Mallery’s SMTL win could foreshadow SFL season victory

Top 2 SFL Men’s Division leaders will go toe-to-toe on Aug. 22 at 5:30 p.m.

* Shreve holds 1-point lead over Mallery in SFL
* Mile Lane Disc Golf Course on Facebook

For AlleganyPlayground.com

MOUNT SAVAGE — Stroke for stroke, it’s difficult to tell who is the better disc golf player: Scott Mallery or Bill Shreve.

The two athletes happen to go back-and-forth regardless of course, weather, layout, etc. One player simply can’t put the other in their rearview mirror once and for all.

And that’s great for local disc golf.

AlleganyPlayground photo
Bill Shreve holds a one-point lead over Scott Mallery in the Summer Flex League Men’s Division standings. But the sixth and final week is at Mile Lane Disc Golf Course — where Mallery, on Saturday, beat him by seven strokes.

On Saturday, Scott Mallery earned first place with a dominant round in Week 6 of Saturday Morning Tag League competition at Mile Lane Disc Golf Course in Mount Savage. Mallery, 54, of Mount Savage, led the seven-player field with a 14 under par 61. His son, Colby Mallery, 18, tied for second with B.J. Lewis, of Frostburg, each with a 65. Sam Wolodkin, 20, of Frostburg, was one stroke behind (66) in fourth place, while Shreve, 46, of Cumberland, settled for fifth (68).

Kevin Spradlin, 43, of Frostburg, was sixth with a personal best of 72 — five strokes better than his result in Week 5 — while 12-year-old Josiah Spradlin finished with an 87 in his first attempt at the 24-hole “tournament-style” layout throwing from the 12 short tees and then the 12 long tees. Josiah Spradlin could have chosen to play all 24 holes from the short tees as a player under the age of 17, but his round on Saturday was in preparation for the 2nd annual Summer Fling Doubles Tournament, hosted at Mile Lane Disc Golf Course, on Aug. 20.

But the story wasn’t necessarily who won Saturday. It was who might be better prepared for the doubles tournament the following weekend. It also could be an indication of who is ready for the Week 6 showdown to wrap up the inaugural Summer Flex League. On the line? A modest cash prize probably not worth half a tank of gas.

Heading into the final SFL weekend of Aug. 19-22, Shreve holds a one-point edge over Mallery in the Men’s Division, 42-41. In weeks 2 and 4 at Mile Lane, the two have split. In Week 2, Shreve tied for fifth with a 58 on the 18-hole layout, including a score of 38 through 12 from the long tees. Mallery was ninth with a 61 (39 through 12).

In week 4, again on the 18-hole layout, Mallery took second that week with a 55 (36 through 12) while Shreve tied for fifth (39 through 12).

AlleganyPlayground photo
Scott Mallery on the tee at Central in Cumberland. On Aug. 22, he’ll be back on his home course to go for the SFL Men’s Division championship.

In the SFL’s sixth and final week, though, play is on the 24-hole tournament layout — 12 short, 12 short, as was the case on Saturday in which Mallery dominated. The two talked on Saturday morning and discussed playing a round together on Monday, Aug. 22, starting at about 5:30 p.m. It’ll be the first time the two played on the same card during an SFL round.

Assuming both Shreve and Mallery complete a full round, the points each player receives for participation and consecutive-weeks-played would be a wash; to date, both Shreve and Mallery have played in all five weeks. It would come down, then, to whether or not one or both players finish in the top five in the weekly standings. With up to five points on the line — five points for first, four for second, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth — Mallery has to beat Shreve by at least two places (within the top five) for secure the division win. Meanwhile, Shreve merely has to finish tied with Mallery.

Saturday Morning Tag League competition, meanwhile, resumes on Aug. 27 with a 10 a.m. tee time.