Day of ugly golf goes Clippers’ way

There is an old adage in sports that says an ugly win is better than a pretty loss.

The Greenport/Southold Clippers boys golf team had that kind of win on Tuesday, as they beat the Shelter Island Indians, 6 2/1-2 1/2, at Gardiners Bay Country Club. David O’Day paced the Clippers with a 45 on the nine-hole, par-35 course. Jay Card shot a 40 for Shelter Island.

“It was a battle of attrition,” Greenport/Southold Coach Dave Fujita said. “On a windy day, it was ugly golf. We just didn’t play well.”

Nonetheless, Fujita is pleased the way O’Day has pulled himself up to be among the Clippers’ top six golfers.

“David has shown steady improvement,” Fujita said. “I am really proud of that.”

The win improved Greenport/Southold’s record to 2-3 overall and in Suffolk County League VII. Shelter Island dropped to 0-2, 0-2.

On Monday, the Clippers fell to the Mattituck Tuckers, 6-3, at the North Fork Country Club.

Will Fujita, who was long off the tee, shot a 39 on the par-35, nine-hole course to beat Morgan Gildersleeve, who had a 41. Kyle Clausen fired a 42 for Greenport/Southold. Marie Santacroce and Connor Davis paced the Tuckers (2-0, 2-0); they both shot 37s.

The Clippers lost a tie-breaker to the Riverhead Blue Waves, 6-3, last Thursday at Cherry Creek Golf Course. Both teams won three matches and were tied with 225 strokes, but the Blue Waves won the tie-breaker by six strokes. Tyler Crohan sparked the Blue Waves (2-0, 2-0) with a 42 on the par-35, nine-hole course. Fujita had a 40 for the Clippers while John Sorenson and Luke Hokanson both shot 43s.

Dave Fujita said that from match to match, he isn’t sure what to expect from his young team. “We need our three, four and five golfers to come through,” he said. “We haven’t had that kind of consistency yet.”