Roscoe Limps to Victory Over Cozo’s U.S. Debut
– Comstock Park
The blustery weather led to an eventful today on the emerald greens during the first and second qualifying rounds of AJ’s Comstock Classic. The real competition focused on the duel between Roscoe and the up and coming Cozo, the international sensation debuting this year on the US circuit. The setting for this battle between the titans of the game was none other than the picturesque mountain course located in Comstock park next to historic Fifth Third Ballpark.
Due to a rain out earlier this week the two qualifying rounds were played back to back, which may have helped Roscoe pull ahead. His playing style has always has lent itself to long grueling matches, were as Cozo is used to the European style of play with the shorter days of nine holes extended over the course of a week rather than the more frantic American system. The rain left parts of the course flooded, created some treacherous situations that caused some difficult shots for all the competitors.
The start of the day had Roscoe off to an early lead, but Cozo kept him honest, keeping it a close match. Cozo’s trouble began on the 13th hole, with a quadruple bogey, followed by a triple bogey on the following hole; this proved to be the stumbling from which he would not recover as the day progressed. At the end of the first round, Roscoe led at plus 18, with Cozo trailing six behind at plus 24.
Coming around the bend of the second round there was a moment of light for Cozo, with a potential meltdown on the part of Roscoe which threatened to end his lead. What should have been an easy par for Roscoe quickly degenerated into a circus, with several foot long putts left open, but in the end Roscoe overcame this momentary lapse of concentration and did not leave enough time for Cozo to take advantage and pull ahead.
Roscoe Enjoying His Traditional Dino Ride in Celebration
During the second round Cozo found himself falling into the same pitfalls he had seen the first go-round on the course, running into trouble on Hole 4, AKA the Mine, ending up with a triple bogey both times around. He also found himself in the predicament of being in the red gravel trap at the center of Hole 9. All in all, his short game was just not quite polished enough to overcome Roscoe. But keep both these contenders in your hearts and minds folks, because they will definitely be contenders throughout the US tour this year, with Cozo performing well on the international circuit winning the Luxemburg Pro Series, and Roscoe the defending champion for next week’s competition in Miami.
In other sports news, CJ, Trill Troysen and Coz were the top contenders noticed by scouts at the mobile ski ball training facility yesterday at Woodland. Trill Troysen is expected to join the traveling circuit this fall with his strong score of 250 in the men’s ski ball singles. Both CJ and Coz are still a little new to the game, and it seems their nerves got the best of them, with CJ putting up a score of 160 and Coz with one of 120. But continue to watch them on the amateur circuit, it’s always a grudge match when those two hit the slate.
| Round 1 | Cozo | Roscoe | Par | Round 2 | Cozo | Roscoe |
| Hole 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Hole 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Hole 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Hole 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Hole 3 | 7 | 5 | 2 | Hole 3 | 5 | 5 |
| Hole 4 | 6 | 4 | 3 | Hole 4 | 6 | 2 |
| Hole 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | Hole 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Hole 6 | 2 | 3 | 3 | Hole 6 | 2 | 2 |
| Hole 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | Hole 7 | 4 | 5 |
| Hole 8 | 2 | 4 | 3 | Hole 8 | 3 | 2 |
| Hole 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | Hole 9 | 5 | 6 |
| Hole 10 | 4 | 3 | 2 | Hole 10 | 4 | 3 |
| Hole 11 | 2 | 2 | 3 | Hole 11 | 3 | 7 |
| Hole 12 | 4 | 7 | 3 | Hole 12 | 3 | 3 |
| Hole 13 | 6 | 3 | 2 | Hole 13 | 6 | 3 |
| Hole 14 | 6 | 3 | 3 | Hole 14 | 2 | 3 |
| Hole 15 | 4 | 5 | 2 | Hole 15 | 5 | 2 |
| Hole 16 | 3 | 4 | 2 | Hole 16 | 3 | 2 |
| Hole 17 | 4 | 2 | 2 | Hole 17 | 4 | 3 |
| Hole 18 | 3 | 4 | 3 | Hole 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Total | 69 | 63 | 45 | Total | 66 | 59 |