Roberts-Williams duo dominates doubles tourney

Mallery-Lewis 2nd, Spiker-von Hagel 3rd
Davies-Wilson D-II champs

* Summer Flex Series continues through Monday

For AlleganyPlayground.com

MOUNT SAVAGE — Aaron Roberts and Zach Williams had no idea what they were getting themselves into.

They entered the 2nd annual Summer Fling Doubles Tournament at Mile Lane Disc Golf Course on Saturday in Mount Savage blind; that is, they had never before played a single basket on the 24-hole layout.

Turns out, it didn’t matter.

The Eastern Panhandle Disc Golf Club members dominated from start to finish. The duo finished 33 under par for the day for a total score of 138 over 54 holes. B.J. Lewis, of Frostburg, and tournament director Scott Mallery, 54, of Mount Savage, finished second, six strokes off the pace (144). A couple of 19-year-olds — Frostburg’s Devon Spiker and Cumberland’s Ethan von Hagel — rounded out the podium with a third-place finish (150).

AlleganyPlayground photo
Derrick Ames with a drive from the No. 1 tee.

Ten teams with players from Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania completed the field, which increased from six teams in 2021. This year, the event featured a morning round of 24 holes with an “alternate shot” approach. Teams with the top three scores — six in all, including ties — were placed in Division 1 for the afternoon round, while the rest of the teams competed in Division 2.

After the afternoon round (a “best throw” format), the top three teams from Division 1 competed in a six-hole playoff. No one could touch Roberts and Williams. They were tied with Mallery and Lewis after the morning round at 12 under par 63. Spiker and von Hagel tied with Perry Barr and Steve Sheermesser for the second-best score (69) while two more teams, including Jack Twigg and Sean Fiscus (72) and the father-son team of Kevin Spradlin, 43, and Josiah Spradlin, 12, both of Frostburg, also finished with a 72.

In round two, though, Roberts and Williams improved by five strokes in the afternoon while Mallery and Lewis fell back a stroke. Roberts and Williams led with a combined score of 121 after two rounds, while Lewis and Mallery were six strokes back ( 127) and Spiker and von Hagel were third (134). Fiscus and Twigg were only one stroke off qualifying for the six-hole playoff (135), while Barr and Sheermesser (140) and Spradlin-Spradlin (141) missed the cut by a handful of strokes.

Meanwhile, Nic Davies, 26, of Mount Savage, and Seth Wilson, 28, of Cresaptown, won Division 2 with a combined score of 139. Sam Wolodkin, 20, of Frostburg, and Tyler Shanholtz were six strokes off the pace. The Allegany County Disc Golf Club-sponsored team of Scott Smith, 32, of Carpendale, W.Va., and Justin Morgan, 34, of Frostburg, finished third in Division 2 (154) while David Hardy and Derrick Ames finished fourth (158).