The conclusion of the 2018 McCarthy, Wyoming Valley Country Club’s premier golf tournament, was eerily similar to the finals of the previous year’s event.
With darkness fast approaching on a gray overcast Sunday and some rain falling, club member Art (Artie) Brunn, Jr., and partner Mike Lynch of the Country Club of Scranton, won the 2018 McCarthy crown on the second playoff hole of the finals.
Brunn Jr., one of the top amateur golfers in Northeastern Pennsylvania and who was teaming with Lynch for the initial time in the McCarthy, closed out Wyoming Valley Country Club (WVCC) members Drew Mamary and Eric Plisko on the second playoff hole.
Brunn Jr. hit a 4-iron on the par-5 first hole onto the green and two-putted from some 17 feet for a birdie four for the victory.
Plisko, the 31-year-old former topnotch Hanover Area and Temple University athlete, had a chance to continue on the playoff but his putt within 10 feet just missed after second shot came up short in the rough near the front bunker.
In the finals of the 2017 McCarthy,guest Eric Williams, another of the area’s finest golfers, struck a 4-iron onto the par-5 first green and two putted for the victory with almost total darkness on a rainy cloud-covered day.His winning partner was member Scott Henry.
Both the 2017-18 matches featured some great shot-making and high drama.
The 2018 McCarthy finals saw Brunn Jr. get his team off to a one-hole lead when his downhill 30-foot birdie putt found the bottom of the cup on No. 1. Plisko’s second on the opening hole of regulation went deep into the right woods near the green but he chipped out to the fringe and his fourth hit the cup but failed to drop.
Plisko saved par on the second hole of regulation after his short downhill chip for birdie rolled six-feet by the hole. Brunn Jr. and Lynch both hit the green on their second shots from the fairway and two-putted for pars.
It was on the par-4 third hole that Plisko and Lynch both hit great shots from the fairway with the latter sinking his putt from three feet while Plisko knocked in an eight-foot putt.
The match drew even on the drivable par-4 fourth hole when Plisko’s first shot landed just 15 to 20 yards short of golf architect A.J. Tilinghast’s fast and undulating greens. Former Temple golfer, who is also now among the elite amateur golfers in Northeastern Pennsylvania, chipped to within six feet of the cup and holed it for birdie three to even the match. Here, Brunn Jr. missed his bird from about 12-feet out.
On the par-3 fifth hole both Lynch and Plisko hit their tee shots to some seven feet from the hole but on different angles. Both players had successful putts from some five feet to square the hole.
The par-4 sixth hole saw both Lynch, Brunn Jr. and Plisko carding birdie 3s. Lynch just missed an eagle when his chip shot came up a foot short.
It was on the steep downhill par-3 seventh hole that Mamary and Plisko took their first lead of the match when Plisko’s tee shot landed just five-feet, five inches from the pin that was located back right of the green. He made the putt to go one up. Mamary also hit the green but had a lengthy birdie putt.
Both teams produced par-4s on the uphill eighth hole before faltering on the dogleg ninth. It was here that Plisko was the only one to hit the sloping green in two but three-putted for a bogey five. Brunn Jr. and Lynch faltered on the hole and made 5s.
The uphill par-4 10th hole saw Mamary and Plisko go two up in the match when Plisko’s short chip landed a foot from the hole for a gimme bird. Lynch and Brunn Jr. had lengthy and tricky birdie putts that failed to go in.
Lynch got his team back to only one down on the long par-5 11th hole when his second shot rolled onto the green and two-putted for a bird.
Lead for Mamary and Plisko went back to two holes on the par-5 12th hole when the latter’s second shot landed short of the green. His chip shot stopped four feet from the hole and he made the putt.
Prior to Plisko’s putt on the 12th hole Brunn Jr. just missed his 4 from some five feet.
Both Brunn Jr. and Plisko found the 13th green on their tee shots with Plisko’s leaving him a long putt for a bird on the tricky undulating green. He made his four-foot putt for a par while Brunn Jr. thrilled the large crowd in the McCarthy stands and alongside the clubhouse when his first shot almost got him a hole-in-one. He two-putted for a par to win the hole and go one down.
The two teams finished with par-4s on the 14th hole before Plisko and Brunn Jr. hit the green on the long par-3 15th hole. Mamary’s first shot just trickled over the green, leaving him a tough downhill chip.
Unorthodox, Mamary’s one-handed chip almost found the bottom of the cup for a bird. After Brunn Jr. missed his 15-foot bird Plisko calmly sank a 10-footer for a bird to go two-up once again with just three holes to play.
This is when Brunn Jr. dug deeper and went on to win the 16th and 17th holes to square the match with birds. He said his dad’s voice kept ringing in his ears to never give up despite the tough road ahead. His late father, Art Brunn Sr., captured many a golf championship and was one of the all-time great amateur golfers in the region.
On the 16th hole all four golfers were on the green with the second shots. They faced long tricky putts when Brunn Jr. canned his 25-footer for a three to win the hole and go one down.
The long par-4 17th hole saw Brunn Jr. smash a long drive to the fairway, where he proceeded to hit his second shot some three feet from the hole. The bird was conceded when Mamary and Plisko failed to make pars.
Lynch could have won the McCarthy title on the par-4 18th hole but mised his bird from some 10 feet uphill and that led to the first extra hole, the par-3 13th.
Mamary and Plisko both hit the green on that first hole of the sudden death playoff but missed their first putts from long range. Brunn Jr. had to make a clutch bunker shot and four-foot putt to continue the match before he ended it on the second hole of the playoff.
Brunn Jr. is the boys golf coach at Holy Redeemer High School in Wilkes-Barre and owners of a State championship golf title. He and Lynch, defending club champ at the Country Club of Scranton and Lehigh University graduate, have teamed to win several of the premier golf championships at the Country Club of Scranton.
Ironically, Brunn Jr. defeated Mamary and Plisko for the McCarthy crown in 2016 when his partner was club member Rick Berry. Berry, who is battling cancer, was on hand Sunday afternoon to serve as an unofficial referee for the match.
Lynch said John McCarthy of McCarthy Automotive and Tires, tourney sponsors, is a friend of his.
He stated that the McCarthy family are great people and that it was a privilege to win the championship.
College and high school standout basketball official and club member John Leighton and partner and guest Jack Nicholson, captured the 2018 McCarthy shootout over the other 14 flight winners.
Despite all of the rain prior to the tournament, golf course superintendent Chris Snopkowski and his greens crew did a magnificent job in the manicuring of the beautiful 18-hole Wyoming Valley Country Club golf course, founded in 1896.
Kudos go out to head golf professional Pete Korba and his staffers and to general manager Robert Gebhardt and his staff for their hard work in making the 2018 McCarthy a success.
Joe Butcher is president of the club while tourney chairman was Atty. Bob Bull.
By John Zimich
