Urso a cut above the rest of the Elmridge men's championship field

Owner of Vinny's Barber Shop in Westerly, Vinny Urso squeezes in rounds of golf around his busy work schedule.He's pretty good with a pair of clippers or a golf club in his hands.On Sunday, Urso's golf skills were on display while winning his first Elmridge Golf Course men's club championship in his first appearance in the 36-hole final.He battled nerves and a tough opponent in Mike Cassell to win the title, 5 and 4."It was exciting," Urso said. "I had a little bit of nerves. I just tried to focus on the task at hand. It's a long day, obviously. We've got to play 36, so I tried to stay even-keel through the first 18 holes. Then, once we got to the second 18, the nerves got to me a little bit, but I tried to stay focused."By the second round, Urso already built a comfortable five hole lead.He opened the match by hitting a good drive, chipping on to within five feet of the pin and sinking a short birdie putt on the first hole, then won the second hole to go 2-up and kept the pressure on from there."Obviously, I was happy with it," Urso said of his strong start. "But I tried not to get too high over it. It was definitely nice to get off to a good start."Urso's game remained consistent, preventing Cassell from making a comeback. It also was Cassell's first final."I was getting up and down pretty well," Urso said. "I wasn't really making any mistakes. I was kind of forcing him to try to beat me with birdies. My short game and my putting, I was making four and five footers pretty regularly and not really having any blow-up holes."Urso, 35, has played golf since the age of 11. He was a member of the Westerly High School golf team and really fell in love with the sport in his 20s.A member of Elmridge for about five years, he's looking forward to seeing himself on the men's club championship winners board in the clubhouse."It feels pretty good," Urso said. "It's nice to be part of that elite group, because not everyone does it. It's nice that I'll have my name on the board up there at Elmridge. It's definitely a good feeling."He was back on the golf course Wednesday after work. He usually plays about three times a week.He plans to try to defend his men's club title next year."We have a great group of guys in the inner club there," Urso said. "It's definitely very competitive, so it will definitely be tough."Two other club champions were crowned last weekend.Gary Sicard captured the First Flight, beating Bob Gebler, 2 and 1. David "Muzzy" Morrone defeated Phil Votto, 2 and 1, to win the Second Flight.Short putts• Austin Lelek, a 13-year-old from Mystic, joined the hole-in-one club on Friday. He accomplished the feat on the 18th hole at Cedar Ridge Golf Course in East Lyme while playing in a PGA Junior League event. He used a pitching wedge on the 127-yard hole.Lelek, who started playing golf at the age of five, will be a freshman at Fitch High School this fall.• Happy retirement to Chris Jurgasik, who served as Elmridge's director of golf. He's looking forward to what's next."I'm completely excited to retire," Jurgasik said.• James Lathrop, last year's runner-up, has a four stroke lead after the first of three rounds in the Pequot Golf Club men's championship. Lathrop fired a 1-over 71. Defending champion and three-time winner Chris Trisciuzzi is second at 75 and Anthony Davison third at 76. James Stack and Mike Scanlan round out the top five at 78.Third and final round action will take place on Sunday, Aug. 4.• At Shennecossett Golf Course, defending champion Steve Chevalier is still in the running in the men's club championship tournament. Chevalier will play Mark Toscano in Saturday's semifinals and Mike Rege will face Shamus McLean in the other match.Chevalier, who's from Groton, has won the title three of the last four years and five times overall.Semifinal winners will compete in Sunday's 36-hole championship.• Anthony Kargul is the points leader in the Elmridge men's inner club competition with 630 points. Andy MacMahon (574) and Gary Sicard (539) round out the top three.• In Connecticut Section PGA Junior Tour action, Charlotte Bunting of Colchester placed second with a 55 in the girls' ages 11-13 division at the 9-Hole Old Lyme Junior Open on Monday. Jonah Scheckwitz of Old Lyme tied for second in the boys' 14-15 division, shooting a 45.At the 18 hole Ralph Denicolo Memorial Junior Open at Manchester Country Club Wednesday, Jaxson Davis of North Stonington tied for 11th with a 6-over 78. Tyler Hollis (83) of Norwich also competed in the event.Shennecossett will host the Players Tour Finale on Aug. 15.Upcoming events• The 39th Connecticut Public Links Championship will run from Aug. 6-7 at Keney Park Golf Course in Hartford. Dave Jones of Mohegan Sun Golf Club, who tied for third last year, will be competing in a challenging field that also includes defending champion Peter Tomlinson.• The Norwich men's club championship begins Saturday, with the winner being crowned on Aug. 11 after four rounds of action. The women's club championship will run Aug. 10-11.• The CSGA's 88th Father & Son Championship will tee off Aug. 12 at Mill River Country Club in Stratford.• The Connecticut Assistant PGA Championship is set for Aug. 26 at Wethersfield Country Club.• Please send golf results and information to g.keefe@theday.com.