Golf

A cut above

Eight Sullivan County golfers qualify for sectionals at league championships; Liberty’s Goldstein finishes one stroke behind Kingston’s Kleeschulte

By RICHARD A. ROSS

SWAN LAKE, NY — Blue skies and bright sun offered up a tailor-made milieu for the OCIAA Section Nine Golf Qualifier on May 14 as the league’s best golfers took to the greens looking to make the cut and move on to the Section Nine championships slated to begin at the Villa Roma on May 19.

Only the top 35 and ties would advance. As golfers began teeing off on holes one and 10, fast greens and stiff competition would loom large in paring down the field of 72 golfers on the par 72 course.

As expected, Kingston’s Doug Kleeschulte (four over par 76) emerged as this year’s champion, but he had to fight off Liberty senior Josh Goldstein to do so. The two golfers were tied at four over through 16 holes before Kleeschulte, who is heading to Western Kentucky in the fall, birdied the par five 17th hole as Goldstein (two over par 77) had a par to allow Kleeschulte to gain a one-stroke lead. Both golfers bogeyed the 18th hole.

Of the 14 Sullivan County golfers vying for the chance to advance, eight made the cut. While some area favorites didn’t have their best day, the mission was to make the cut. No scores carry over to the shotgun start at the Villa where the real war of the greens was set to get underway.

This was Kleeschulte’s first OCIAA title. He was the Section Nine champion in his sophomore year. Observing his ability to drive the ball up the fairway, one had to be impressed with his long game, a requisite to being competitive at states.

Other Sullivan County golfers who made the cut included: Josh Goldstein (Liberty), 39-38–77; Kevin Correa (Sullivan West), 39-43–82; John Bernstein (Tri-Valley), 44-41–85; Artie Norden (Sullivan West), 41-44–85; Ryan Sonnenschein (Monticello), 40-45–85; Justin Armstrong (Sullivan West), 41-45–86; Jason Jennings (Eldred), 47-42–89; and David McDonald (Tri-Valley), 47-42–89.

The following Sullivan County golfers missed the cut: Richard Elliot (Fallsburg), 49-47–96; Melanie Kleiner (Sullivan West), 52-44–96; Dave Lake (Roscoe), 47-51–98; Angelo Niforatos (Monticello), 51-49–100; Evan Hole (The Family School), 49-54–103; and Jon Geiger (Eldred), 51-54–105.

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