Muninger: Last year’s oversight won’t happen again
Barry Muninger won City tournament in 2005
By Michael Ashford
Friday, July 6, 2007
As if he needed any more reason to check and re-check his golf clubs before the start of the Men’s City Golf Championship this weekend, Barry Muninger figures there will be plenty of people who will remind him time and time again.
After all, such a mistake cost him a shot at the City Golf title last year.
“I don’t think they’ll be very many people who will let me forget about that,” said Muninger, who won the City Golf Championship in 2005.
After one round of play last year, Muninger shared the lead with Bren Fisher after both carded a 2-under 69 at the Emporia Municipal Golf Course.
But after he got home, Muninger found one extra club — a 5 iron — in his golf bag, a violation that caused him to unknowingly turn in an incorrect scorecard. Though no one noticed his error, Muninger called tournament officials on Sunday morning before play at the Emporia Country Club to alert them to the situation, essentially disqualifying himself from the tournament.
“It was really tough because for one thing, I felt good about my chances to win,” Muninger said, “and then to realize that something that small can be such a big deal — it was definitely not a feeling you want to have very often.”
Muninger’s self-reported violation became the talk around town. Muninger said several people stopped him to tell him how impressed they were that he turned himself in despite no one knowing of his violation.
“I got a lot of positive feedback from it. I wasn’t expecting that,” Muninger said. “I had a lot of people come up to me saying I did the right thing.
“I just wasn’t expecting that. I guess I hoped it was something most people would have done.”
Nevertheless, there is no doubting that before he tees off Saturday at the Emporia Country Club for the first round of the two-day event, Muninger will count the clubs in his bag once more, just to make sure.
“I’m sure they’ll get counted a few times before I step out there,” Muninger said.
In Muninger’s absence on the second day of last year’s tournament, Dave Watts came out as the champion after outlasting Dale McCabe in a playoff that lasted all of one hole. It was Watts’ first City title after finishing second to Muninger in 2005.
Watts stormed from five strokes back of the lead to force a tie with McCabe after McCabe bogeyed his final two holes.
There won’t be any chance of a repeat title for Watts this year, however, as he did not enter this year’s tournament. Neither did McCabe.
That could mean Muninger and Fisher could be labeled as the favorites to take the City Golf title this year.
Fisher, remember, was tied with Muninger for the lead after the first day before Muninger withdrew from the event, leaving Fisher in sole possession of first place heading into the second day.
However, Fisher struggled last year at the ECC, a course he said he was less familiar with, particularly on the greens.
“I started out great but the putter just kept letting me down,” Fisher said. “You’re just going to have those days where the putter’s not going to help you. The past year, my putting has gotten a lot better, and I think it will be a totally different story.”
As is the case with every participant, Fisher said the Emporia Men’s City Golf Championship is the one golf tournament he would like to win each summer.
“It’s always been one of my goals to win it,” Fisher said. “This isn’t as big a tournament as some others, but it’s definitely something I’ve always wanted to win.”
Play begins with a 32-person field at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Emporia Country Club. The second round will then move to the Emporia Municipal Golf Course, where players will tee off starting at 8 a.m. Sunday.