Brandon Pluchinsky authored a four-under par 66 for a four-stroke lead after opening round play of the 15th Annual Farmers National Bank Greatest Golfer Tournament at Mill Creek MetroParks and Squaw Creek Country Club.
A total of 360 golfers entered this year’s tournament, the most ever in tourney history.
Six players are three strokes off the pace in the Duncan Kitchen and Bath men’s open division at 69, including Chaz Ekoniak (Pennsylvania Western University, California), Garrett Frank (University of Akron), Blake Prince (Cleveland State), Michael Porter (YSU), Steven Sveda (YSU) and Jake Sylak (YSU).
United Local standout and YSU commit Matilyn Zines carded 70 for a one-stroke lead over Katie Rankin in the Roklyn DePerro Turner Law Ladies Open division, while Robert Gintert’s one-under par 69 is one shot better than J.P. Jones in the B.G. Trucking Seniors Open Division.
Pluchinsky, a former YSU standout and five-time defending champion who has won seven Greatest titles overall, had four birdies and the rest pars.
“I just wanted to go out and have some fun, play and compete with everyone, but remain focused on the task at hand,” Pluchinsky said. “It was fun to see some former and current Penguin golfers in the event. I look up to Garrett Frank and you know his name is going to be there at the top every year.
“The goal was to keep everything in front of me and roll in a few birdies, normal golf stuff. I birdied the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th holes, all in a row then had a nice recovery for par on No. 1, which would have been my 10th hole, so that kind of set the tone for me.”
Sylak pushed Pluchinsky to the brink last August, needing par to force a playoff, but bogeyed the final hole and had to settle for second-place.
Last year’s finish served as a 12-month motivator for this year’s event.
“Remembering last year’s finish, watching it unfold and just seeing what I was capable of doing has been my motivation for this year’s event,” Sylak stated. “I really didn’t get to play as much golf as I had hoped this summer because I was serving my internship. But I feel great.
“I’m getting my timing down and playing my best to date, so on Saturday, it’s stick to the plan and don’t overdo anything. I am swinging well, but would like to sink a few more putts. I will need to play with the confidence I played with today.”
Sylak finished with three birdies and two bogeys, the highlight of his round coming when he birdied No. 18 after his wedge from 140 yards away landed just under three feet from the cup.
Ekoniak is a ’23 Struthers graduate who lettered for the Vulcans this past season. His opening round included five birdies and a not-so-welcome four bogeys.
“My front nine holes were quiet, but I had four birdies and three bogeys on the back nine,” he added. “The key for me was my short game and putting. I was a little off on my tee shots, my putting was great and I had several recovery shots. I also hit some good irons. The goal on Saturday is to have a similar round, if not better, than what I had today.”
Frank’s round produced three birdies and two bogeys, noting the course was in great shape.
“The course was fast yesterday during my practice round and had good speed today,” he noted. “A special thanks to Brian Tolnar and his staff at Mill Creek Metroparks. I hit my tee ball well and kept it straight despite the wind. The key was keeping it in the fairway.
“Coming into the tournament, you know ahead of time that if you want to win the Greatest then you have to go through Brandon Pluchinsky because he is going to be right there at the end. Hopefully, I can play another solid round and be there on Sunday.”
In the Roklyn M. DePerro Turner Law Ladies Open division, Matilyn Zines’ 70 was a stroke better than Katie Rankin, with past champion and this year’s Morgan Stanley Skills putting titlist Kiersten Klekner-Alt just three shots off the pace.
“My short game and chipping saved me a lot of missed approach shots,” said Zines, who starred at United Local and is now headed to YSU in the fall to play for the Penguins. “My putting was anything but fantastic, the greens were slow, but I made the shots that I needed to make.”
Rankin is from Sewickley, Pennsylvania, lettering this past season as a freshman member of the Westminster Titans’ gold team.
She had two birdies, but a not-so-kind three bogeys for her play today.
“Our PAC championship was held at Mill Creek this year, but this was my first time playing the South course,” Rankin added. “I met a lot of new golfers and didn’t really know many people, so I just needed to stay calm. I absolutely love this South course.”
In the JAC Live Ladies Net division, Carmel Cerimele’s 73 is seven strokes better than Victoria Branca, while Patrick Gintert’s 69 is a stroke ahead of J.P. Jones in the B.G. Trucking Seniors Open Division.
In addition to three birdies and four bogeys, Gintert registered an eagle and missed a second one on the back-9.
“I hit the ball well, and my irons were rock solid,” Gintert stated. “My driver kept me out of trouble but I will need to putt well on Saturday because that is what will get me to the Lake Club for Sunday’s final round.”
In the Elias CPA Group men’s 3-6 division, Ryan Dogan and Dave Kilgore share the lead at 70, with four players tied for third-place, a stroke back. In Mens 7-9 division action, sponsored by Avalon Downtown Pizza, Kevin Reddinger shot 73 to hold a two stroke lead over Jamie Palumbo and Craig Gabel, each of whom finished with rounds of 75.
In the M-7 Technologies Mens 10-12 grouping, Mill Creek’s Dominic Fabilli used his knowledge of the course to post a 75 for the lead, followed by Ted Melewski and Brandon Oaks who are a shot back.
The Konkrete Dezign Mens 13-15 division boasts Mark Brown atop the leaderboard after shooting 77, with Jaymee Hooshangi a shot behind and Aaron Meyers two strokes back heading to second round play.
Phil Eubank’s 84 was three shots better than Lucian Clewell, Eric Leeworthy and Daniel Novello in the Brokers Realty 16-19 division, while in the Maruca Law Group Men 20-25 division, played at Squaw Creek Country Club, Chris Luzio and Garrett McIntyre each fired 91 to lead the group. Anthony Volpini is two strokes back in third-place.
Also at Squaw Creek, Tim Mummey of Reserve Run Golf Course scored a hole-in-one on No. 18, finishing the day with a 91 in the Cole Valley Cadillac Seniors 13+ division, seven strokes behind leader David Kozy’s 84 and six off of second-place Rich Perrine’s 85.
In Titan Epoxy Mens senior 3-6 division action, Eugene Biser sits atop the leaderboard after carding 71, two strokes ahead of Dave Morgan, with Joe Bettura and Dave Howard three shots off the pace.
In Mullen Insurance Solutions Mens senior 7-9 division play, Bob Haseley’s 71 is four shots better than Bruce Berry and five strokes ahead of both Ray Grow and Butch Taylor. The Grunau Fire Protection seniors 10-12 division features Kevin Soltis in the lead after shooting a 75, two strokes ahead of Sam Carelly and Ed Ruper.
Brian Tolnar is PGA director of Golf for Mill Creek MetroParks.
“It is always great hosting the best amateurs in the Mahoning Valley and around the region,” Tolnar noted. “The weather really cooperated today and the great scores complemented the course, which was in excellent condition for tournament play. I would like to thank the Mill Creek staff for a job well done and all the time they put in to make events like the Greatest run smoothly. We want to wish the field best of luck this weekend as we look forward to hosting this championship for many years to come.”
The field of 350-plus continues Saturday with second-round action at six area courses, including Avalon Golf Course and Country Club, the Lake Club, Salem Golf Club, Salem Hills Golf and Country Club, Tippecanoe Country Club and Trumbull Country Club.
Sunday’s championship is set for the Lake Club in Poland.
RD1 SCORES: 2024 Greatest Golfer Championships >
— story by Greg Gulas for Greatest Golfer Youngstown