Next up: Sunday at 2 p.m. at Mile Lane
ACCIDENT — Bill Shreve found himself in quite an unusual position.
Four baskets in, he was five strokes behind leader Kevin Spradlin. Shreve, though, schooled the field of seven players during a casual glow round with the Allegany County Disc Golf Club on Tuesday night at The Glades at Meshach Run in Accident. The lesson? It’s not how you start, but how you finish.
Shreve, 46, of Cumberland, wiped out Spradlin’s five-stroke lead over the next three holes, sat tied for third at the midway point, then threw the best second half of any player on the night en route to a one-stroke victory over Keith Raynor. Only six strokes separated the field as the players competed twice over the front nine baskets, sparing themselves the technical challenge of the back nine under the cover of darkness.
Shreve finished with a one over par 59 while Raynor, 46, of Vale Summit, took second with a 60. David Warder, 32, of Frostburg, placed third with a 61. Noah Spradlin, 23, of Frostburg, shaved nine strokes off his personal best at The Glades to finish with a 62. Tim Farris, 26, of Wiley Ford, W.Va., was fifth with a 64 while Shania Farris, 26, of Wiley Ford, and Kevin Spradlin, 44, of Frostburg, tied for sixth with a 65.
More than once, Shreve found himself in trouble off the tee pad. Time and again, Shreve saved himself with an impressive array of approach shots — ranging from merely breaking out of jail to parking it by the pin.
Shreve began his comeback with a birdie on No. 5 — Tim Farris was the only other player to birdie the hole on the front nine — and another on No. 6. Kevin Spradlin, meanwhile, threw for par on No. 5 and ran into rare trouble on No. 6 which, at only 170 feet, is the second-shortest hole on the front nine. Spradlin’s tee shot veered left. He went aggressive to the basket for a putt of around 23 feet. The disc hit the bottom of the pin, then rolled down the hill and into the pond for out-of-bounds penalty. Spradlin settled for a five on the hole, and his lead evaporated completely when he threw for bogey on No. 7.
At the midway point, Noah Spradlin was in the lead with a 29, followed by Shania Farris (30), Shreve and Raynor (31 each), Warder and Kevin Spradlin (32 each) and Tim Farris (33).
Shreve threw three of his five birdies on the back nine to secure the win.
The club has two more rounds remaining in March. There is a casual round on Sunday at Mile Lane Disc Golf in Mount Savage. Tee time is 2 p.m. Play is free and open to the public.
The club returns to The Glades on Tuesday, March 29 for the last glow round of the month. Tee time is 7:30 p.m.
Discussion