Preview: Lehigh Valley Classic presented by Ed Grambo

Welcome to the Preview of the Lehigh Valley Classic, presented by Ed Grambo. On Sunday, September 13th, the YPGA Tour makes the trek up the Northeast Extension to tackle the links in the Lehigh Valley. This is the first stop in the Valley for the tour and it may be the last depending how Sunday shapes up. Allentown Municipal is playing at 6,000 yards from the white tees and carrying a slope of 124. The course sets up in a friendly manner for the players as there is a wide open terrain with minimal trouble throughout the course. Long hitters will fair well on this course and will be rewarded with scoreable holes. The Executive Committee reached out to the Allentown Municipal groundskeeper, Lou, who stated that the course is in great shape with pristine greens but thick rough to gobble up those errant shots.

Now, for the preview of our esteemed players:

No Chance Whatsoever Group: Tag, Sabara

These two will consistently face off against each other for bragging rights at least until one of them finds a way to break 100 and join the shitty, but respectable ranks of Dave King, Andy Kotulka and Nate Kraynak.

Unlikely, But Maybe Group: Patitucci, Dave King, Andy Kotulka, Nate Kraynak, Vince Sobocinski.

Patitucci's golf game checks out after hitting his driver off the tee. The rest of his game is quite abominable but if he can sneak out a 93...who knows. Dave King has flashes of solid play, but the other 14 holes will bite him in the buns. The course does not favor Andy who is a light hitter off the tee and won't be able to dink and dunk towards the top of the leaderboard. Ditto for Nate who rose to the top at the Open when everyone else shit the bed. Won't happen this go around. Everyone is in mid-season form. Vince is still thinking about the 106 he last put and a Dustin Johnson-like fall down the steps has the media wondering if he'll show up at the first tee. A late scratch could be more likely.

Good, But Not Good Enough: Billy Kelly, Gerard Margiotti, Mike Musselman, Chris Meyer

Billy is still enjoying the early goings of fatherhood and likely will have withdrawal symptoms from his newborn while on the course. I imagine a strong front 9 with the wheels falling off on the back. Gerard/Gerald/Jerry is coming off a win at the Del Val. He's simply in this group because going back-to-back is unheard of. Musselman has to deal with 7 strokes. Does he put up around a 77? He can, but I'm not betting on it. Chris has struggled to find consistency. It's all a matter of which Chris shows up: driving my truck with the shades on Chris, or, falling asleep at the bar Chris.

Contenders: Ed Grambo, David Carney, Matt Kelly, Paul Koch

Ed will aim to overpower the course on Sunday and get into his wedge game from 180 yards and in. Doing so, and his 16 strokes will give him a great chance to be a two-time major winner. Can he shoot mid-80s? Carney has been doing work at the driving range to cure the one major thing that ails his game -- his driver. Work has been put in, results are pending, and so are his chances to finally be a major winner and hush the critics. He has recent success at Allentown Municipal (84 in May while also taking Vince for $100). Matt Kelly tasted the closeness of hoisting a major trophy at the Del Val. he finally showed up and put up a score that the crowd yearned for. Can he do it again? He's so close and the course sets up for him to go low. Normally, I would put a newlywed in the "No Chance Whatsoever Group", but the summer of Paul have allowed him to play often and get in prime shape for the end of the season. He's living larger than life right now as a new hubby, with a new smoker (great idea Carney), and fresh off his summer spent down the shore. He's just loose enough and happy enough that he can get in a groove and go low. Or, he may talk about his smoker too much, be high, and forget he's playing golf.

Winning Net Score: 69