TodayDouglass gets win at Valley Green
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Article RatingJim Douglass captured the 2005 Central Pennsylvania Public Golfers' Association Individual Championship at Valley Green this past weekend. The New Cumberland resident put together rounds of 68 and 69 for a superlative 5-under 137 aggregate, finishing six shots clear of his nearest competitor.
Saturday thundershowers forced suspension of play until Sunday morning, and Douglass resumed his round on the 520-yard par-5 12th hole.
"I got a drop from casual water near the green and was able to get it up and down for a par," he said. "That seemed to spark me, and I birdied 13, 15 and 17."
Douglass was on the par-5 15th in two and two-putted for the easy four.
The field was shotgunned to start the second round, and Douglass' group teed off on 10. The good putting continued as he birdied numbers 12, 15 again, and 16 before a bogey at 17 interrupted the flow. But a strong pitch from behind the green on the 18th allowed him to finish with a par and a 2-under 34 for the first nine.
Douglass was even on the front nine (his back). The only hiccup was a bogey on the short par-4 second hole, in spite of driving his tee shot over the green. A bird on the par-3 No. 6 hole cancelled that, and the Sportsman's golfer cruised in from there.
"I was just trying not to do anything stupid," he said. "I don't like to play it safe, but sometimes it's what you have to do."
The victory was especially gratifying for Douglass. In last year's Central PA Public Golfer's Championship he shot 73-66-139, and then lost to Doug Hallman in a playoff. Hallman was not able to defend his title due to injury.
Douglass' playing competitors were George Troutman and Ed Knoll. Troutman's first-round 69 featured 14 of 18 greens in regulation.
"It was the best round I played all year," said the New Cumberland southpaw.
But two three-putt bogies and the rain delay served to derail his momentum. Troutman wound up in third with a 69-75—144 total.
Knoll couldn't duplicate his first-round 70, shooting a 77 to share fifth with Chandler Norman.
"I'm surprised at how well the greens held up with all the rain," Knoll said. "But I couldn't get a putt to drop. I just couldn't get the speed right."
Pushing his tee shot OB on No. 1 didn't help the cause, either.
The runner-up title went to Hummelstown's Kevin Haag, who combined a first-round 72 with an excruciatingly consistent 71 that included sixteen pars.
"The pins were in tough places, but they were fair," Haag said.
Finishing fourth (72-74—146) was Harrisburg's Phil D'Amato, who saw Valley Green for the first time. His experience was not unlike Haag's.
"I made a lot of pars and was able to recover from bad shots," said D'Amato, who calls Royal Oaks his home course. "Hit my driver well, but missed birdie putts."
Despite the inclement weather, the staff at Valley Green maintained playable conditions and manage the event to a successful conclusion. One player was pleased and expressed the desire for more such individual stroke play competition.
"I like this kind of tournament," said Scott Stoner. "I think we have too many better-ball tournaments. Golf was meant to be played as an individual sport."
