O’Rourke takes Warner Cup (Net)

   HELLERTOWN, Pa. – John O’Rourke, a 23 handicap from McCall Golf & Country Club, logged a net 7-under-par 65 to win the Francis B. Warner Cup (Net) Tuesday at Silver Creek CC (par 72, 6,067 yards) by a stroke.

   O’Rourke, 58, assessed two keys to his success on a cool and rainy day.

  Prior to competing in the Warner Cup, O’Rourke, of Cherry Hill, N.J., paid a 5 a.m. visit to his home course.

   “I played 15.5 holes to warm-up,” he said. “I would’ve played 18, but I was a little nervous about the ride, so I skipped two holes and hit a tee ball on the one hole. It gets me swinging. The guys that know me know that’s what I do.”

   At first, O’Rourke, a GAP volunteer, didn’t feel that his early morning preparation paid off. He triple-bogeyed No. 1 (par 4, 333 yards).

   “I absolutely flogged the first hole. I triple bogeyed,” he said. “After that, I calmed down a little bit. Things got better.”

   Although he didn’t fire any net birdies, O’Rourke made five pars, including crucial saves on Nos. 8 (par 3, 148 yards) and 16 (par 3, 140 yards). On No. 8, he hit 6-iron off the tee and landed in the left bunker. O’Rourke then chipped out to about three-feet and made the following putt.

   On No. 16, O’Rourke again found himself in the bunker after using an 8-iron off the tee. He chipped it up to about three-feet and made par.

   “Those felt pretty good,” O’Rourke said off his bunker saves.

   O’Rourke closed out his round by making net par on No. 18 (par 4, 364 yards). He hit driver off the tee, and at 138 yards from the pin, O’Rourke hit a 7-iron over 20 yards. He then hit 9-iron left over the green, but O’Rourke chipped it in for par.

   “It was a great way to end the day,” he said.

   Steady winds and intermittent rain didn’t affect O’Rourke’s play, but it did hamper his attire.

   “The only thing is I like to play in short sleeves, so I started out in them,” he said. “When it started to rain, I put the windbreaker on. I took it off going into No. 10, and it was cold, and even though it wasn’t raining at that time, I had to put it back on again.”

   Open to senior male golfers 55 years of age and over, the Warner Cup (Net) is an 18-hole individual net stroke-play event for players with a 7.1 or higher handicap index. Four overall low net prizes are awarded with net prizes in each of three handicap classes determined by course handicap.

Results: Overall Net Winners
1st: John O’Rourke
2nd: Raymond Lyons
T-3rd: Joseph McClane, Dan Gansz
1st Flight: Francis Sbandi
2nd Flight: Clinton Alexander
3rd Flight: Harold Matthews