Mike Kracker: "It Isn't Any More!"

As they started to size up their 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th green in the annual Turkeyfoot Spring 2-Man Scramble, Dr. Jeff Mallette asked some players standing nearby what the leading score in the clubhouse was for the day.

“The low score in is 9-under par,” came the reply.

As Mallette’s teammate, Mike Kracker, walked around the hole reading their birdie putt to get to 10-under par, he responded (with some enthusiasm!) “It isn’t any more!” — and then promptly holed the putt, center-cut! (photo)

Their 10-under par total looked like it was good for a solo victory for most of the day, but that score was equaled by the second-to-last group of the day, Tim Morrow and Mike Lower (shown at right), who are both from Boardman and formerly played together for Youngstown State.

So while the victory was shared, the Kracker “backed-up big talk” still makes for a great story.

But it wasn’t even the best story of the tournament!

Doug Rockich was to play in Saturday’s Turkeyfoot scramble with partner Randy Skorman, with whom he had competed last week in the ADGA 2-Man Better Ball. The pair signed up Friday morning, but Rockich called back late Friday evening and left a message that Skorman couldn’t play so they were out. Tournament director Tim Davis called Rockich back early Saturday morning saying if they pulled out there would be an odd number of teams, so he was welcome to come out and play his own ball (not two balls in scramble format, just his own) and play for skins.

Of course, the golf gods love some irony.

In a field of 57 talented teams playing in a scramble format, soloist Rockich CHIPPED IN for the only birdie made on the straight-forward par-4 fourth hole and won the only skin of the event, good for a whopping $1,160! And since Skorman wasn’t there to share in the effort, the entire skin’s pot went to Rockich! Amazing.

(Here’s hoping Randy had to be someplace worth more than $580 bucks…)

FINAL RESULTS:
2013 TURKEYFOOT SPRING 2-MAN SCRAMBLE
Turkeyfoot Lake Golf Links, Akron, Ohio
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Par 71

T1 Mallette/Kracker 31-30=61 — $690 / team
T1 Lower/Morrow 32-29=61
3. Tarter/Schrader 32-30=62 — $540 / team
T4 Crewse/Vincelette 34-30=64 — $387 / team
T4 Simpson/Lambos 35-29=64
T4 Sampson/Mikita 33-31=64
T7 Topeka/Clendenin 35-30=65 — $250 / team
T7 Oslie/Cooke 34-31=65
T9 Marr/B. Spino 34-32=66 — $200 / team
T9 Vought/Bishop 33-33=66
T9 Duda/Bailey 32-34=66

Out of the Money:
Kovach/Freeman 35-32=67
Fisher/Fisher 34-33=67
Vellios/Wade 36-31=67
Alcorn/Lenartowicz 35-32=67
Thomas/S. Spino 34-34=68
Stem/Kuchenski 36-32=68
Pinzone/Osysko 36-32=68
Blaze/Oman 34-34=68
Roberts/Thornton 35-33=68
Rybka/Thompson 34-34=68
Lowry/Fricker 35-34=69
Stack/Martin 36-33=69
Kinkela/Mudrey 37-32=69
Selzer/Mills 37-32=69
Titus/Linn 37-32=69
Miller/Russell 37-32=69
Smith/Guest 35-34=69
Selzer/Sengals 35-34=69
Trent/Steiger 35-34=69
Danals/Danals 36-33=69
Kloetzer/Karamas 35-34=69
Fiest/Sissler 35-34=69
Plute/Bailey 37-33=70
Shannon/Cockerham 36-34=70
Cutlip/Stormer 36-34=70
Markham/Hamilton 35-35=70
Failor/Sweat 37-33=70
Cea/Bell 37-33=70
Skidmore/Skidmore 39-32=71
Armour/Trier 34-37=71
Davis/Seever 36-35=71
Wood/Erchick 35-36=71
Yaich/Todd 38-34=72
Petry/Mazur 36-36=72
Miller/Lahnan 36-36=72
Barbas/Hinchliffe 38-35=73
Seese/Manley 39-34=73
Rockich 38-34=73
Stemple/Merrow 38-35=73
Hedrick/Tarter 38-35=73
Marshall/Earley 37-37=74
Miano/McCaulley 37-37=74
DiFrancesco/Swartz 37-38=75
Gainer/Kimson 38-37=75
Hull/Hull 38-38=76
Woodrum/Sonedecker 39-38=77
Czetli/Stewart 44-39=83