Local Masters tournament played in snow

The Masters holds a special place for Cape May National Golf Club owner Bob Mullock and some of the long-time members.

The late Skee Riegel, who was the pro-emeritus there before passing away in 2009 at age 94, played in 11 straight Masters at Augusta from 1947 through 1957. He was the low amateur in 1948 and finished second to Ben Hogan in the 1951 tournament.

My how times have changed. This year’s winner, two-time champion Scottie Scheffler, received $3.6 million while runnerup Ludvig Aberg took home $2.16 million.

Hogan received $3,000 for his two-shot victory in 1951. Riegel, who finished two shots behind, earned $1,875.

Partly in Skee’s honor, Cape May National celebrated his achievement Saturday by holding its own version of the Masters. It’s a fun, unique event in which your 18-hole score on Saturday is combined with someone’s final round score at Augusta on Sunday.

Scheffler, Aberg and my new favorite golfer, Eric van Rooyen, played amongst the azaleas in warm sunshine and tricky winds.

I played in snow.

The flakes began to fall early in my round, which I opened with a double-bogey. It quickly melted through the next five holes, but an unexpected blizzard hit me on the par-5 seventh.

That’s when I built a snowman, plus an igloo for him to enjoy the day.

In golf parlance, an eight is nicknamed a snowman. My “Frosty” began to take shape when my drive veered right toward a row of hedges.

My second shot landed 10 yards behind my first shot after caroming off a tree root with a loud thud that sent my playing partners – who were standing behind me – ducking for cover.

Two shots later I was still closer to the tee box than the green. I reached it on my sixth attempt, then dug into my golf bag in search of a corn cob pipe and button nose.

Three putts later, I exchanged my Footjoys for galoshes, pulled out a shovel to replace my putter, scribbled a nine on my scorecard and began to regret not packing a couple mini-bottles of Fireballs to dull the disappointment.

It was apparent that Van Rooten could shoot 59 on Sunday – he shot 76 – and I still wasn’t winning.

In a weird way, it took the pressure off and allowed me to enjoy the back nine. I bounced back on the par-5 14^th by curling in a 15-foot putt for birdie.

My mood brightened as I checked my phone and learned that my eldest grandson, Hampton, had gone 3-for-3 in his machine-pitch Little League game.

That took the sting away from seeing my tee shot on the par-3 17^th land in the water, startling the two swans that were gliding along the surface.

In actuality, I didn’t play horribly. Despite my misadventures earlier in the round, I managed to shoot 93 with a few pars and the birdie for a net 81 that left me in the middle of the pack of the 50-player field.

Nothing that a post-round margarita at the Rusty Nail in Cape May couldn’t cure.

Column: April snow hits golf course

In golf parlance, an eight on a scorecard is called a “snowman.”

My round during Saturday’s “Masters” tournament at Cape May National Golf Club not only featured a pair of “Frosty’s,” I also built an igloo for them to kick back in and watch Scottie Scheffler win the real tournament at Augusta National.

It marked the fifth straight year that I’ve played in CMN’s tournament. Fifty of us chose a Masters participant out of a hat, then combined our 18-hole score Saturday with their Sunday final round.
I picked Hudson Swafford, whose most noteworthy shot of the Masters came during Friday’s second round, when his clubhead flew off one of his irons. He shot 2-over 74 on Sunday, but he could have shot 54 and I still wouldn’t have been within 10 shots of winning.

I had high expectations. Just a week earlier, I broke 80 for the first time in over two years with a 79. But the golf gods are a cruel lot. This time, I was at 79 after 14 holes, courtesy of an absolutely horrendous/comical front nine that featured those two eights and a Roy McAvoy-esque 11.

On a par 3.

My No. 4 hybrid is usually my go-to club for anything between 150 and 180 yards, mostly because I lost my five and six irons a few years back and have yet to replace them. It failed me at No. 6, which required a 160-yard shot into the wind over water to an elevated green.

I topped my tee shot, which plopped into the pond and startled a swan. Half-mad and half-embarrassed, I reteed and sent another Titliest into the drink, prompting said swan to duck his head and neck under the surface, lest he run the risk of being decapitated.

I dug into my bag and retrieved another ball, then trudged to the edge and took out a 9 iron for a 115-yard shot. It went about five yards farther than the first two attempts, resulting in another penalty while the swan floated farther out of range. Shot number seven also dribbled into the lake before I finally found the green and two-putted for a double hockey-sticks.

My playing partner, multi-time Women’s Club Champion Jane Menendez, finally stopped laughing as we made our way to the Par-5 seventh hole, then started chuckling again when we looked over and saw the swan fly away.

Naturally, I parred the seventh after lipping out a five-foot birdie putt, then made three more pars during the round to go with my two eights.

But I was still smiling because of a video that popped up on my cell phone.

Playing in the tournament caused me to miss opening day of the Lower Township Little League. My two oldest grandsons, Hampton (6) and Graham (almost 4), are playing tee ball this season for Eldridge Electric and had their first game Saturday. Hampton also played last season and is the early favorite for the Silver Slugger Award. There’s a slight chance Graham could win Rookie of the Year. When I asked him earlier in the week if he was excited, he said, “Yes, Poppy! I have a hat (batting helmet) and one of those things you put your hand in.”

He meant a baseball mitt.

Mimi (my wife Karen) kept me up to date with a few videos. Their team was in the field when a batter hit a grounder that rolled through the infield to the grass into short right field. All 12 players, including the third baseman and shortstop, ran to the ball, tackling each other in the process.

The first at-bat was also memorable. Each hitter advances one base at a time while the final batter gets to circle the bases. The manager wisely organized the batting order in alphabetical order, which meant Graham was next-to-last and Hampton was in the cleanup spot.

Graham’s first at-bat saw him swat a slow roller up the first base line and he happily sprinted to first with some coaxing from the coach. When Hampton sent a hard grounder up the middle, Graham took off again … And ran to the pitcher’s mound.

Hey, even Mike Trout had to start somewhere.

Most importantly, they had fun, which is what sports is supposed to be all about at that age.

Their smiles melted my snowmen.

Eagles-Giants 2-minute drill

Eagles’ best number: 0 (Carson Wentz turnovers)

Eagles’ worst number: 0 (Third-down conversions)

View from my living room:
Congrats to Dustin Johnson on his record-setting Masters victory.

Three stars

1. Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (244 yards passing, 34-yard TD run)
2. Eagles running back Miles Sanders (15 carries for 85 yards)
3. Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton (5 catches for 93 yards)

Turning point
The Eagles closed the deficit to 14-11 on Boston Scott’s 56-yard touchdown run on the first drive of the second half. The Giants promptly answered with a 75-yard, six-play scoring drive. Running back Wayne Gallman’s 1-yard leap into the end zone put them back in control at 21-11.

Eagles’ best play
Scott alertly stayed in bounds at the end of his 56-yard TD run. It was the Eagles’ third-longest run from scrimmage this season. Sanders had a pair of 74-yarders earlier this year.

Eagles’ worst play
Eagles coach Doug Pederson made the ridiculous decision to attempt a two-point conversion after Corey Clement’s TD run cut the Giants’ lead to 21-17 in the third quarter. Wentz was sacked on the attempt.

Did you notice?
Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery made his season debut. He did not catch a pass. … Sua Opeta and Matt Pryor were the starting guards. … The Eagles were 0-for-8 on third-down conversions. It was the first time they failed to convert one since 2004. … The Giants snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Eagles dating back to 2016. … Neither Wentz nor Jones committed a turnover. They had a combined 29 giveaways entering the game.

Parting shots
Pederson, on the loss: “I’m mad and I’m disappointed. It’s on me, the way we played today.”
Jones on his TD run after tripping on an 80-yarder earlier this season: “I tried to stay on my feet this time.”