Twenty three players braved the challenging conditions at Aurora Country Club on Thursday evening for Week 2 of the Greater Cleveland Skins Game. A fierce wind storm made its way through Northeast Ohio throughout the day, adding to the difficulty of the soggy course.
And temperatures dropped as the evening went on, too.
But it was one short putt that dropped — and one that didn’t — that was the real story.
Dan Predovic of Berea added to his lead in his 2011 campaign to claim the Thompson Cup by making an eight-foot birdie skin on the tricky 112-yard par 3 third hole.
The third hole is the only par 3 on the front nine at Aurora CC, meaning the entire pin shot prize rode on that single 112-yard hole. Newcomer Xiao Di of Moreland Hills staked his tee shot to four feet from the pin, clipping Predovic’s chance at a double-dip. Di’s pin shot earned him a whopping $161!
But as luck would have it for Predovic, Di missed his putt.
Dave Sotka, the 2007 Greater Cleveland Skins champion, made his way onto the 2011 leaderboard with an eagle skin on the par 5 first hole. Sotka hit driver and 8 iron and canned the 15 foot downhill putt.
The final skin on the night went to Danny Marinelli of Euclid, who made his first-ever skin in the game with a birdie on the par-4 ninth hole, also with a 15 foot putt.
The three skins won on the evening paid $176.33 each.
Next Thursday, May 5th, the Greater Cleveland Skins Game travels to Punderson State Park Golf Course in Newbury for a 4:45 p.m. start.
2011 GREATER CLEVELAND SKINS GAME LEADERBOARD
| PLAYER | TOTAL | Skins | Skins $ | Pins | Pins $ |
| Dan Predovic | $424.73 | 3 | $424.73 | ||
| Dave Sotka | $176.33 | 1 | $176.33 | ||
| Danny Marinelli | $176.33 | 1 | $176.33 | ||
| Xiao Di | $161.00 | 1 | $161.00 | ||
| Steve Blackburn Jr | $124.20 | 1 | $124.20 | ||
| Joe Zabukovec | $124.20 | 1 | $124.20 | ||
| Bob Karshner | $124.20 | 1 | $124.20 | ||
| Erron Gomez | $94.50 | 1 | $94.50 | ||
| Allen Freeman | $94.50 | 1 | $94.50 |
