Forest Oaks’ Balance Pays Off in Interclub Victory

By STEVE WILLIAMS

SUMMERFIELD – Talk about a total team effort.

Forest Oaks Country Club of Greensboro used that time-tested formula to roll to a five-shot victory in the Triad Golf Today Interclub Challenge at Greensboro National April 6-7, becoming the sixth different team to claim the title in the event’s six years.

Steve Sharpe, Chris Brown, Trip Gentry and 15-year-old Weston Way made up the foursome that fired 18 birdies in the best two-ball format to outdistance a field that included 25 other teams. The birdies couldn’t have been more evenly divided. Sharpe and Way had five apiece over the two days and Gentry and Brown each notched four.

Sharpe was the foundation as he shot 76-70 and won the Interclub Challenge individual medal. Brown shot 74-77, Gentry 76-77 and Way 79-75. The team total was 272, 16 under par – the fourth best total in the history of the event.

In best two-ball, it’s easy to wipe out birdies with bogeys but Forest Oaks did a good job of avoiding that misfortune, counting only two bogeys over two days.

Runner-up Blair Park, meanwhile, was only one birdie off the Forest Oaks pace but the High Point foursome counted five bogeys. If it had been a one-ball competition, Blair Park’s scores of 64 and 65 would have beaten Forest Oaks’ marks of 68 and 63 by two shots. But the second ball made the difference – Forest Oaks shooting 71-70 to Blair Park’s 74-74.

“We’ve got the type of team where everybody’s going to shoot in the 70s and make two or three birdies,” said Gentry, the veteran of the foursome at 47. “We’re pretty consistent. Steve posted a great score (the 70 Sunday) and we were still able to pick up nine more shots.”

Gentry noted that Forest Oaks has had an outstanding track record in interclub matches in the past, especially in gross competitions. “It’s a pretty deep club. We’ve got a lot of guys who can shoot some low scores.”

Sharpe said the Forest Oaks players read an article before the tourney about Cardinal Country Club’s depth “and that got us motivated.”

Cardinal won last year’s event with a tournament record 266, breaking away with a sensational second round which came a couple of weeks after the first because of a rainout. Forest Oaks was only a shot behind going into the second round, but couldn’t field a complete team on the make-up date and stumbled to an 11th-place finish.

The Forest Oaks team entered this year’s final round in a similar position, trailing Blair Park by one, but there was no letup this time.

Blair Park’s foursome of Scotty Odell, Gary Zachary, Marc Cox and Anthony Baker put on a superb display in Saturday’s windy conditions, posting eight birdies and finishing at six-under 138. Forest Oaks shared second with Grandview of Winston-Salem at 139.

Forest Oaks made up ground in bunches in Sunday’s round, doubling up on birdies on three of the final 10 holes. Gentry and Way each birdied nine, Way and Brown both birdied 13 and Sharpe and Brown each birdied 18.

There was a lot of grumbling about the wicked pin placements on holes 14 and 15, but in what may have been the key to the victory, Forest Oaks played those two holes two-under with Way and Sharpe each scoring a birdie. That crucial stretch helped the team to a six-under-par mark on the back nine while Blair Park played the same nine in two-under.

Greensboro National, led by Greg Earnhardt’s five second-round birdies, took third place at 284, one better than Reynolds Park and Grandview.

Reynolds Park was far down the list after the first round but posted a seven-under-par 137 to charge to the fourth-place tie.

Previous winners of the Interclub Challenge were Cardinal, Willow Creek, Brookwood, Grandview and Colonial.