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Emotional Victory

LaMancuso, Roberts Capture Second Title 25 Years Later

By Scott Kindberg 6 min read

ELLICOTTVILLE -- The words came haltingly at first from Mike Roberts on Saturday upon learning that he and his partner, John L. "Judge" LaMancuso, were the winners of the 53rd Italian-American Charity Golf Tournament.

And then, well, they didn't stop.

"First off, it's one of the toughest competitions you're ever going to play," an emotional Roberts said after he and LaMancuso posted a final-round net best-ball 64 and a 54-hole total of 196, one shot better than the overall runner-up team of Casey Digirolamo and Dusty Carlson. "Eighty-eight teams and some really good players."

Then, with tears welling up in his eyes, Roberts said his emotions weren't so much about winning, but rather "it's about the relationships you build."

For him and LaMancuso, who claimed their first I-A championship in 1999, their friendship dates back nearly three decades.

"You think about the 28 years we've played together and the memories we've had, the relationships we've built out of this and the relationship he and I have built," Roberts continued. "I have five older brothers, but I'm closer to Judge than any of my brothers. We're family."

LaMancuso admitted that when he and Roberts won 25 years ago, "it didn't mean a lot ... because we thought, 'Oh, it's easy.'"

That feeling has done a 180 since then.

LaMancuso is 69 and played with a 16 handicap this weekend and Roberts is 62 and played with an 11. Therefore, the opportunities to win at Holiday Valley Resort in early June figure to get tougher and tougher every year.

Heck, LaMancuso said he didn't even know they were in contention as they finished up their final round.

"(Roberts) was going to give me his letter of resignation this morning at breakfast, (telling me I) need to get another partner, that he was too old and that he wasn't going to help me anymore.

"It all stemmed from a putt that was about a foot long above the hole on No. 18 (on Friday). He hit a beautiful birdie putt -- like a 6-footer -- and it hit the edge and went about a foot above the hole. He got over it ... and missed it."

Roberts, who played despite a badly swollen elbow, made up for it Saturday.

"He parred (18)," LaMancuso said, "and that was the difference between winning the tournament and being tied and in a playoff."

LaMancuso added: "Mike played great today. He made some up-and-downs that made the difference. ... If you would have told me at the beginning of the tournament that 14-under par would win, I would never have believed it. They made the course so difficult. ... It was a tough track, and then the wind kicked up and it was really hard to play the course. I give credit to the pro and greenskeeper for setting the course up the way they did."

And even though the longtime friends didn't hit the ball as far as they once did, they were the ones who left Holiday Valley Resort with the championship trophy.

"God is good every day," Roberts said.

Added LaMancuso: "Here's one for the old guys."

Champions

John L. LaMancuso-Mike Roberts 66-66-64-196

Runners-up

Casey Digirolamo-Dusty Carlson 65-66-66-197

First Flight

Adam Gullo-Dylan Lundmark 64-70-67-201

James Panebianco-Sean Larson 62-69-70-201

Bucky Lombardo-Rich Shelley 64-64-76-204

David Munella-David Currie 64-72-69-205

Pete Morgante-Jon Gren Jr. 64-73-68-205

Mike Prinzi-Cody Anderson 65-67-74-206

Joe Sinatra-Dave Leathers 65-73-69-207

Lucian DiNapoli-Ryan Yager 65-72-73-210

Ryan Calalesina-Corey Schmitt 65-72-73-210

Jasyn Consiglio-Josh Dankovich 65-75-70-210

Chris Cusimano-Josh Nelson 64-71-76-211

Angelo Volpe-Jim Brown 65-74-73-212

Second Flight

Ray Paladino-Robert Saltzman 66-66-67-199

Carl Pillittieri-Dave Bogdan 66-64-71-201

Nick Conti-Tommy Fales 66-64-71-201

George Panebianco-John O'Mara 66-65-70-201

Paul Mole-Steve Anderson 68-69-66-201

Pete Pillittieri-Andy Sandstrom 66-71-66-203

Jordan Coccagnia-Kyle Rensel 66-72-67-205

Anthony Cusimano-Chad Peterson 67-71-72-210

Gregg Pietrocarlo-Hans Auer 66-76-72-214

Dominic Salvaggio Jr.-Zach Vogle 67-77-71-215

Third Flight

Paul Mole Jr.-David Lobb 67-65-65-197

Brett Cappa-Adam McKinley 68-66-66-200

John I. LaMancuso-Adam McKinley 68-66-66-200

Mike Schifano-Alex Johnson 68-70-62-200

Sam Peppy Jr.-Charlie Moss 68-69-65-202

Colin Lodestro-John Geisler 68-68-67-203

Blake Tarana-Quint Lawson 69-67-70-206

Adam Mason-Patrick MacIntyre 68-73-66-207

John Sirianno-Ryan Calkins 67-71-70-208

David Rizzo-Tim Mead 68-73-70-211

Joe Calimeri-Chris Hammond 69-78-70-217

Tony Triscari-Randy Nelson 67-79-74-220

Fourth Flight

Nick Munella-Jake Currie 69-69-64-202

Tom Brigiotta-John Anderson 69-63-71-203

Zack Panebianco-Matt Hoaglund 69-64-72-205

Bill Malenga-Salim Sarvaiya 69-69-67-205

Chris Pappalardo-Dan Brunenavs 69-67-70-206

Sebastian Baggiano-Gary Yager 69-72-67-208

Sam LaMancuso Jr.-Evan Grey 69-70-70-209

Josh Ricotta-Kyle Luce 69-73-67-209

Anthony Peppy-Reid VanEvery 69-70-71-210

Joe Frangione-Tyler Nelson 69-73-68-210

Jordan Basile-Ryan Deppas 69-68-78-215

Anthony Tuccio-Scott Smith 69-71-77-217

Fifth Flight

John Trussalo-Tim Magnuson 71-62-65-198

Jordan Bardo-Jordan Woleen 70-67-64-201

David Foti-Rich Grey 70-64-70-204

Tim D'Angelo-Jason Stronz 70-67-69-206

Matt Traniello-Aaron Thomas-Leone 71-68-69-208

Paul Pappalardo-Patrick Langworthy 70-70-69-209

Todd D'Angelo-Joe Willig 70-70-70-210

Rob Foti-Craig Lundgren 71-66-74-211

Dennis Palermo-Bernie Auer 70-69-72-211

Anthony Gullo-Mike Peters 71-67-73-211

John Panebianco-Tom Sedorchuk 70-68-73-211

Drew Rinaldo-Levi Madden 70-78-72-220

Sixth Flight

John Calimeri-Andrew Casselman 74-66-60-200

Greg Mareri-Jerome Davis 71-70-73-213

Mike Condella-Bill Emerson 72-72-71-215

Jim Todaro-Tom Yocum 71-70-75-216

Sandy Volpe-Tim Kolstee 71-73-73-217

Nick Amatuzzo-Jake Berg 71-75-7`-218

Jordan Ricotta-Scott Roberts 73-67-79-219

Lucas Munella-John Samuelson 71-72-79-219

Brooks Landy-Ryan Thompson 71-78-73-222

Bob Marchiando-Barry Minsker 71-76-76-223

Steve Cusimano-Jim Pullan 72-75-77-224

Busty Triscari-Dan Okruhlica 71-76-79-226

Joe Paterniti-Paul Weinstein 71-79-76-227

Mike Yezzi-Chris Yarber 74-81-73-228

Seventh Flight

John Foti-Dan Cotter 76-66-67-209

Todd Frangione-Mark Tarbrake 74-66-74-214

Mike Panebianco-Tanner Merchant 74-72-69-215

Henry Mole-Tom Ames 75-70-71-216

Sam Triscari-Dave Rowe 75-75-69-219

Fred Pellerito-Dan Cheney 78-77-65-220

Jim LaMancuso-Chad Waddington 77-74-73-224

Joe Cordosi-Jeff Lennox 80-73-75-228

Jayme Genco-Tim Anderson 81-71-79-231

Tyler Coccagnia-Kye Forsberg 74-77-88-239

BJ Monacelli-Aaron Beichner 75-83-84-242

John Salvaggio-Joe Jackson 75-83-84-242

Nick Trussalo-Jimmy Schultz 80-84-80-244

Jeremy Casel-Dave Kianos 83-88-86-257

Starting at /week.