery had the best pro round of the day, a 1-under 70, edging Jim King (71) of the Bayou Club. Dunedin's John Falcone and Belleview Biltmore's Chuck Eade shot 73.

The sixth match of the series is scheduled for Feb. 8 at Seminole Lake.

CGA: On Monday, Mellem bounced back with another team win, this time paired with frequent partner Richard Bullock, a member at Innisbrook.

At Cheval, they won the senior division of a better-ball County Golf Association match at 8-under 64. That was one better than the 65 posted by Rick Volcko and Mike Sanderson in the regular division.

Jeff Neugebauer and Ed Shedd took second (69) among the younger men while there was a tie for second among the seniors. Bill Pawlicki and Mitch Bentley and Art and Irene Sauve shot 68.

Laurie Wills and Cheryl Flaherty won the women's division with a net 58. And men's honors were won by Mark Tuttle and Cal Lee with the same score.

FLORIDA STATE GA: Largo's Dennis Monahan was tied for first in the two-day Winter Series match at Lake Jovita after opening with a 4-over 76. He improved by two strokes on Tuesday to finish at 150, but first-round co-leader Bill Moore of Tampa improved by four (72) to win the match in the 40-54 bracket.

Ross Weaver of Tarpon Springs finished with 167 (83-84).

John Hart of Windermere won the 55-64 division at 147 (74-73), one stroke better than John Osborne of Vero Beach and Kim Schwencke of Temple Terrace.

Larre Barrett on Homosassa took the 65-and-older division with rounds of 76-75-151.

CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP: Gary Sceurman of Treasure Island won the men's 2007 title at the Tides Club at 77-77-154.

The Flight A net results had Denny Dorn first with 139 followed by Peter Mills at 141. Flight B was won by Dave Zaniol at 136 with runnerup Chris Spadaccino at 139.

Bob Milsaler went low with a 127, winning Flight C, followed by John Bowman at 140.

Sue Cook won the Ladies Division by five strokes by shooting net 78 then par 72 for 150. Bev Schilk was the runnerup.

"I put away my driver and started using my 4-iron off the tee," Cook said.

"My driver got me into too much trouble."

Cook also won the individual women's league title at the Tides in 2004 and 2006.

HALL OF FAME: Mangrove Bay head pro Kenny Betz was inducted into the Northeast High School Sports Hall of Fame last week. Betz played golf all four years, leading the Vikings to district titles twice. He went on to Saint Leo University, where he also earned a soccer scholarship.

JUNIOR GIRLS: Belleair's Evan Jensen has moved into first place in the Florida Junior Tour's standings after her recent win at Belleair.

After four matches, Jensen has 2,940 points. She is followed by Coral Springs' Alex Thompson at 1,960; Palm City's Alexandria Buelow at 1,625; and Largo's (and Jensen's playing partner) Andrea Messer at 1,470.

On the national level, Buelow is 76th, Jensen sixth and Messer 89th, according to the Golfweek/Titleist rankings. Esther Choe is No. 1.

[Last modified January 26, 2007, 21:13:59]