2023 Greatest — All scores, main story

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NEEL MADHAVAN
Sports reporter
moc.y1714928583adotb1714928583irt@n1714928583avahd1714928583amn1714928583

POLAND — Mother Nature attempted to impose her will on this year’s Greatest Golfer tournament.

But despite rain and storms that interrupted the first two days of play, the spirit of competition won out in the 14th year of the annual Mahoning Valley celebration of golf and community.

“Mother Nature decided to join Greatest and it really tested us,” organizer Todd Franko said. “The amount of golfers we take on is always a test and other things always bump in, so it was definitely a test on Saturday, as well as Friday a little bit.

“But I think the perseverance of the community has shown for decades. I think when you see an event like this happen, the way it finished today, it just shows that we want to do things special for ourselves and shine when we do and today we shined.”

Despite trailing by three shots entering Sunday’s final round at The Lake Club, Youngstown State product Brandon Pluchinsky showed why he’s definitely become the king of Greatest Golfer. The North Lima native closed out the tournament with a 4-under 66 to come from behind and claim his fifth straight Greatest Golfer crown and seventh overall in the Men’s Open division.

“I think it’s one of the best tournaments of the year that I look forward to playing,” Pluchinsky said. “There’s no better place than Youngstown to play golf. You don’t really realize it. We’re just in Ohio and nobody thinks anything of Youngstown, but we have some of the best golfers in and around Ohio. So it’s awesome to come out here and play every year. I look forward to it and I think that’s why guys come out and look forward to it, because it’s just fun to be out here.”

With three holes to play on Sunday, YSU junior Jake Sylak had maintained his lead and led Pluchinsky and Jonah Karzmer by three shots. Pluchinsky was in the second-to-last group, while Sylak and Karzmer were in the final group.

Sylak and Pluchinsky went back-and-forth for most of the back-nine, but Pluchinsky finished birdie-par-birdie and was the clubhouse leader, putting the pressure on Sylak heading to the par-3 ninth hole, which was playing as the 18th hole.

“I was going bogey-birdie for about eight holes in a row, which was pretty frustrating,” Pluchinsky said. “Jake was telling me he kept looking at the scores and saw it bouncing back-and-forth. I was like, trust me, I wasn’t trying to make it bounce. But I came in and birdied four of the last five.”

Pluchinsky drilled his tee shot on the par-3 to about six feet from the cup, and then capped off his round by making the ensuing birdie putt, which drew an animated fist pump from the seven-time Greatest Golfer champion.

“(On the last), I thought I stuck it pretty close, but nobody cheered up (near the green), so I was nervous it went in the water,” Pluchinsky said. “We got up there and it was like six feet. It wasn’t an easy putt, so it kind of swung in there and ended up making it. I really wanted to make that one.”

On the same hole a few minutes later, Sylak stuck his tee shot to the near fringe and ended up three-putting for bogey, which all but handed Pluchinsky the trophy.

Kiersten Klekner-Alt also pulled out a repeat performance in the Ladies Open division, successfully defending her title from last year.

“Todd and his staff do a great job and I’m obviously really happy that the dates worked out and I could play again this year,” Klekner-Alt said. “I was a little surprised to make the cut. I was really expecting some low scores yesterday at Trumbull (Country Club). But that’s kind of how golf goes sometimes, and I’m glad I could just come out and play my home course (Sunday) and put up a good number.”

Heading into the final round, Klekner-Alt led Katie Rogner by a single shot and through the front-nine on Sunday, maintained a slim advantage over Rogner and Taylor Ross.

But on the back-nine, Klekner-Alt pulled away, shooting a final round 73 to defeat second-place Ross by seven shots.

“(On Saturday), I just went out and took it one stroke at a time,” Klekner-Alt said. “I knew I was four down going in (after Friday), but not being in that group with (first-round leader) Matilyn (Zines), I didn’t know how her day was going. So if anything, it just helped me focus on my own game.

“Then (Sunday) playing with Katie and Taylor, both of them had some really good golf shots, but not a lot of putts were dropping for all of us in the group. But we had a good time, and I just feel fortunate that we were paired up.”

2023 Champions (numbers indicate handicap range)

Men’s Open division: Brandon Pluchinsky
Ladies Open division: Kiersten Klekner-Alt
Seniors Open division: Richard Marlowe
Men’s 3-6 division: Victor Daprile II
Men’s 7-9 division: Ryan Dogan
Men’s 10-12 division: Joshua Marsh
Men’s 16-19 division: Matt Giovanini
Men’s 20+ division: Frank Lellio
Seniors 3-6 division: Pat Alcorn
Seniors 7-9 division: Rocco Gennaro
Seniors 10-12 division: Joe Bellino
Seniors 13+ division: Russell Ensley

ALL EVENT SCORES
(Note: Saturday scores were affected by significant rainfall. Many divisions completed between 7-15 holes. It shows in that day’s score as well as the 3-day total.)

Ladies Open
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Kiersten Klekner-Alt	76	77	73	226
Taylor Ross	76	79	78	233
Katie Rogner	76	78	84	238

MISSED CUT
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Matilyn Zines	72	85	–	157
Kate Brown	83	82	–	165
Carmel Cerimele	80	87	–	167

Mens Open
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Brandon Pluchinsky	71	33	66	170
Jake Sylak	68	33	70	171
Jonah Karzmer	66	37	69	172
Griffin Todd	72	35	69	176
Josh Zarlenga	70	34	75	179
Blake Prince	71	34	74	179
Cole Christman	68	37	77	182
Dylan Todd	75	33	74	182
Nick Pidgeon	70	35	79	184
Robert Schustrich	70	37	79	186
Joseph Cilone	77	30	79	186
Corey Hines	70	36	81	187

MISSED CUT
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Brian Newell	73	36	–	109
Steven Sveda	74	35	–	109
Joshua Weiner	72	38	–	110
Michael Porter (Av)	73	37	–	110
Garrett Frank	73	38	–	111
Scott Porter	74	37	–	111
Connor Daggett	73	39	–	112
Jake Detec	73	39	–	112
Hunter Lowder	73	39	–	112
Brett Brown	77	35	–	112
Ryan Sam	74	39	–	113
Carter Begue	74	39	–	113
Conner Stevens	75	38	–	113
Chaz Ekoniak	76	38	–	114
Jake Ryan	77	37	–	114
Michael Porter (Tippe)	76	39	–	115
Jeff Mihalick	77	38	–	115
Bobby Jonda	78	37	–	115
Shawn Wire	79	37	–	116
Dean Austalosh	78	39	–	117
Bryan J. Horne	79	38	–	117
Evan Cravener	79	38	–	117
Gavin Batdorff	74	44	–	118
Nolan Snyder	82	36	–	118
Nate Garwood	76	43	–	119
Luke Eyster	79	40	–	119
Payton Snyder	82	37	–	119
Josh Hettrick	81	42	–	123
Brian Beebe	73	–	–	73
Paul Litrenta	73	–	–	73
Andrew Milan	83	–	–	83

Mens 3-6
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
VIctor Daprile II	73	28	77	178
Alex Rapp	74	31	73	178
Rob Venrose	75	28	76	179
Kyle Firm	76	29	76	181
Matt Christian	75	31	77	183
Dave Kilgore	74	31	81	186
James Nolen	76	29	81	186
Rebell Strollo	72	35	80	187
Zachariah Gehm	74	28	85	187
Jay Pappas	74	31	82	187
Eric Lydic	76	30	82	188
Chad Grey	75	32	84	191

MISSED CUT
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Josh Dankovich	74	34	–	108
Jordan Rogers	75	33	–	108
Justin Sympson	76	32	–	108
Joseph Purser	79	29	–	108
Hunter Todd	77	32	–	109
Jonathan Sliwinski	78	31	–	109
Daniel Martin	80	29	–	109
Paul J Harris	76	34	–	110
Charles Loomis	76	34	–	110
Ethan Sicafuse	78	32	–	110
Nathan Nesselrotte	78	32	–	110
Bradley Dofka	81	29	–	110
Joseph Cubellis	73	38	–	111
Jeff Covelli	77	34	–	111
Vinny Gala	79	32	–	111
Joe Bordonaro	79	32	–	111
David Dees	80	31	–	111
Matthew May	78	34	–	112
Brandon Schmitt	76	37	–	113
Zachary Howard	81	32	–	113
Michael Ray	81	32	–	113
Chad Dager	78	36	–	114
William R Papp Jr.	83	31	–	114
Ryder Kreps	80	35	–	115
Ron Hunter	80	35	–	115
Andrew Murphy	81	34	–	115
Tim Eddinger	82	33	–	115
Anthony Vantilburg	77	39	–	116
Dominic Giudici	81	35	–	116
George Rohan III	81	35	–	116
Thomas Dumbauld	84	32	–	116
Rory Vandenberg	79	38	–	117
Lorenzo Sabella	81	37	–	118
Randy Braham	83	35	–	118
Bill Braham	82	39	–	121
Dan Bertolini	84	37	–	121
Chris Eddinger	88	35	–	123
Ray Lee	76	–	–	76
Tony Perry	79	–	–	79

Mens 7-9
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Ryan Dogan	74	75	76	225
AJ Myers	72	78	80	230
Logan Beechy	75	73	82	230
Joe Mosca	73	81	83	237
Paul Keller	72	85	82	239
Billy Loomis	78	82	79	239
Jason Nagy	82	76	82	240
Adam Clayton	78	82	82	242
Robert Odvar Jr.	77	80	86	243
Craig Gabel	80	80	83	243
Shane Heasley	78	81	85	244
Michael Durina	78	81	88	247

MISSED CUT
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Mike Moore	79	82	–	161
John Hazy	82	80	–	162
Jamie Palumbo	80	83	–	163
Jim Gaca	81	82	–	163
Shane Kibler	83	80	–	163
Nick Setting	83	80	–	163
Marcus Rivera	81	83	–	164
John Sekora	82	82	–	164
Casey Croysdale	80	85	–	165
African Grant	87	79	–	166
Zac O’Brien	80	87	–	167
Ted melewski	81	86	–	167
Matthew Griggs	82	85	–	167
Brant Harbert	83	84	–	167
Matt Dobos	88	80	–	168
Robert Fronius	80	90	–	170
Nick Craciun	85	86	–	171
Bill Wittman	86	86	–	172
Bobby Hrusovsky	85	88	–	173
Cody Vocature	83	91	–	174
Andrew Chorba	84	90	–	174
Andrew Robbins	86	89	–	175
Nick Johnson	86	89	–	175
Garrett Knight	86	90	–	176

Mens 10-12
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Joshua Marsh	77	48	82	207
Hank Morris	79	55	77	211
Bradley Koch	76	54	82	212
Michael Guerrieri	78	55	83	216
Troy Bury	78	56	82	216
Carmine Petrillo	80	56	81	217
John Pluchinsky	82	54	81	217
Michael Engle	75	61	82	218
Tyler Stanley	80	54	85	219
Joseph John Bokros	78	59	85	222
Stephen Sofocleus	81	55	86	222
Dominic Fabiilli	82	54	86	222
Zach Jacobson	78	57	88	223
Zachary Noll	85	51	87	223
Brandon Oaks	81	54	91	226

MISSED CUT
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Patrick Modelski	85	53	–	138
Chris Childers	80	59	–	139
Bob Haseley	80	59	–	139
Jeff Mast	81	58	–	139
Mason Morell	82	57	–	139
Timothy Petzak	84	55	–	139
Ray Polombi	78	62	–	140
Patrick Sanders	80	60	–	140
Ian Hileman	83	57	–	140
Nelson Toles	85	55	–	140
Mike Melewski	83	58	–	141
Michael Keller	84	57	–	141
Rocky Page	85	56	–	141
Patrick Faloon	78	64	–	142
Barry Daggett	82	60	–	142
Kyle Koziel	82	60	–	142
Brian Forman	82	61	–	143
Andrew Batchelor	87	56	–	143
Adam Hill	81	63	–	144
Jason Rivello	83	61	–	144
Robert Grey	84	60	–	144
John Poultney	84	60	–	144
Brian Jackson	85	59	–	144
Thomas Daley	84	61	–	145
Nick Vanoverbeke	84	61	–	145
Jason Schafer	86	59	–	145
Joseph Alfano Sr.	82	64	–	146
Tony Amendola	86	60	–	146
Chuck Adya	86	62	–	148
Ed Hernan	90	58	–	148
Jonathan Welsh	85	64	–	149
Michael Vargo Jr.	90	59	–	149
Bryan Ziak	90	61	–	151
Kyle Frazier	83	69	–	152
Derek Turocy	91	61	–	152
Jacob Jones	97	57	–	154
Josh Markota	98	58	–	156
Kevin Hynes	90	68	–	158
Eric Swansiger	93	65	–	158
Kevin Cameron	94	64	–	158

Mens 13-15
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Jay Moore	78	85	80	243
Jeff Meyers	80	79	87	246
Ben Carkido	80	83	85	248
Robert Parsons	82	78	90	250
Kevin Holden	87	78	86	251
Derrick Beachum	86	77	89	252
Glenn Perdue	85	78	91	254
Nick Stanton	85	82	88	255
Felepa Lowery	80	79	99	258

MISSED CUT
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Phil Eubank	82	85	–	167
Aaron Meyers	88	80	–	168
Brad Smith	83	86	–	169
Ron Rogers	82	88	–	170
Dom Velasquez	87	83	–	170
John Rudolph	87	83	–	170
William Heid	85	86	–	171
Mark Fonner	88	84	–	172
Tom Klim	88	85	–	173
Johnny Cannell	90	84	–	174
Kevin Soltis	87	88	–	175
Merrill G Whippo	88	87	–	175
Wayne Evans	87	89	–	176
Kirk Manofsky	94	82	–	176
Tim Kane	90	87	–	177
Deon Miller	92	85	–	177
Ryan Miller	93	84	–	177
John D’Andrea	94	85	–	179
Jerry Lawman	92	89	–	181
David Kozy	93	88	–	181
Eric Leeworthy	95	86	–	181
Mark Isaacson	93	90	–	183
Eric Grunenwald	97	86	–	183
Josh Galloway	98	87	–	185
Thomas M. Cannell	94	92	–	186
Tom Skook	96	99	–	195
Mark Dalvin	106	90	–	196
Lucian Clewell	98	–	–	98

Mens 16-19
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Matt Giovanini	77	50	86	213
Matt Bostian	90	49	85	224
Michael Yourstowsky	89	51	93	233
Steve Puhl	87	54	93	234
Daniel Novello	90	51	93	234
Joe Fanto	90	48	98	236

MISSED CUT
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Ed Kennedy	91	51	–	142
Donald DiClaudio	90	53	–	143
Curtis Tanner	92	51	–	143
David Magura Jr.	93	53	–	146
Paul Harris	90	57	–	147
Michael Bleggi	94	53	–	147
Donald Newell Jr.	97	50	–	147
Dale H Standley Jr.	98	49	–	147
John Elias	98	50	–	148
Jason Barnot	97	52	–	149
David Weems	99	55	–	154
Tom Scott	102	52	–	154
Wyatt Larimer	105	51	–	156
David Trevena	92	92	–	184

Mens 20-25
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Frank Lellio	88	27	90	205
James T Gorman	88	29	98	215
John Sheehan	93	28	99	220

MISSED CUT
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Garrett McIntyre	91	32	–	123
Lee Williams II	98	32	–	130
Dan Bradaick	99	31	–	130
Dan Monico	97	35	–	132
Nicholas Lamb	104	30	–	134
Jeff Cole	103	33	–	136
Brian Houser	107	30	–	137
Zack Savchuk	109	31	–	140
Ryan O’Donnell	111	32	–	143
Frank Davidson	101	–	–	101
Stacey Collins	130	–	–	130

Seniors Open
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Richard Marlowe	71	69	69	209
JP Jones	75	71	70	216
Ed Seeco	66	75	77	218
Jim Cogar	73	74	71	218
Greg Tisone	72	75	74	221
Fred Gintert	74	73	79	226

MISSED CUT
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
George Allen	71	77	–	148
Glenn Milton	71	77	–	148
Mark Thomas	77	72	–	149
Robert Gintert	74	76	–	150
Tim Heavner	80	76	–	156
Perry Pogany	80	88	–	168

Seniors 3-6
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Patrick Alcorn	75	78	79	232
Dave Howard	73	78	82	233
Mike Pezzano	76	80	77	233

MISSED CUT
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Robert Leonard	73	83	–	156
Dennis G Gaume	76	83	–	159
David Cooper	78	82	–	160
Joseph Bettura	81	79	–	160
Bruce Berry	82	79	–	161
Gary Trybus	77	87	–	164

Seniors 7-9
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Rocco Gennaro	73	51	75	199
Eugene Biser	73	53	77	203
Tim Porter	71	53	80	204
Ray Calcagni Jr.	75	55	78	208
Jim Carpenter	75	54	80	209
Ray Grow	73	50	90	213

MISSED CUT
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Brad McDevitt	73	57	–	130
Donald Ferko Jr.	78	54	–	132
Sam Carelly	78	54	–	132
Rich Rosen	74	59	–	133
Patrick Cannon	78	55	–	133
Ed Ruper	81	52	–	133
Dave Tabak	82	53	–	135
Mike Seiser	83	52	–	135
Jim Rosen	80	56	–	136
Paul Parteleno	81	55	–	136
Buck Turnbull	79	58	–	137
James V Zarlenga	80	63	–	143
Pat Pico	82	61	–	143
Skip Watt	80	–	–	80
Mark Munger	81	–	–	81
Robert William Cenci Sr.	84	–	–	84

Seniors 10-12
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Joe Bellino	83	76	85	244
Ron Snyder	82	81	82	245
Kurt Beler	83	80	90	253

MISSED CUT
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Paul Marovich	85	80	–	165
Robert E Vanes	85	81	–	166
Richard W Gent	88	81	–	169
William Taneri	90	85	–	175
John Beard	91	84	–	175
Eugene Hazy	90	86	–	176
Ray Briya	90	87	–	177
Fred Lee	92	86	–	178
Robert Odvar Sr.	96	82	–	178

Seniors 13+
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Russell Ensley	88	30	81	199
Ray Duffett	83	36	82	201
John Dunch	84	30	90	204
Rance Garrett	85	29	90	204
Ed Nappi	88	31	85	204
Robert Chenet	90	29	86	205

MISSED CUT
Name	Fri	Sat	Sunday	3-Day Total
Dane Stilgenbauer	90	29	–	119
Leo OMalley	90	31	–	121
Daniel Phillips	89	34	–	123
Lawrence Schromofsky	91	32	–	123
Daral Brett	87	37	–	124
Leonard Schneider	94	32	–	126
Steve Sofocleous	95	32	–	127
Joe Canann Jr.	94	34	–	128
Ron Merrell	94	34	–	128
Leland Musguire	98	30	–	128
Paul Buzas	95	36	–	131
Jeffrey Rogner	98	33	–	131

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NEEL MADHAVAN Sports reporter moc.y1714928583adotb1714928583irt@n1714928583avahd1714928583amn1714928583

NEEL MADHAVAN
Sports reporter
moc.y1714928583adotb1714928583irt@n1714928583avahd1714928583amn1714928583