Weiss with the Win
The O-Street Mini Golf Open (formally the $1,000 Mini Golf Tournament) was held at Tee Time Golf on Sunday, August 13th in Ocean City, NJ. This course is located on Ocean City’s iconic boardwalk and is a course that takes you back in time. It’s a novelty course at its finest with moving obstacles, animal statues larger than life, and of course a windmill. The course consists of 20 holes, but only Holes 1 through 19 are played for the tournament (Hole 20 is the free game hole). This year’s tournament saw the purse increase by double to $2,000 to celebrate O-Street Mini Golf’s 10 Year Anniversary.
After registration was complete, 62 players were assigned groups and began a rolling start on Hole 1. Some tricky holes for the players consisted of the river boat on Hole 3, the spinning star on Hole 13, the steep incline on Hole 16, and everyone’s favorite gator on Hole 7. Even the spinning octopus on Hole 1 was surprisingly challenging. After Round 1, some familiar names were at the top of the leaderboard. Dave Torroni, Justin Seymour, and Mark “The Highlighter” Novicki shot 31 with Aaron Kaminski, Brando Bisicchia, and Landon Weiss right behind them with 32’s. But Round 2 was truly the deciding factor as Brando and Landon were consistent shooting 32’s, Aaron with a 33, and Dave as well as Highlighter shooting 34’s. Justin’s surprising 36 brought him back to 6th Place, tied with the Youth Division winner and this year’s Winter Classic Champion Griffin Weiss. Anna Seymour secured the Women’s Division title with two 34’s and 8th overall.
After the two rounds, there was a playoff to determine 3rd through 5th place. The holes that were chosen were Holes 2, 3, and 8. Dave took the lead with an ace on Hole 2 as Aaron and Highlighter walked away with 2’s. All three players shot 2’s on Hole 3. On Hole 8, Dave barely missed the hole in one to secure 3rd place and shot a 2. Aaron sunk his ace to push the playoff to sudden death against Dave. Highlighter unfortunately did not join the sudden death battle, as he shot a 2 and placed 5th overall. Aaron and Dave then moved on to Hole 10 and both shot 2’s, but it was Hole 11 that determined the winner. Aaron had honors and made a hole in one, but Dave was not as lucky as his ball’s speed was too fast to drop in the cup. Dave placed 4th and Aaron winning the playoff secured 3rd overall.
Brando and Landon both were tied for most holes in one with 14 as well as tied in first place. Their hole in one playoff was a sudden death standoff on Hole 18. Both players made their first two putts, but Brando’s ball lipped out on his third shot and Landon made his to take the title.
For their 1st Place playoff, the two players picked Holes 5, 8, and 17. Landon came out with a strong start with an ace on Hole 5 and after Brando’s 2, Landon had a one stroke lead. His lead held for the remainder of the playoff as both players shot 2’s on Holes 8 and 17, making Brando 2nd overall and Landon this year’s O-Street Mini Golf Open Champion.
