Vandenberg golfers exploit home course advantage

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Raymond Hoy
  • 30th Space Wing Public Affairs
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFPN) --  In a battle of hometown heroes, one Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., Airman beats out another in the playoff round of the 2006 Air Force Golf Championship Aug. 4 at the Marshallia Ranch Golf Course here. 

In the end it was Air Force golf veteran Geoffrey Mann, who won the same tournament in 2003, beating out Howard Hall, also from Vandenberg, in a two-hole playoff round.

Both Mann and Hall started out with relatively high scores after the first round of the four-day tournament. Mann started off shooting a nine-over-par 81. 

"My short game was decent that day," Mann said. "It was my long game that was killing me. I was here a long time after the round trying to work on my long game." 

After shooting a second-round 71, Mann was starting to get back into the swing of things. 

"After that round, I started feeling a bit more comfortable," he said. "I started to think, 'Hey, I might actually have a chance to win this thing.'" 

Hall, who only began golfing when he got stationed at Vandenberg eight years ago, also had a rough time in the first round. 

"The first day I shot a 79," he said. "I had a couple of big numbers." 

It was after three birdies in a row on holes four, five and six that Hall started getting into a groove. 

"After that, I started to come into my own," he said. "I had the feeling I was right back in it. I finished the last three rounds with a 72, 71 and 73." 

Once Mann and Hall were able to put their poor first rounds behind them, they were able to exploit their home-course advantage, finishing two strokes ahead of second-place finisher Jeffrey Scohy of Maxwell AFB, Ala. 

"(Marshallia Ranch) is a very difficult course," Hall said. "(Geoff and I) know where the breaks are and where not to hit the ball. There are a lot of trees here that you have to watch out for." 

"The greens are pretty tricky out here too," Mann added. 

Hall was reminded of how tricky the greens were when he was unable to put the tournament away on the 18th hole in the final round. However, the one that hurt the most was the 15-foot putt that skirted the edge of the cup on the first hole of the playoffs, allowing Mann to get to the second hole. 

Hall's bad luck continued when his tee shot on the second hole went straight into a tree and stayed there. 

When asked how heartbreaking that was, he replied, "Not as heartbreaking as that putt on the first hole (of the playoffs). I've had a lot of balls gobbled up by these trees. I'm pretty used to it." 

After Hall's one-stroke penalty drop, Mann was able to make short work of his good fortune. 

"It was pretty exciting at the end," Mann said. "I thought he had me there." 

The women's bracket was not so much of a nail-biter. Linda Jeffery of Little Rock AFB, Ark., dominated the bracket, beating out second-place Maria Gronning of Nellis AFB, Nev., by nearly 40 strokes. However, she was still impressed by the difficulty of the course. 

"This was a tough course," Jeffery said, "especially in the morning. It was very wet with the fog, and the ball didn't roll very well." 

The top six men and top three women will go on to represent the Air Force in the Armed Forces Golf Championship, which the Air Force has won the last two years. That tournament will also be held at Vandenberg's Marshallia Ranch and is scheduled to begin Tuesday. 

The top six men and their scores are:

Geoffrey Mann, Vandenberg AFB, Calif. 81, 71, 71, 71 - 295
Howard Hall, Vandenberg AFB. 79, 72, 71, 73 - 295
Jeffrey Scohy, Maxwell AFB, Ala. 80, 73, 72, 72, - 297
Michael Membrila, Robbins AFB, Ga. 74, 76, 75, 77 - 302
Arnell Garza, Fairchild AFB, Wash. 77, 71, 76, 80 - 304
Mark Gardiner, Scott AFB, Ill. 80, 77, 71, 77 - 305

The top three women and their scores are:

Linda Jeffery, Little Rock AFB, Ark. 76, 74, 77, 82 - 309
Maria Gronning, Nellis AFB, Nev. 90, 85, 89, 83 - 347
Tammy Cobb, Pentagon, Va. 88, 101, 92, 87 - 368