Red Retains Cup 13-7 for First Time Since 1996

October 4, 2009

In the 16th Concord Cup, after A.C. Shoop took the Cup home for Red in 2008, Captain Jon DeAngelis had a chance to do something that no Red captain had done since Tom Bres in 1996 – retain the Cup. To get to ten points the fastest, DeAngelis set out a strategy to get the most strokes possible. The strategy worked, as Red's high-handicappers played strongly and delivered for their captain.

Red set the tone early in match #1. Ed Smith, playing in his first cup since 2005, and with a reported rotator cuff injury, chipped in on #1, giving his partner Vince Olenik an early start on improving his sub-.500 cup record. Dave Best and Chris Wilker played solidly – Wilker made good use of his strokes and Best made a birdie on the seventh to pull Blue within one. Wilker made a five-for-four on the tenth hole to even the match. Smith made a four-net-three at 13 and then Olenik made birdie on 14 to put Red up two. (Olenik has played 14 very well through the years at Concord). At the 16th, Wilker made a 20-foot putt to make a net birdie, but then Ed Smith (getting seven strokes) followed up with his own 18-foot putt to halve the hole. Then at 17, Wilker made a ten foot putt to halve Ed Smith’s three, and Red took a one hole lead to 18. With a chance to get a half-point, Wilker’s 12-footer lipped out at 18, and Olenik’s five stood up. Red lead by one.

The second match featured the Blue captain, some personalities and as expected, some wild play. Captain Mark Williams put himself with Brad Juday, it’s a pairing that seems natural, but the two had lost the only two times previously paired, in ’99 and ’08. After the teams halved the fourth hole with double bogeys, Captain “Remmo” knocked it stiff on number five for birdie, giving Blue a 2-up lead. Red won the next hole with a double bogey after Brad took five shots from 15 yards at the hole nicknamed “Juday.” On the back nine, Shoop carried Red a little as Lou Boudreau hit the ball OB off three consecutive tees. Shoop chipped in on 12, made a ten-footer to halve the fourteenth, and a solid par on the 15th, , with what Juday described as a “miracle approach.’” Red won 3 & 2 and had a quick lead.

In the third match Mike Walters and Mark Smith got Blue’s first point against Ron George Sr. and Dennis Hackett. Blue trailed at the turn, but won 10, 11, 13 and 14 to take control and won 3&2.

Blue’s seniors took on AC Shoop and Jon DeAngelis in match #4. The Blue seniors have been a big reason for their dominance in the cup. Hackett Sr. brought a 20-12-1 record into the Cup while Sedwick was 3-1-2. The match was close through the first 13, with the teams trading one hole leads. Then DeAngelis made nice up and downs at 14 and 15 to take control of the match, and the Captain and former Captain had Red’s third point.

The final four-ball match was close until a run by Red on 12, 13, and 14. Working his strategy to get a lot of strokes, DeAngelis put Jamie Grace and Frank George against Bob Walters and Ron George. With the match even, Grace’s 6-for-5 was good enough to win the 12th. Then Frank went on a tear with pars at 13 and 14, and then he a birdie with a fifteen foot putt at the 15th to win the match. Grace was able to pick up his ball – a sure birdie only four feet away. On a weekend that saw only seven birdies total, Red’s pair of birdies at 15 was quite impressive, and gave Red a commanding 4-1 lead.

With blue in a hole, the alternate shot matches were close – three of them reached the 18th hole. In contrast, only one fourball and one pairs match went to the 18th, and it played difficult as usual, with no pars for the weekend.

The first match had perhaps the best matchup. Captain Williams put the Walters brothers 3-1 alternate shot record on the line against Steve Shoop and Jamie Grace. Shoop had become a foursomes specialist of late, having won three straight, and seven of his last eight, with a wide variety of partners. Shoop and Grace posted a solid 42 on the front while the Walters put out a 92-pace, and Red clinched by the 16th hole with a double bogey.

Mark Williams and Bill Sedwick won the first four holes playing 3-over and never trailed, winning 5&4.

Mark Smith and Chris Wilker got a quick two hole lead but Vince Olenik and Frank George grabbed a one-hole lead by winning the next three. Smith and Wilker confirmed the nickname that Steve Shoop has given the 12th hole – they conceded the hole on the tee after some difficulties. A six-for-five won 13 for Blue, but Red followed with a winning seven at the 14th. The match went all the way to 18, with Olenik and Wilker repeating their earlier matchup at 18. This time, Wilker and Smith made a fine five-for-four to win the match for Blue.

Blue had David Best and Ron George against Red’s Seniors. In 2008, Best and George had blown a three-hole lead with seven to play, losing to Steve Shoop and Frank George. This year, they reached the same lead after the 12th hole harassed AC Shoop and Ron George Sr. Red then won 13 with a net four, halved 14 with a net five, parred 15 to win and parred 16 for a net birdie to tie the match. They hit it OB on 17 to give Blue life, but then played a very solid five-net-four at the 18th to halve the match for Red, and Best and George had blown another big lead.

The last foursomes match saw another big comeback. Ed Smith and Jon DeAngelis took a four hole lead with a par at the 11th. But they “jackpotted” 12 through 14 (7-7-7) and lost 1 to a par and x’ed out on the 16th to give back the whole lead. After bogeys halved 17, Brad Juday and Denny Sr. had a chance to bring Blue to within a point in the overall standings. But Smith and DeAngelis won 18 with a bogey, and Red kept a solid three point lead as the teams halved the afternoon matches.

Sunday

On Sunday, conditions were difficult. After a long frost delay, the day would see showers and sun, sometimes back and forth in just a few minutes. Either weather or lack of sleep made play rugged – twelve players shot 49 or worse on the front nine, and there were only two birdies all day, David Best made one on the 2nd hole, and Vince Olenik birdied the 12th.

In the first match, Tom Bres played his first match of the weekend. He’d missed his first Concord Cup matches the day before so that he could attend the UM-MSU game in East Lansing. Bill Sedwick made him pay with a 2&1 victory. Vince Olenik was one of the few players to play well, playing only 3-over, which was enough to beat up on Ron George by the 14th hole, 5&4.

Chris Wilker and AC Shoop had a close match. AC had beaten Chris Wilker in 2006 singles play but in this match Wilker won 15, 16, and 17 to come from behind and win 2 & 1. Meanwhile, David Best birdied the 2nd and never looked back, winning over Steve Shoop 6&5.

Ed Smith dispatched Captain Williams in similar fashion, and Smith concluded his cup with a 3-0 record. Jamie Grace has been on fire in the last three years, and he started hot in his match against Mark Smith. He worked his way to a four-hole lead by the eighth hole, even though he was giving nine strokes and even though he made no pars. But Mark Smith found his game and played only three over for a six hole stretch, bringing the match back to even with a bogey at the 15th. But Grace closed 4-3-6 to win 2-up, even while giving two strokes on the last three holes. For the second straight year, he had finished 3-0.

Dennis Hackett’s Sunday record at Concord has been spotty in recent years, he had not won a match on Sunday since 1998 when he beat Brett Smith 6&4. For his part, Bob Walters was only one year removed from his 12-0 streak, but he was now fighting an 0-5 streak. Hackett posted a decent 43 on the front while Bob had a hard time getting going, and Hackett led by four at the turn, winning 6&5. “All-in” Walters has now four years of 3-0 and three years of 0-3.

Jon DeAngelis jumped out to a five-hole lead against Mike Walters with a 39 on the front, getting six strokes. But Walters fought back, winning 12, 13, and 14, even while giving strokes on two of the holes. But he ran out of steam on 15, where he double-hit the ball twice (TWO TC) and made 7, and DeAngelis closed him out on the following hole.

Red’s clinching of the Concord Cup came during a bizarre weather turn on the 14th hole. Pictures show light rain while Dennis Hackett Sr. and Ron George Sr. played in the fairway at 14, but by the time they reached the green, an unbelievable deluge was coming down. George picked up the half point that Red needed with a two putt from six feet with a roostertail, and Red had retained the Cup. He finished the match at15.

And in a bizarre final match, Brad Juday and Frank George decided to play from the white tees. The match has been ruled null and void, and the point has been split by the two teams, leading to a 12 1/2-6 1/2 victory for Red. It has also been ruled that Brad will not receive credit for victory in the records kept by the Concord Cup.