See you near Atlantic City?

The action continues this weekend at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, held on the Bay Course at Seaview, in Galloway Township on U.S. Route 9 west of Atlantic City, N.J.

I will cover the event as I have for many years. It is usually the closest professional golf viewing opportunity for the Cape Region.

Watching these golfers perform from a few yards away can be a great golf lesson for amateurs.

Going there from here is a short Cape May-Lewes Ferry ride and then a quick run up the Garden State Parkway. Tickets go for as low as $20 per day and can be bought at ShopriteLPGAClassic.com.

Notes from the state golf championship

Harrod reaction - Cape Henlopen High School golf coach Robert Harrod gave me his reaction to the Vikings’ ninth-place finish at the 2023 DIAA State Championship: “It was a great season, and the state tournament was the cherry on top. It was great that we have five returning players who got that experience and great that [graduating senior] Ethan [Mercer] finished his Cape career with two great rounds. I am extremely proud of this team, and really excited that all but one of the state team is coming back next year.”

Resourceful golfer - Dominic Piperno of Sussex Academy finished T-26 in the state tournament and didn’t use his putter for the last two holes. He couldn’t, as he somehow broke it while doing back stretches after the 16th hole.

On the 17th green, he tried using his seven-iron and quickly four-putted. On the 18th green, Piperno tried using his 22-degree hybrid and only two-putted. “I recommend the hybrid,” Piperno said. “I played great with my irons today; I just couldn’t putt with them.”

Lucky stripe - During the tournament, I served as a spotter along the first fairway. Drives to the right could go into a nasty place or out of bounds. Nearby sat two fairway bunkers, separated by a narrow grass strip. Of the 155 tee shots I watched over two days, at least a half-dozen balls landed on that strip and stayed there, waiting for the next shot.

I mentioned this fact to a nearby spectator as yet another ball landed in this tiny space. He said quickly, “I’ll tell you one thing. None of those golfers were aiming for it.”

DQ is not always about ice cream - High school golf dual or tri matches in Delaware use a local rule that provides an option for handling out of bounds shots in addition to the normal, time-consuming stroke-and-distance penalty. Golfers can drop a ball just inside the fairway perpendicular to where the ball went OB and play from there with a two-stroke penalty.

However, that rule was not available during the DIAA championships. That led to an unfortunate disqualification. During the first round, a young golfer took relief from an OB shot in reliance on this rule. Apparently, no one in his group noticed the problem or tried to stop him. Using this local rule when it was not in effect required his disqualification after the round.

Ouch.

A correction - My June 2 column mistakenly told readers Meredith Finger plays for Wilmington Friends School. She plays for Archmere Academy.

Whoops.

The Group of 96 - This was the third year the DIAA used a handicap system to create the field of the top 96 scholastic golfers for the state tournament. Laura Heien is the director of championship administration for the Golf Association of Philadelphia, which ran the event. She said, “I think in general it works. Obviously, the math is there, and using a very data-based system, the scores speak for themselves. Allowing players to drop a couple bad rounds certainly helps to adjust that average, but in general I think we’re getting the top players across the state to Baywood here for two days.”

All-conference team

The Henlopen Conference recently announced its all-conference awards in golf. 

Cape’s Kingston Davis and Ethan Mercer were named to the second team, with Jacob Gabbard receiving honorable mention. 

Sussex Academy’s Dominic Piperno and Austin Dostal also made the second team, with McKenna Danahy receiving honorable mention.

Houska makes first ace

Congratulations to Tom Houska of Lewes for his first hole in one, made May 31 at the ninth hole at The Rookery. He used a seven-iron from the red tees and said he put it “way back in my stance.”

The avid golfer is known by many Cape Region folks for his mad keyboard skills for The Funsters musical group. He can also be seen locally tickling the ivories for Earth Jam.

Local club competition results

The Kings Creek CC Ladies 9-Hole group played a shamble June 6, won by Sara Cavendish, Marie Murray, Carol Loewen and Stephanie Roash.

Lynn Sweeney, Melissa Soper, Beth Cohen and Holly Clark finished second. Sandra Neverett, Yona Zucker, Barbara Morales and Deborah Hinderer took third.

The Kings Creek CC Ladies 18-Hole group played a shamble June 1.

Erin Reid, Nathalie McGregor, Darci Whitehead and Lesley Corydon won first place. Diane Herndon, Kay Woollen, Deb Grant and Polly Donaldson took second. Diane Shawver, Jeannine Doane, Robbie Monkman and Mary Kupfer finished third.