08/22/05
Another Schulte wins Otsego title
OHS graduate holds on as 20-somethings finish 1-2 at amateur county golf tourney
LOCAL GOLF
By P.J. Harmer
Staff Writer
COOPERST
| | | Star photo by Anita Briggs
Rich Couch putts on the fifth hole at the Leatherstocking Golf Course during Sunday’s final round of the Otsego County Amateur Golf Tournament. Couch tied defending champion Bruce Miller for fourth at 153. |
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OWN — Matt Schulte needed little time to regroup Sunday during the Otsego County Amateur Golf Championship.
After watching a three-stroke lead evaporate on the 14th hole, Schulte rebounded with a birdie on the 15th en route to his first Atchinson Cup. He finished Sunday’s round at the par-72 Leatherstocking Golf Course at 3-over-par to earn a three-stroke victory over Dallas Pylinski.
Schulte, 20, is the third member of his family to have his name etched onto the Atchinson Cup, joining his uncle Alan (1982, 19[an error occurred while processing this directive]83, 1985) and his grandfather Harry (1989, 1993).
"It feels good and I want to keep that going," Schulte said about joining his relatives as an Otsego County Amateur champion. "Hopefully there’s more to come."
Schulte opened the two-day event with an even-par 72 at the Oneonta Country Club, good enough for the overall lead by one stroke over former Delhi Tech and Edmeston Central golfer Pylinski.
Schulte, a former Oneonta High golfer who played for SUNY-Cobleskill this past spring, took a three-stroke lead over Pylinski on the par-4 13th at Leatherstocking. He parred the hole moments before Pylinski bogeyed.
Schulte then stumbled on No. 14, pushing his tee shot right and landing it 60 yards in front of the 15th tee. His approach landed about 10 yards short in front of the green, and his ensuing chip rolled back into the rough. Schulte three-putted to close the hole with a double-bogey.
Pylinski, 21, hit a booming drive on the 285-yard 14th, reaching the green and leaving about 20 feet for an eagle putt. He left it short by inches but tapped in for a birdie and a share of the lead.
"I felt like I had some good momentum going," Pylinski said. "I wish that eagle putt had fallen."
Said Schulte: "I was trying not to worry about where everyone else was. I knew I just had to play the holes the way they were laid out. "I can’t get down on myself and I knew I had to stay positive."
Schulte regained the lead with a birdie on the 462-yard, par-5 15th. Pylinski was forced to burn a stroke when his tee shot went left and settled at the base of a small tree. His only shot was a chip backwards into the rough, leading to a par.
"That break on 15 killed me," Pylinski said. "It was right on the trunk of the tree."
The two parred 17 before an errant tee shot on 18 by Pylinski sealed the victory for Schulte. After Schulte hit a long tee shot, Pylinski hooked his into Otsego Lake en route to a double-bogey. Schulte parred the final hole for the three-shot triumph.
"He hit a pretty good tee ball and I knew I had to jump on one," Pylinski said. "I hooked it a little more than I wanted to."
Five-time champion Steve Torrey, 59, pulled within two strokes of the lead with a par on No. 14. He closed with back-to-back bogeys, though, and placed third, four strokes back.
"I figured if I birdied 17, I had a shot at them," said Torrey, who won titles from 1995-98 and again in 2002. "But I three-putted (on 17) and on 18, it didn’t make a difference."
Last year’s champion, Bruce Miller, tied Rich Couch for fourth place at 153. Miller opened with a 6-over 78 at OCC and closed with a 3-over 75 at Leatherstocking.
Unatego graduate Justin Harris, 20, joined Schulte and Pylinski in the final group after opening with a 73 Saturday. He shot an 85 at Leatherstocking and finished in a three-way tie for 10th.
"I’m happy to be even competing," Torrey said. "I love seeing the young guys pound it. I played with Matt’s uncle (Alan Schulte). It’s nice to see another Schulte win."
OTSEGO COUNTY AMATEUR
