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Duo puts CCC in hunt for title

Their coach says Zach Zehnder and Patrick Scranton try to raise the level of play for the rest of the Marauders.

By RODNEY PAGE

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 2, 2001

Clearwater Central Catholic's duo of sophomore Zach Zehnder and junior Patrick Scranton took different paths to the golf course.

Zehnder is a late bloomer who didn't pick up a golf club until he was 12. Scranton has been beating golf balls since he was seven and using sawed off clubs.

Both are serious about their games. Both are capable of shooting par or better. And both have helped transform the Marauders into district, regional and perhaps state contenders.

"Those guys try to bring up the play of everyone else," CCC coach Brian Lisak said. "They try to lead by example."

Zehnder played for CCC last season as a freshman. He's only been playing the game for a little over three years. In his first attempt at 18 holes, he broke 100, and he's been getting better ever since.

Zehnder usually plays No. 1 for the Marauders.

"I've never taken a lesson in my life," Zehnder said. "Golf just kind of came naturally to me. I pick things up as I go."

Lisak, who is a teaching professional at Belleair Country Club, said he hasn't given Zehnder any advice. He just lets him grip it and rip it.

"Zach has great eye-hand coordination," Lisak said. "He kills it. He takes dead aim and goes right at the pin."

Scranton has been ripping it from an early age, when his grandmother, Ann Moreno, took him golfing. His father, local physician Stephen Scranton, tried to play with Patrick once. Once.

"He doesn't play at all," Scranton said. "He took me out when I was seven and I beat him by like 40 strokes and he threw his clubs away."

His grandmother, though, would play with him when he was growing up. It's from her, Scranton said, that he gets his love of the game.

This is Scranton's first year with the Marauders. He attended Dunedin as a freshman and part of his sophomore year. During the spring semester, Scranton was accepted to Palm Harbor University's International Baccalaureate program.

He found out, however, that the class was already too far ahead in their studies for him to catch up. After one semester, he transferred to CCC this school year.

He's made an immediate impact on the golf team. A one handicap, he shot a 78 Saturday in the Largo Invitational at Bellair Country Club.

He'd like to earn a college golf scholarship and one day play on the PGA Tour. If that doesn't work out, he plans on getting a degree in business and marketing and go into broadcasting.

For now, his plans are to make CCC one of the state's top golf teams.

"We've got quality players," Scranton said. "We had a good team at Dunedin last year, and this team is better. We're a young team, but we can be pretty good."

CCC will get a test today when it plays Canterbury for the third time this season. Both teams have split dual matches. Scranton didn't play in Thursday's loss to Canterbury at Pasadena Country Club because of a strained back. He'll play today.

CCC will need contributions from Keith Walsh, Eric Pacana and Blane Wheeley.

"Our goal, of course, is to try to win the state tournament," Scranton said. "If we can get our three, four and five guys to play well, we can go far."

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