Following two days of heated – it was 97 in the shade – competition, Pinehurst resident Tony Smarrelli, 62, emerged as the 2012 U.S. Hickory Open champion.
Some 65 players turned out for the 5th annual U.S. Hickory Open played with clubs that pre-date 1935, or are accurate modern replicas of such clubs. Held under the auspices of the Society of Hickory Golfers, the event is the crown of a six-event Championship Series of hickory golf sponsored by Mountain Valley Spring Water.
Smarrelli bested Chamblee, Ga. resident Ben Hollerbach, 27, by one stroke in a one-hole playoff after both posted a two-day 149 total on the Donald Ross Course in French Lick, Ind. Hollerbach, a strongly built, quiet young man said he hoped that his 72 on Tuesday’s round would have helped him stay in front. He did’t quite get the putts to fall as he’d hoped, and came in with a 77 to tie Smarelli.
Smarrelli, a member of the Pinehurst Golf Clubs in the famous resort town, owns a ready smile and smooth swing that held him in good stead. Of the playoff he said “I put my third just where it landed in the morning round. I missed that one, but knew the break, so was able to get down in par. Ben’s just missed by one revolution of the ball.”
Smarrelli proved Willie Park’s adage that the man who can putt is a match for anyone. He made three birdies from the 30-foot range, two of those in the miraculous category, and more than half a dozen 6-10 footers for pars.
Hollerbach, though disappointed, said he was encouraged by the experience and was happy to have put himself in a position to win. As for the last putt, “I knew it was going to be all of 15 feet, and for 15 feet it was great. I just knew it was going in. But it was a great putt for only 14 feet, 11 inches.”
Last year’s champion, Australian Alan Grieve, 40, finished five off the pace set by the two leaders. Only four behind after day one, Grieve said he could not get the putter working on the undulating Ross greens. “I’m pretty happy,” he said. “It was fun to hold the title for a year. My mates back home really liked that.”
The event’s 2009 champion Roger Andrews, 53, of Jenks, Okla., finished only one back at 150. He lamented a few approach shots that came up short. In a pre-round interview, Andrews said he thought Hollerbach had a good chance. Still, it was the course that held Andrews’ attention. “I can’t imagine a better place for hickory golf to hold our national tournament.”
The Ross Course is hilly, with greens that demand attention and several uphill approach shots. Bunkers seem to appear out of nowhere. The course hosted the 1924 PGA won by Walter Hagen. It was set up at just over 5,400 yards for the hickory players.
One man who made the trip to French Lick was Brian Schuman, 52, who has just organized the Metropolitan Hickory Society and annually hosts a hickory championship on Long Island. “The USHO brings together the deepest field and highest level of competition in the hickory game,” he said. “It’s a true honor to participate.”
Will he go to Seaview? “Of course,” he said. “Can’t wait.”
The five other events in the SoHG’s championship rota include the Southern Hickory 4-Ball in Birmingham, Ala., the Belvedere Hickory Open in Charlevoix, Mich.; the Heart of America in Des Moines, Iowa; the Mountain Valley Hickory Open in Little Rock, Ark.; and the Mid Pines Hickory Open in Pinehurst, N.C.
Chris Deinlein, SoHG president, announced that the venue for the 2013 USHO, July 15-17, will be the Bay Course at the Seaview Golf & Resort in Galloway, N.J. “Hopefully, it will be a bit cooler,” he said. The Bay Course is another Ross design, a favorite architect for hickory golfers, and was built in 1914.
