Top 3 in each division separated by only 3 strokes
47 players combined for 212 birdies
* Photos by Carolina | Disc Culture (very large files)
* Allegany County Disc Golf Club on Facebook
* Scroll down for complete results for each division
HAGERSTOWN — The goal of Smithsburg-based retailer Disc Culture and the Allegany County Disc Golf Club for teaming up to offer an MVP Space Race tournament on Sunday at Ditto Farms Disc Golf Course in Hagerstown had two parts.
First, both entities wanted to provide area players an affordable way to obtain two valued glow discs in the Envy and Paradox. Second, the right to take home additional discs was to be determined nowhere else but the disc golf course.
Photo by Carolina | Disc Culture
From left to right: Division winners Nicholas Toms, Tom Ryan and Meghan Bishop.
On both elements, it was “mission accomplished.”
The top three players in each division were separated by only three strokes each as Nicholas Toms, Meghan Bishop and Tom Ryan earned division wins on a relatively warm by wildly windy day. Even among the trees, there was no respite from the gusts that would take a chip shot putt and move it several feet away from the pin.
Not for nothin’, but none of that seems to bother Toms at all.
Toms, 26, of Hagerstown, posted the best of five players with bogey-free rounds and tallied a field-high 12 birdies en route to a 12 under par 43 on the short tee pads to red baskets layout. Toms and his card mates began the 18-hole round on No. 8. He threw for birdie on his first nine baskets and 11 of his first 12.
How the 42 male competitors was determined on player performance over the front nine. The dividing line turned out to be one under par (27). Toms was under the cut by three strokes at the midway point — but he wasn’t in first. Instead, Toms was in a five-way tie with Alexander Bishop, Paul Armentano, Brandon Estep and Caleb Kuch for second with 24 strokes. Todd Mazzie, 38, of New Market, had a three-stroke lead as he tore through the first nine baskets with a blistering seven under par 21.
Toms’ back nine was better than anyone else on the day, finishing with a 19 over the final nine baskets.
Jason Kuch, 33, of Chambersburg, Pa., finished second with a 45. Hagerstown residents Bishop, 32, and Jonny DeOliveira, 27, of Hagerstown, tied in regulation as each posted a 46. Bishop, however, won the final spot on the podium in a two-hole playoff.
DeOliveira took fourth while Armentano, 51, of Middletown, and Mazzie tied for fifth with a 47.
Toms, Kuch, Bishop, DeOliveira and Armentano were the only five players in the 47-player field to post bogey-free rounds.
Barak Martin, 33, of Waynesboro, Pa., and Kiichi Ash, 27, of Rockville, tie dfor seventh (49) as both players posted negative splits — that is, a lower score on the back nine than their front nine performance.
Estep, 18, of Shippensburg, Pa., tied with Aaron Zelkowitz, 43, of Elkridge, for ninth. The two players rounded out the top 10 players in the division.
Women’s Division
Well that was close.
Meghan Bishop countered two bogeys on the back nine with three birdies to secure a one-stroke lead over Chelsea Thompson.
Bishop, 32, of Hagerstown, carded an even par 55 on the day while Thompson, 38, of New Market, finished with a 56. Hannah Allen, 27, of Hagerstown, placed third with a 58.
Heidi Martin, 32, of Waynesboro, earned a fourth-place finish with a 62 while Crystal Tippett, 29, of Hagerstown, took fifth with a 70.
Bishop was the only player in the division to post negative splits, as she threw three strokes better over the back nine (26) than the front nine (29). Thompson held a two-stroke lead over both Bishop and Allen at the midway point before Bishop caught fire.
Men’s Rec Division
Based on the statistics from his performance on the front nine, Tom Ryan was only one stroke away from being assigned to the Men’s Advanced Division on Sunday.
One could argue, however, that he was at a disadvantage. You see, the 37-year-old Frederick disc golfer started on No. 5 and his card was one of the last to finish the first nine baskets on the course.
By the time he finished up and his group submitted its official score card, the dividing line had been set.
Ryan escaped the Advanced Division by a single stroke by his first-half effort. His dominant second-half performance put him in control of his own destiny, which ended with him being perched at the top of the Men’s Rec Division standings with a five under par 50.
Ryan tallied a division-best eight birdies in the win, accentuated by the 22 strokes he needed to cover the back nine.
Doug Omps, 37, of Winchester, Va., and Daniel Cleaver, 38, of Eldersburg, finished in a tie for second as he carded a 53. Both players had left before the CTP competition ended, however. As no playoff disc golf was possible, the tiebreaker went to the scorecard. Both players threw for par on No. 18, but Omps birdied No. 17 while Cleaver again saved par. Thus, Omps won the tiebreaker and was awarded second place. Cleaver took third.
Dean Huott, 26, of Middletown, tied with Nathan Kuch, 42 of Philadelphia, Pa., for fourth place. Each player finished with a one under par 54. Gregory Benbow, 39, of Waynesboro, and Richard Smith, 50, of Hagerstown, were the last division players under or even par as each player finished with a 55.
Andy Mason, 51, of Hagerstown, earned an eighth-place finish with a 57 while Daniel Bradshaw, 29, of Chambersburg, Pa., and Tony Lemons, 46, of Hedgesville, W.Va., rounded out the top 10 with a 59 apiece.
CTP winners
Though Meghan Bishop didn’t have to travel very far from her Hagerstown home to the course, she made sure her trip was very much worthwhile.
Bishop won the overall CTP championship as her throw stopped only 3 feet, 10.5 inches from the pin.
Cole Burgess, 26, of Middletown, Pa., was second as his disc stopped 6 feet, 4.75 inches away from the basket. Greg Benbow, 39, of Waynesboro, took third as his disc was only 7 feet, 10.25 inches away.
The original plan was to award a CTP winner from each division, but event-day logistics prevented that from happening. As it turned out, the CTP prizes went to the Women’s Division winner and two Men’s Rec Division competitors.
Notes
* Between first and last place in each division, 17 strokes separated the Men’s Advanced, 16 in Men’s Rec and 15 in the Women’s Division.
* Forty-three of 47 players carded at least one birdie.
* Division winners won a glow Hex plus two Lab 2nd discs. Second-place finishers won two Lab 2nd discs and third-place finishers each received one Lab 2nd disc. In addition, the top three finishers in the CTP finishers received a Lab 2nd disc.
* Forty-eight players took home a total of 117 discs. At a registration cost of $30 per player (factoring in one comped entrant that received the two glow discs), that comes down to $12.05 per disc designated for player packs or awards.
* Forty-nine players registered for the event and 47 played, including 42 men and five women. They hailed from Maryland (30), Pennsylvania (16), Virginia (2) and West Virginia (1).
* The awards were presented within the published timeline. However, three players were not present to receive their awards. They will not be mailed. Players have a limited time to email alleganyplayground@gmail.com to arrange a mutually convenient time and place to facilitate the exchange. If the Allegany County Disc Golf Club does not receive an email from any of the three players within a reasonable period of time (as defined by the club), the awards will be forfeited to the club and Disc Culture.
* It was the Allegany County Disc Golf Club’s first foray into Washington County, but it’s unlikely to be the last. Stay tuned.
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