Blue Can't Get Cup To Alternate

If you ask Art, he'll tell you that like good wine, good picks take time. Somehow, Red captain Art put Blue captain Charlie Shoop to sleep. Red's pairings in the alternate shot competition resulted achieved an unprecedented sweep, all but killing Blue's chances.

Blue trailed 6 1/2 to 2 1/2 after the morning play, and rallied desperately. But Red prevailed even with spotty play in the afternoon, 9 to 7.

Four-ball

The pairings in this first round were balanced, as neither captain went for a sure point. The pre-match skinny had red with better talent; Blue was missing both Mike Walters and Brett Smith, its two players with the best record. But rather than take advantage of this, Art went for balance.

The match started out tight, as the first three matches were all halved. The pairings were tight early. The first match featured the two captains, and Ron George and Steve Shoop. These were pairs of opponents who'd faced each other in the singles matches of the previous year. George and Shoop led early, but gave it up on the eighth hole. Charlie Shoop managed a par on the ninth to keep the half.

Meanwhile, Hackett Sr. played Hackett Jr. while Brad Juday and Frank George met immediately after their previous year controversy. Again, no blood.

And the Blue's best player, Jeff Hackett, was stopped with partner Mark Smith by newcomer 'senior' AC Shoop.

It looked like a halved match until Jon DeAngelis made a putt on nine. DeAngelis has the best record of anyone who has played in all nine rounds of the Cup. His putt gave a 1 point lead to the red team.

Foursomes

With 36 holes in one day, and team switching after nine holes, the Concord Cup relies on quick decisions by the captains. But at this point of the match, Art and Charlie took almost 25 minutes to make a pick, holding things up dramatically.

Charlie was working with less talent, and tried to squeeze at least a half out of this portion. As it turned out, he made dramatic mistakes. The biggest was placing Jeff Hackett with Brad Juday. Hackett and Juday feuded throughout their match, as Juday rode his teammate. Meanwhile, Bres found his game for nine holes, and with steady Mike Lamarra, they thumped Hackett and Juday 2&1.

Traditional partners DeAngelis and Shoop proved formidable against Shoop and George, 3&1. Their match featured a dramatic swing at 15. George hit to the front of the green while Shoop pulled his ball into the woods. With Red up only one, the match looked to be even going into 16. But miraculously, Red found their ball, chipped up, and saved par. Meanwhile, Charlie left George a three foot bender on the tough green, and George missed it. The match ended two holes later.

The Hackett senior vs. junior rivalry continued, with the younger Hackett and Jamie Grace beating out Bob Ligon and senior 3&2. Alternate shot is a difficult format to adjust to, and Charlie Shoop could be questioned for putting two rookies together at this point. Finally, Williams and Smith couldn't get the ball in the air, and gave up an ugly loss to AC and Frank.

At this point, Blue was shocked, taking only one match to 18. Red had managed to gain a five point lead. Since it already had the cup, Red would need only 1 1/2 points in the afternoon.

Pairs

The first two Concord Cups were dramatic affairs. While the players ate lunch this year, it seemed almost certain that this one would not be. But somehow, Blue managed to make it close down the stretch.

Mark Williams came up huge. Getting a rematch against DeAngelis, he faced a tough road. DeAngelis was 2-0 on the day, and beaten Williams by the biggest margin of victory ever in the previous year's contest, 7&6. But Williams straightened out his game, and used his strokes wisely to whip DeAngelis by the 15th, 4&3.

Steve Shoop, giving up 8 strokes to Ron George, was only one down through ten, but lost the next four holes, all stroke holes. He died after six foot birdie putt by George at 14, 5&4. Brad Juday rallied against Art, from down one after 14, to win the next three holes, closing the match 2&1. Dennis Hackett Sr. prevailed in a "battle of the seniors," with a quiet victory over AC, 3&2. And Jeff Hackett, who'd been awaiting a match with steady Mikey, controlled his match 3&1. Some thought he won just from better concentration after getting rid of his partner.

Blue had five of the 6 1/2 it needed, virtually tying the match. Red would need half of the remaining points to keep the cup. The remaining matches looked favorable for Blue. With Smitty they had a pressure-tested veteran, with Charlie a player who'd had a great 1996, and with Bob Ligon, someone who'd guaranteed victory over Frank George.

Ligon's didn't last to the 16th. He'd not quite adjusted to the glare of the Concord Cup spotlight, and George, who'd become painfully aware of it 1994, prevailed. Frank's 4&3 victory left him undefeated at the cup.

Still Blue was in until the 18th of the Shoop-Hackett match. Charlie entered 18 one up, and both players struggled to green in three at this tight, 440-yard finishing hole. Hackett faced a 12-foot putt, and hearing from the gathering players already finished, he knew he needed it. He drained it, and with it kept the cup for Red. Once again, the Concord Cup was won with a dramatic putt.

Smitty and Grace had avoided the glare, as their match came down to 18 tied. Without Hackett's putt, they'd have been playing for the title. With the drama defused, Grace made five, and finished 3-0 for the day.