By Kim J. Harmon

 

A young prodigy and a former club champ – oh yeah, it was an interesting competitive road that Mark Curtis had to travel this past summer in order to capture his second consecutive Rock Ridge Country Club men’s championship.

Mark, a vice-president of Cooper Surgical in Trumbull, had to overcome 13-year-old Ben Gersten in the semi-finals before defeating former club champion George Trudell, 5 and 4, in the 36-hole final.

Mark received his trophy during Rock Ridge Country Club’s season-ending awards banquet on Friday, November 14.

“I had a tough year in terms of playing consistently well,” said Mark, 49, who won his first club championship last year by defeating John Piorkowski 1-up in the 36-hole final. “Just before the club tournament started, I kind of found my game. Going into it, I felt confident I could defend the title.”

In the opening round of match play (16 golfers took their shot at the championship), Mark defeated Dave Tomlin and followed that up with a win over Tom Bartram in the second round.

That set the stage for a match with Gersten.

“That match was fun,” said Mark. “I beat him 4 and 3, but it was very tight. He played very well and drew it to even a couple of times. Ben will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.”

With that win, Mark moved on to the championship match with Trudell, who last won in 2001.

“After 18 (holes) I was 2-up,” said Mark, “and although George got it to 1-up for a while, I was never down. I closed him out on the 32nd hole, but at that point I was 1-under (par) … it was stupid good. I played as well as I possibly could have.”

It was easy to determine what made the difference.

“I putted very well,” said Mark, who boasts a single-digit handicap that is perilously close to scratch, “and I made a couple of critical shots. My iron play and putting were very good.”

With that kind of performance, Mark – who has only been a member at Rock Ridge for a few years – could be in a pretty good position to defend his championship. Gersten may be a force to be reckoned with for years to come, but Mark is a force to be reckoned with now.