Dion, Nekoroski hold off field to win 45th Tedesco Cup

MARBLEHEAD – With storm clouds hovering over Tedesco Country Club on Saturday, it looked like the 45th Tedesco Cup’s final round was going to turn into a battle of survival. But for a second straight day, the heavy rains failed to materialize despite a 30-minute rain delay on Sunday afternoon.The battle for survival, instead, came in the form of the team of Tyson Dion and Joe Nekoroski. After posting a 2-day total of 11-under par on Saturday morning, the two had to sit back and hold their breath as the rest of the field took their shot at catching them.They didn’t, as Dion and Nekoroski held on for a one-shot victory over Rich Lombard and Bill Lynch to claim the net portion of the tournament. The gross division race wasn’t quite as dramatic as Mike Zmetrovich and Andy Drohen shot an astounding 7-under par for the two days to grab a seven-shot win over Larry Bellorado-Larry Bellorado Jr. and Phil DeMakis-Paul MacDonald.”I really didn’t think that score would hold up,” Dion said.As it turned out on Saturday, those golfers who had morning tee times wound up with a distinct advantage over their afternoon counterparts, who dealt with gusting winds and the rain delay midway through their wave of play.Dion and Nekoroski were able to take advantage of the benign conditions early to put up a 4-under par 66 to give them their two-day total of 11-under. Then it was time to watch the leaderboard as a boatload of teams would take their shot at getting to that number.Peter Dalton-Bob Wight made one of the day’s biggest moves, firing an 8-under 62 to jump from a tie for 39th into an eventual tie for third. Rick Rockett-Bob McDermott added a round of 65 to their first-day 66 to also finish the tournament at 9-under par.The day’s biggest move would go to Kevin Daly and Mike Hickey, who went from a tie for 47th to a share of seventh thanks to a 62 of their own and a 2-day score of minus-8. They would share seventh with Chuck Angelopulos-Jim Oppenheim and Mike Schaefer-Richard Jaslow.First-round leaders Artie Buckley-John Lombard were foiled by the tough afternoon conditions, firing a 2-over 72 to finish at minus-6. Rich Lombard and Bill Lynch turned in a stellar round of 64 to move from 12th to solo second at 10-under.Patrick Duffy-Steve Hanley and Mike O’Donnell-Edward Bakker would join the tie for third in the afternoon, finishing their tournaments at 9-under. Dion and Nekoroski could finally breathe when the final team that had a shot of catching them, Kurt Rockstroh-David Scholnick, finished at even par for the day.The gross competition was for all intents and purposes decided on Friday when Zmetrovich and Drohen torched Tedesco for a 6-under par 64. They followed that on Saturday with a steady 69 to easily cruise to victory for the second time (they also won in 2007).