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Sunday, July 27, 1997     Page:

State Amateur hitting area for first time
   
We all play golf for fun, not money. We play for the challenge of beating
our last score, the walk in the greenery, or the competition among friends or
foes of equal abilityYet, one of the grand traditions of golf is an
appreciation for those who play with excellence in sanctioned tournaments
conducted under the purest rules of the game.
    Anyone who doesn’t respect the rigors and traditions of the U.S. and
British opens, for example, doesn’t really appreciate golf.
   
In that context, those who are not totally self absorbed must marvel at the
performance two weeks ago of 17-year-old Brent Mullins. The resident of Forty
Fort and student at Wyoming Seminary shot an incredible 7-under-par 65 at Glen
Oaks Country Club in the regional qualifying round for the Pennsylvania
Amateur Championship, which will be held Monday through Wednesday at Scranton
Country Club.
   
The Pennsylvania Amateur Championship is the premier tournament run by the
Pennsylvania Golf Association, and this week will be the first time that this
prestigious event will be conducted in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Usually
played in Pittsburgh or Philadelphia, the Amateur will be held in Scranton
this year thanks in part to the efforts of Dr. Jim Cunningham of Scranton
Country Club, who sits on the Pennsylvania Golf Association board.
   
Only two area players in recent years have been able to crack the top 10 in
the Amateur: Bill Musto, formerly of West Pittston, who placed second in the
late 1980s; and Bill Lawler, who placed third a few years ago.
   
The Amateur championship starts with four regional qualifying rounds held
in each quadrant of the state. And Mullins shocked everyone with his stellar
round in the Northeast qualifier.
   
More than 80 players competed for only 26 spots at the Northeast Qualifier,
but Mullins’ score was by far the best of the bunch. As my tired old swing
struggled to a 78, barely qualifying me for the tourney, Mullins blistered the
course in Clarks Green for a 65. And it was “an easy 65,” according to
attorney Jim O’Brien of Scranton Country Club, who played with Mullins.
   
“It could have easily been lower,” said O’Brien, a veteran of the area
amateur scene.
   
It was nice to see how the other contestants in the qualifier were
genuinely excited for Mullins. His father, Dr. Newton Mullins, himself an
accomplished golfer who has teamed many times with Fox Hill’s Carlyle
Robinson, resembled a peacock. “I told you he could play, Watson,” said the
proud father, who caddied for his son.
   
I think that’s an understatement, Doc.
   
Not since Ted Tryba has the area been jolted by the stellar performance of
a young player.
   
Another young contestant from Luzerne County will also have a built-in
caddy. Lynn Kilduff, a top performer at Dallas High School now playing at
Maryland, will employ the caddy services of his father, Tom, who cares more
about his son’s game than his own these days.
   
With young players like Mullins and Kilduff, and with the constant
participation of “older guys” like Jim Cunningham, Dennis Corvo, Bill Lawler,
Vince Scarpetta and Robinson who help provide the proper setting for young
talent to bloom, competitive golf will grow stronger in Northeastern
Pennsylvania.
   
The Amateur championship starts Monday at Scranton Country Club, the great
old course on the Morgan Highway in Clarks Summit.
   
The best in state will be there, including Mullins, Kilduff and other
Luzerne County horses like Brian Corbett, Bob Gill, Lawler and Robinson, Sandy
LaFoca and Joe Weiscarger. Tim Burns from Scranton will surely make a run at
the title and keep an eye on Scranton Club champion Mike Vasil, who also
coaches the Abington Heights golf team. Both Scarpettas, Vince and Dave, of
Elkview Country Club, will be playing; and the brothers Stanco, Mike and Jim,
of Elmhurst, also will compete.
   
All of these fine players and about 130 others from throughout Pennsylvania
will walk, not ride, a course where the rough won’t be cut and they will abide
by the USGA rules. They’ll be tested from the back tees and hit long irons to
tucked pins. They will pull their hair out on slick, mounded greens and be
monitored for slow play. And on Wednesday, the 40 players who survive the cut
will play 36 of the most grueling holes in Pennsylvania golf.
   
I don’t know if I would rather play or just watch from a cool hilltop at
Scranton Country Club.
   
Either way, I’ll be there.
   
John Watson