So Close

HANOVER – It was going to be a dream match.

After the top-seeded team of Nick Macdonald and DJ Lantz cruised past Aaron and Jay Mullen, and Shane Macdonald and Doug Lantz outlasted Chris House and Ryan Fay in Saturday morning matches, a fathers vs. sons showdown on the final day of the 37th annual Tommy Keane Invitational was a very real possibility.

Until, that is, the final hole of one of the day’s final matches when Shane Macdonald’s birdie putt to force extra holes slid just past the cup. With the near-miss it was the team of Mike Pollard and Doug Daniels instead that clinched the right to play top-seeded Nick Macdonald and DJ Lantz Sunday in one of the two championship flight semifinals.

“So close,” Doug Lantz said ruefully afterward. “It would have been something to write about. We had our chance but (Pollard and Daniels) played well.”

Sunday’s other championship semifinal will pit the team of Jake Obar and Billy Vielleux against June Lebanon graduates Tyler Silver and Zach Pollard.

“Both matches should be competitive,” said host pro Alex Kirk. “I wouldn’t be shocked to see any of them advance. I think Macdonald and Lantz are probably the showcase. I mean, they were on the first team worrying about the amateur world ranking, and the guys they played were worrying about rocket balls. And Obar and Villeux are veterans who have been there before.”

Although Silver and Pollard are in their first year in the tournament, Kirk isn’t about to rule them out..

“They are strong players,” he said. “Tyler Silver played strong in the state am and Pollard has been playing competitive golf as well. Zach is going to play at Bentley and Silver is going out to New Mexico.

“Maybe they are a little under the radar because they are new to the tournament but I see them playing a lot of golf.”

Silver and Pollard weren’t the only ones under the radar Saturday as Kirk and his staff kept an eye glued to the Internet as the skies over Hanover Country Club went from overcast to threatening to ominous as the day wore on.

Although rain began to fall in the late afternoon, thunder and lightning stayed away.

“I feel very fortunate we were able to get everything in based on what I saw this afternoon,” said Kirk. “The morning and mid-afternoon looked great but then the forecast was thunderstorms by 4 or 5 o’clock. I was getting worried that the storm was going to roll in and we were going to have to pull people in and then maybe finish tomorrow morning.

“Sometimes things hit the river and head north. For some reason everything kind of shined on HCC today. We got lucky and thank goodness we got through Saturday. Now we are looking forward to Sunday.”

Even if the potential dream match will have to wait for the 38th Tommy Keane next July.