Delaware National
GuardDelaware Air Guard Team Win Wilmington Industrial League Golf Championship
By Tech. Sgt. Benjamin J. Matwey, 166th Airlift Wing\Public Affairs
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Delaware Air Guard 2002 Wilmington Industrial Golf League Champions. (Photo by Master Sgt. Keith Strouss .) |
Sept. 8, 2002 -- The Delaware ANG Gold Team won the Wilmington Industrial Golf League Championship this summer in a match held Sunday, Sept. 8, 2002, at the Chesapeake Bay Golf Club in Northeast, Maryland. "We have been in the league for 12 years and this is our first championship," said the team captain, Master Sgt. Paul Duca, 166th Civil Engineering Squadron. "The last five weeks everyone stepped up their game and played some incredible golf."
The league has 31 teams, and plays a 12-week regular season. There are then 3 playoff rounds, with only 6 players allowed per round. The last round is a three team, 18-hole Championship round.
The final team scores with the top three finishers were the DE ANG Gold team with 478 points, CitiGroup team with 488 points, and Wilmington Trust #2 team with 490 points.
The winning Delaware Air Guard team has 14 members. They are Brig. Gen. Dave Jacobs, Master Sgt. Paul Duca, Chief Master Sgt. Al Abbott, Master Sgt. Mike Forsyth, Tech. Sgt. Mark Armour, Lt. Col. Paul Willey, Chief Master Sgt. Bruce Spencer, Master Sgt. Lorin Peterson, Tech. Sgt. Brian Morris, Senior Master Sgt. Ron Marandola, Senior Master Sgt. Emerson Wells, Chief Master Sgt. Pete Clarkin, Capt. Elias Danucalov and 1st Lt. Pete Correa.
The championship round players were Jacobs, Forsyth, Armour, Peterson, Marandola, and Wells.
"In years past, the first round was always our toughest hurdle. That’s where we almost always lose, getting knocked out of the tournament. Only once many years ago did we even get to the second round, where we got jumped," said team captain Paul Duca. As you can imagine, even though only teams of 6 players played for each of the playoff rounds, we had to win each round to proceed to the next. Every one of the 14 DE ANG members had to play well. The efforts of the whole team got us to the final round."
"The first round was the closest round this year, we blew away the competition in the second round, winning by close to 17 strokes, and we won the third and final round by about 10 strokes. We are the Central Division Champs, as well as the Wilmington Industrial League Champs," said Duca.
The season and tournament had a few memorable and amusing moments.
"In the last round of the regular season, Master Sgt. Lorin Peterson had to play in a pair of blue sneakers, because he could not find his golf shoes," said Master Sgt. Duca.
"Then, one night, Brig. Gen. Jon Jacobs (Assistant Adjutant General for Air) and I were playing a twosome. BG Jacobs was shooting from behind a tree, and I advised him to please play it safe, and chip out, rather than try a much tougher shot. He did take my advice," says Duca, "and he promptly put 3 in the water, losing 6 strokes." Duca says he still hears about that episode. "But, up until this year, BG Jacobs was the only undefeated team member, a string lasting for two and half years, and he only lost twice in 2002. So he still has the best individual record on the team."
2nd Lt. Pete Correa recalls playing alongside Tech. Sgt. Brian Morris, when Morris had a little trouble on a hole. "He shot 15 strokes on a par 4, just kept going into the trees. He must have forgot some of the rules. I guess I forgot to remind him!"
"Normally, there is both a DE Air Guard Blue team and a Gold team," says Duca. "But because of the demands on our forces after 9/11/01, with Operations Noble Eagle and Enduring Freedom, our Blue team sat out this year. Many of their members are air crew, too busy to play since many have been mobilized or deployed."
A plaque will be displayed in the trophy case in Building 2600, Delaware Air National Guard Headquarters, to commemorate the team’s success.