Here’s an exciting new event that will be especially exciting by the end of September for four golfers.
Five courses — Maryland National, Musket Ridge, Worthington Manor, P.B. Dye and Blue Mash — came together earlier this year to form the Maryland Cup. It is an amateur two-man best-ball event with great prizes.
Qualifiers at four of the locations — each one except Maryland National, which is scheduled for Friday, — have been held, and 20 percent of each field is entered into the finals, which will be held Sept. 23 at Blue Mash in Laytonsville, Md.
The Maryland Cup will have winners in both gross and net divisions. The prize? Each winning twosome will receive a one-year membership to each of the five participating golf clubs.
Of course, if you have not signed up by now, it’s too late. But heed this information for next year.
The event is the brainchild of Jon LeSage and Michael Kim, the general manager/head professional and vice president of P.B. Dye.
“We wanted an initiative in Frederick County and in general around the area,” said LeSage. “There is never anything like this together, so we were able to get these clubs in as one. We’re not competing against one another.”
Josh Ricketts, assistant pro at Musket Ridge, was in on the original meetings as his club became one of the “big five.”
“It was (Jon’s) thinking to corroborate everything with these clubs together,” said Ricketts.
The future of the Maryland Cup could come with added attractions.
“This is the first step in simplicity,” said LeSage. “It’s quite possible we could add a pro division, and a senior and junior division. These are wonderful prizes for the winners. How often can you say you play golf at five clubs and only pay cart fees for one year?”
Local success
It was a pretty successful week for three big local names.
It started with the Frederick City Amateur last weekend, when Chuck Thatcher — four shots behind Ryan Crabtree after the first round on Saturday —came from behind with a bevy or birdies on the back nine Sunday to wrap up the championship.
Thatcher has now won five Frederick titles, four Black Rock championships and one WACO trophy.
Dirk Schultz fashioned his best competitive round at age 53, shooting a magnificent 8-under-par 64 on Tuesday for a 9-under total over two rounds to win the MAPGA Senior Professionals Championship at the Country Club of Petersburg.
That win punched a ticket to Port St. Lucie for the National Senior PGA Professional National Championship on Oct. 25-28.
Hagerstown native Ashley Grier also did quite well last week in the LPGA Teaching Pro and Club Pro Championship, playing on the PInehurst No. 8 course. Grier, the assistant professional at Overbrook Golf Club outside of Philadelphia, shot rounds of 73, 75 and 76 for an 8-over-par 224 and a tie for seventh place — well inside the qualifying line for the 2019 KMPG Women’s LPGA Championship in Chaska, Minn., at Hazeltine National Golf Club on June 18-23.
It is the second straight year Grier has qualified.
Coors Light up next
To finish off the unofficial “big three” tournaments in the area, the Coors Light Championship at Black Rock will be held Saturday and Sunday. It’s the 29th event overall and the 12th under the Coors umbrella.
The big news, at least with one week to go, is a new champion will be crowned this year. As he has done in Frederick, Thatcher has been the dominator in the Coors Light with three straight titles and four overall. However, an out-of-town wedding will preclude his participation. Also out of town is Zach Weber, always a threat and runner-up in 2014 and 2015.
Ken Lampard has four Black Rock titles. Greg Henry, twice a winner, holds the scoring record at 137.
Entries are still being accepted at Black Rock. Cost for the two days is $110.
Be the first to comment