Cape Region golfers win regional Oldsmobile Scramble Tournaments
August 13, 1999
Two teams of Cape Region golfers qualified for the 1999 Oldsmobile Scramble National Championship Tournament in Orlando, Florida. One team, representing Kings Creek Country Club, includes Nick DelCampo, Kevin Conlon, Assistant Golf Pro David Jones, Rich Curl, and yours truly.
We’re going to Disney World!
As this column explained a while ago, teams played first in local tournaments. Qualifiers in those rounds then played in seven sectional championships run by the Philadelphia Section of the PGA. At the sectionals and finals, local pros join the amateurs to make up 5-member teams.
145 area teams split into groups of up to 28 for the sectional events. Winners in net and gross categories qualified for the nationals.
On August 4, my team won the Net Sectional Championship at Talamore at Oak Terrace, near Ambler, Pennsylvania.
Oak Terrace was not easy. One hole required a 221-yard carry over marsh. My first inclination was to throw a ball into the cattails and be done with it.
Jones, a very good golfer and rabid Penn State booster, said the set-up was difficult but fair. “They put a lot of thought into it. It looked like they were trying to make sure that 20 under didn’t win.” If that was their goal, the tournament officials succeeded. We tied for low gross with 12 under, and won low net with our additional four strokes.
Jones often wowed his teammates with his shots. After Curl smacked a 295-yard drive on the 13th hole, a 606-yard par 5, Jones then drew a beautiful 4-wood to within 5 yards of the green. The chip and putt for birdie seemed routine.
Jones was most surprised by his teammates’ putting. “We were in such a zone. Also, everybody on the team played at a comfortable pace, which really helps.”
Conlon showed again why we call him a putting fool. DelCampo’s towering drives were as awe-inspiring as ever. Curl demonstrated why his handicap is as low as it is, and my second shots frequently got us close to the pin. Our success was a real team effort.
On July 19 Eric Harrison, Dave King, Dave Isaacs, and Brent Rhue, playing for Shawnee Country Club, was the other Cape Region team to win a Sectional Championship. They played at Philmont Country Club, in Huntington Valley, Pennsylvania. Vince Ramaglia, an assistant pro for a club in New Jersey, joined the Shawnee members for the regional event.
Isaacs, a Milton resident, said his team shot 12 under par gross, 16 under net. He said the layout at Philmont’s par 70 South Course was “not that long, but the pins were tucked and the greens were fast and undulating.”
Isaacs credited Rumaglia for the team’s performance. “He helped us a ton. He played the course before and was a big help on the greens.”
Rhue said his team began with a small case of jitters. “We all blew it off the first tee, except for the pro.” After the rocky start, however, Rhue said the group settled down.
Harrison, a 1991 Cape grad living in Lewes, used his low-handicap skills to help his team. He joined Shawnee a few months ago, and was “recruited” for his first Olds Scramble. Harrison was impressed with his partners’ competitiveness and enthusiasm.
Unfortunately, Rumaglia can’t join the Shawnee amateurs in Orlando. A substitute was to be named later this week.
150 teams from all over the country will try to win the Net finals, and another 150 will play for the Gross championship. The 72-hole scramble tournament will use the many golf courses spread out in the Magic Kingdom.
We can’t wait!