Desero, Mustangs rule Monmouth County golf
Team wins first title; Desero takes individual crown
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

Above, Marlboro's Mike Desero sinks a putt en route to winning the Monmouth County Tournament title with an even-par 72 on Thursday at Hominy Hill Golf Course in Howell. At left, Howell's Mike White watches his tee shot fly.

Mike Desero figured he was in for another tough day on the Hominy Hill Golf Course in Colts Neck.

Warming up before the start of the Monmouth County Championships on Thursday on the putting green, the Marlboro High School senior couldn't sink a putt. That always seemed the case for the reigning Shore Conference champion: his best round on the challenging par-72 was a 76.

"I usually don't putt well there," Desero said.

However, that would change once his round began to unfold.

"On the par-3 third hole I sank a 25-footer with a big break for par," said Desero. "Once I made that, I knew I could get aggressive on my birdie putts because I had confidence I could make the three- or four-footers."

On the back nine, back-to-back birdies on the 11th and 12th holes put the Mustang senior in control of the tournament. And once he had his grasp on it, he wasn't going to let it go. Desero, who learned how to finish tournaments last year when he won the Shore Conference Tournament, would finish with an even-par round of 72 (36-36) and a three-stroke margin of victory over Wall's Greg Merkel, who was playing in Desero's group.

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"I played as good as I can," the new county champion remarked. "I was hitting my irons solid and straight."

Marlboro head coach Stan Bryck said that Desero's iron shots "were like a laser."

Desero is believed to be the first Freehold Regional District golfer to hold both the Monmouth County and Shore Conference titles simultaneously.

"It's a pretty good milestone," he noted.

It turns out that Desero wasn't the only Mustang having a good day Thursday. When all the strokes were added up, Bryck's Mustangs were one stroke better than Colts Neck, 318-319, with pre-tournament favorite Christian Brothers Academy three strokes back in third place (321). It was the first county championship won by Marlboro.

"It was really great," said Bryck. "I'm very happy and pleased for them. There are so many good teams, and any time you can beat CBA it's big.

"The course did not play easy," he added. "Mike gave us the one real good score you need and the others stepped up."

Keith Markowitz carded a 41-37-78, tying for seventh place, backing up Desero's even-par round. Dan Nitutomo was the team's third scorer, finishing 16th with a 41-39-80. It was a big round for the junior.

"He's [Nitutomo] a real good golfer who hasn't been able to score," noted Bryck. "I was happy for him."

Max Weiss closed out the championship scorers with an 88.

"We all played well," said Desero. "We all felt proud."

Next up will be the Shore Conference Tournament, May 7 at Sea Oaks in Ocean County.

It was a great day overall for the District golfers, placing six within the top 10.

Colts Neck was led by Dave Denlinger, who finished third after a 36-40-76. Teammate John Edwards tied for seventh (38-40-78) with Manalapan's Rob Perrone (40-38-78) and Markowitz.

Manalapan's Pat DiLeo was sixth after carding a 41-36-77.

Besides Denlinger and Edwards, the Cougars' other scorers were Nick Polvino (40-42-82) and Chris Liguori (41-42-83).

With a seventh-place finish, Howell (340) also advanced to the SCT. The top eight teams Thursday qualified for the conference tournament. The Rebels were led by Jim Mokracek, who carded a 41-41-82 and tied for 20th place.

Mike White (43-43-86), Kyle Barrett (42-44-86) and Tom Martino (41-45-86) all tied for 39th place.

Manalapan lost the tiebreaker for eighth place to Manasquan and won't be going as a team to the SCT. Both teams had a score of 342 with the Big Blue getting the eighth and final qualifying place on the fifth-man score tiebreaker.

Anyone who scored an 86 or better qualified individually for the conference championships. In addition to Manalapan's DiLeo and Perrone, Freehold Borough's Ricky Morgan, a freshman, made it after carding a 41-43-84, which tied him for 26th place.