Blue Wins Third Straight Cup 12-8 in a Wild Set of Comebacks

October 5, 2014

As matches come to the sixteenth tee, the landscape changes dramatically, the players exit the "amen corner" and come back into the central part of the course, no longer protected by the coves of trees, now facing the bright westward sun from a high perch. Still, two or three hole leads after fifteen have traditionally been enough to guarantee victory. But in 2014, they were often just setups for dramatic comebacks. It was perhaps fitting that as the Tigers' bullpen was displaying a consistent knack for losing leads in the 8th inning, players at Concord were losing their late leads as well.

Four-Ball

After much concern about rain, cold and wind from the players through the week, the players opened the event in cold, fairly dry conditions. In the first match, with cold hands, Brad Schubert pulled his first drive well left, right next to the water. After the captains agreed to a first-ever "lift, clean and place" rule, Schubert was able to put his ball on a reasonable lie, and hit a towering wedge to three feet, and made birdie. Blue would accumulate a strong lead as uneven play dominated the front. The exception was Paul Morgan's eagle three at the seventh, which was played from the white tees. Morgan hit his second shot about 190 yards to about 15 feet and sank the putt, cutting the Blue lead to two. But it was one of only two holes that Morgan and Captain Matt Cates would win the whole match. Chris Wilker would use his strokes effectively to make bogey for par on five straight holes, and then Schubert's four-for-three at thirteen extended the blue lead to four holes, which it held to win four and three.

Rookie Mark Robinson and Vince Olenik both started hot in their match, while the George brothers contributed little. Though the rookie had been told to expect a slow start, he birdied the second by hitting to three feet, the third by holing a bending putt, and the seventh, by hitting his second over the green and then getting up and down. But Olenik snagged a birdie at the fifth after pitching close and made a 30' foot putt at the seventh, where his stroke gave Red the victory on the hole and a one hole lead, which it would never relinquish. Enjoying getting six strokes for the first time, Olenik made par-for-birdie at eight, and Frank George made five-for-four at the ninth, and Red opened a three hole lead. Twice, Blue would cut the lead back to one as Robinson continued his strong play with the only pars at ten and twelve, so that at the twelfth, even giving strokes to both Red players, Blue cut the lead to one. But Frank George made four-for-two at 13, and Olenik's par at the 14th gave Red another three-up lead. But when Robinson made the only par at 15, and Red shot their way to doubles at 16, Blue was back to within one. Red finally closed the door at 17, when George and Olenik both hit shots to four feet, both making birdie to win 2 & 1.

In the third match, Brad Juday celebrated his winning bogey at the first with an "Ickey Shuffle" and said "you are going to see a lot of that today." Ron George Sr. celebrated with no dancing when he hit an 18 foot birdie putt at the second to even the match. Proving strong on the par-threes, he and partner AC Shoop both made three at the sixth to take a two hole lead, as Mark Williams and Juday were slow to get started. AC's bogey-for-par at the eighth gave Red a three hole lead. At the ninth, Juday started an improbable comeback by hitting a wedge six inches to make par. He followed up with bogey, but then Red won the 11th with double bogeys. Brad's par at the twelfth and Williams' bogey at the 14th pulled Blue to even. Into a stiff wind at 15, Williams made par, but AC Shoop was able to bogey the sixteenth, winning the hole against Juday's 7-for-6. Williams made another par at the 17th. At 18, after begging for a concession, Juday sunk a five foot putt to close out the match 2 up.

The fourth match brought together a historically strong group of players. The match featured the players who ranked first (Captain Mike Walters), second (Jon DeAngelis), third (Jamie Grace), and sixth (Bob Walters) in wins at the Concord Cup. The match would be a tale of two nines, as Red never relinquished the tee on the front nine, and never regained it on the back, in another huge comeback. Jon DeAngelis opened in the cold with a perfect drive, hit his second to 12 feet, and made the putt. At the fourth, DeAngelis made a downhill ten footer, while Mike Walters missed a four-footer to tie. At the fifth, "Lou" hit it into the trees of the chute, but bounced out, and then hit a four-hybrid to ten feet, where he two-putted for par. Bob Walters halved the hole by hitting a 20-foot putt. But Lou would give Red a three-hole lead by burying a 30 foot putt at the 6th hole for par, while Mike Walters three-putted for the third time in the first six. DeAngelis then made his second natural birdie at the shortened seventh, and Red was up by four, and the famed Blue team was thinking of how to avoid the pasting. At the 8th, staying hot, DeAngelis made a bending 12 footer to halve the hole. The 14-handicapper would shoot 38 on the front (matching his performance on the last nine at the summer baseball meetings, meaning he had shot 76 over his last 18 holes).

Blue won ten, but Red kept a three hole lead at the 11th when DeAngelis made a 16 foot par save. A four-putt on the treacherous twelfth green by Jamie Grace gave the hole to Bob Walter's par. Grace recovered with a four-for-three at the 13th, but Mike Walters hit his approach to three feet for birdie. His three at the fifteenth cut the Red lead to one hole. Mike then made a birdie at 17 and Blue had erased the entire four-hole lead. At 18, it would be fitting that the Mike Walters and DeAngelis would both have five-footers for par, and both sink them, concluding a halved match between the two strong teams.

The fifth match was tight, with many halved holes on the front side. Mark Corbett birdied the second, and parred the fifth. Tom Bres made bogey on the 4th and par on the 7th, and Bill Sedwick made double on the eighth to give Blue a one hole lead at the turn. Corbett's par at the tenth gave Blue a two hole lead, which it took to the 16th tee. But in the third dramatic comeback of the morning, Red woke up when Bres made five-for-four at the 16th, and Dennis Hackett closed with par and bogey. Blue's players could not manage better than a double at the difficult 18th, and Red had stolen a point. The result was critical, since if the Blue lead had held, they'd have been leading 3 1/2 to 1 1/2 after the morning round. Instead, the matches were all square going into the foursomes.

Foursomes

The conditions remained difficult, especially as cold bones went out to play a second 18. The teams played in different order than their match numbers, because of the length of the fifth match, which went to 18. With winds higher in the afternoon, Mark Williams and Brad Juday went out strong in their rematch against Ron George Sr. and AC Shoop, in a match with even handicaps. Blue quickly jumped out to a four hole lead, and it took a 25-foot side-hill putt by George at the 8th for to stop the Blue momentum. Red continued to struggle on the back, and Blue won 7&5 in the event's first pasting.

In the second match, Blue team Mark Robinson and Bob Walters started slowly, as Robinson missed a two foot putt at the first to settle for a half. But Matt Cates and Jamie Grace stumbled with a sevens at the 4th (four putts) and 5th to give the lead to Blue. A non-descript 44 on the front was enough for Blue to lead by one. With the match even after 13, Blue finally began to play well, with pars on 14, 15, and a bogey at 16 that gave them a 3&2 victory.

Mike Walters and Ron George opened with a conceded birdie, but gave it back with a three putt at the second. The match was even through five, but Paul Morgan and Jon DeAngelis began to take over at six, closing the last four holes par, birdie, par, par. Red's 38 was good for a four hole lead. At the turn, George removed the Under-Armor "sausage casing" claiming it had been restricting his swing. At the tenth, playing from a spot fifty yards right of the fairway (from about 160 yards), George and Walters went back and forth on club selection between eight and seven. Settling on seven, but freed from the casing, George hit a high seven which flew over the spruces, then over the green, and into the creek. Blue was down five. They would halve eleven with a great up and down, and then try to regain something with wins at 12 and 13, but a disastrous double at the 14th and OB shot on 15 lost them the match 5&3.

In the fourth group, Mark Corbett and Brad Schubert halved the first four holes with Vince Olenik and Tom Bres. Bres was returning to the Cup after a four-year absence, and many wondered if his lack of play would hurt the Red team. But he and Olenik began to find some momentum with a par at the 7th, and a bogey-for-par at the 8th. But they gave away their two hole lead with a double at ten and a triple at the eleventh. Red parred 13, birdied 14, and halved 15 with a bogey. Standing on 16, Bres was in the opposite situation of his morning round, up 2 on the sixteenth tee, but the exact same miracle happened. The team leading by two on 16 lost the match. Blue won the 16th with a birdie, the 17th with a par, and the 18th with a par to steal the match from Red!

In the last group, Bill Sedwick and Chris Wilker opened with fives on the first five holes, which first put them down two, and then back to all square. Red's double won the 6th, and its bogey won the 7th, but Blue used its stroke to win with bogey at the 8th. The match stayed very close on the back nine, as Red led by one after the 14th, and Blue by one after the 16th. Red evened the match with par at 17, and both teams doubled the last hole to finish in a halved match.

Pairs

Blue entered Sunday morning with a six to four advantage. Only twice, in 2007 and 1994, has a team won the cup when beginning the day down, and Red's history in singles competition is not as strong as in team play. There was sun and less wind, but temperatures were still in the mid-40s as the players began. Chris Wilker & Ron George Sr. led off play, and George was able to take over the match at Wilker struggled with triples on the 11th through 14th holes. George won 3&2, even though he was giving a stroke.

Brad Juday faced Frank George for the fifth time, with a match history that has included some of the lowest points cup history, including the "withdrawn" concession and "White-Tee-Gate," the only voided match in Cup history. Juday got up and down with a 24 foot putt at the first, and again celebrated a bogey with the Ickey shuffle. George was quickly down three when he could not get off the tee at the third. Juday tripled the fourth and three-putted the fifth to allow George's up and down to pull him to within two. He then skulled two chips at the seventh, George was within one. With a par at the ninth, George was within one. At the tenth, though Juday was in the apple orchard off the tee, George hit into trouble, including a whiff, and Juday won with a six. At the twelfth, the players each hit three balls off the tee, but found their first ball. Brad speculated that Shoop enjoyed the show, but "kicked out" their first balls. Both players parlayed their good fortune into halving doubles. George played well tee to green on both 12 and 13, but four putted both holes from off the green to allow Juday to keep his lead. (Both holes had a very difficult Sunday location.) At the sixteenth, George was down three, so Juday teed off with seven iron. George hit two shots out of bounds, and Juday pressured him to concede on tee but George refused (it was the second time in two days that Juday tried to pressure a concession). Playing safely, Juday hit another seven iron and then wedge to the green, and George conceded the match 4&2. Juday finished the event 3-0 for the first time.

Paul Morgan faced Mark Corbett in match 13, and had perhaps the strongest start in Cup history. He played the first twelve holes in even par, including birdies at the fifth and seventh holes. His twelve holes of even par were enough, as the match finished at 12, with a 7&6 pasting.

Cincinnati buddies AC Shoop and Bill Sedwick played each other in match 14. It was a tough draw for AC since Sedwick has never lost a singles match, having won four and tied two, and Sedwick had beaten AC in 2012. But AC started off well and took a two hole lead at the turn, with strong holes at the sixth and ninth. When he bogeyed the 11th, he took a three hole lead. AC went dormie when he won the 15th against Sedwick's "X,"and Bill's perfect record was in jeopardy. But this was a weekend of comebacks, and Sedwick worked hard to keep his record intact. He finished with an amazing 4-3-5 against AC's 5-4-6 to pull the match to even. This was clearly a case of Sedwick making the comeback happen, no one else that played 18 had a better finish. Sedwick now has four wins and three halves in his seven singles matches.

Sedwick's rally was a huge turning point in the match. Prior to the comeback, it looked as though Red would erase Blue's lead in the first four matches. Still, as the Sedwick-Shoop match ended, Blue was up by only a point, 7 1/2 to 6 1/2.

In match 15, Brad Schubert started quickly against Tom Bres by winning the first two holes with pars, but Bres came back with bogeys-for-par on the third and fourth. When he made seven-for-six at the turn, he was one up. Schubert hit two tee shots in the left trees at the tenth to give Bres a two hole lead. Schubert began to play better with pars from at 11 and 12, but Bres regained his two hole lead with a par at the 13th. At the fourteenth, after both players in the other group hit provisionals, and then found their balls after long searches, Bres hit one of the provisional balls by accident. Bres had hit iron off the tee using a Titleist Red 3, but hit a Titleist Black 3 instead. The wrong ball penalty caused him to lose the hole, and Schubert was within one. Doing a great job of keeping it together after the incident, Bres hit his tee shot to eight feet at the fifteenth and won the hole to go two up again. In an event filled with comebacks, a two up lead at the sixteenth tee was not safe. Bres got his half point at the 16th with a double, but Schubert parred the 17th to extend match. Bres was able to close the match out at eighteen as Schubert struggled, and Bres won 2 up. Art had gone 2-1 in his return to Concord.

In the sixteenth match, Dennis Hackett started out slowly against Ron George. His only early highlight came at the second hole, where after hitting his first tee shot into the water, he hit his second to 45 feet, and then made the bogey putt, halving the hole. If not for that, he'd have lost the first five holes. A par at ten gave George a six hole lead, but again, with all the comebacks, no lead was safe. Hackett won eleven, halved 12 and 13, and won the 14th and 15th holes to pull to within three. George finally closed out the match with a 3o-foot birdie putt from the back of 16, winning 4&2.

So the match would come down to the last four matches. If Red could eke out 3 of the four, they would win the cup. Both of the next matches would come down to the 18th hole. In match 17, Vince Olenik, playing against Mark Robinson, had to hit a shot from his knees at the 3rd hole, and made bogey to keep a two up lead. He used his stroke at four to win the hole with bogey and was up two, a lead he promptly lost as Robinson parred the fifth and sixth. At the seventh, Robinson hit a 90-yard wedge shot to 2 feet, but his birdie only tied the hole as Vinnie got a shot. Vinnie would re-take the lead with a par at the eighth. At the tenth, Robinson began to gain momentum by chipping in for birdie. He then won the 13th through fifteenth as Olenik struggles, and he came to sixteen with a three hole lead. But consistent with the weekend's theme, the 16th tee was a place for comebacks to start. Olenik didn't need his stroke on the 16th as his par was good enough to win. Robinson then missed a four-foot par putt on the 17th to keep Olenik alive. And at the 18th, after hitting a monster drive to 150 yards in the narrow fairway, Robinson made double, and Olenik stole a half point.

Most likely Blue clinched the Cup in the 18th match, when Mark Williams and Matt Cates tied the 17th hole. Matt Cates had avoided the traditional "Captain's Match," wanting no part of Mike Walters. Cates was giving three strokes, but still managed to start strong, leading by one after three holes. "Remmo" then began a strong run, with a bogey at four, with a birdie at the 5th hole, a bogey at the sixth, and a bogey at the 8th to go three up. In 2014, three up was not enough of a lead, and Cates began a run of his own with wins at the 10th, 12th, and 13th holes, and the match was even. Williams made par at the 16th, which would be decisive. Under significant pressure as the cup hung in the balance, both players parred the 17th, which likely clinched the Cup for Blue, since Mike Walters was well ahead of Jamie Grace in the match behind. Both players made nice bogeys at the 18th, and Williams won the match one up.

The 19th match was close throughout between Bob Walters and Jon DeAngelis, in an even handicap match. Pars won the first six holes, a streak that ended when Bob's 6-6-6 finish gave him a one up lead after nine, a lead he extended when DeAngelis made six at the 10th. But Lou made par at the 11th and birdie at the 12th to even the match, and it was even as the players came to 16. Bob Walters played the last three holes in a very solid 5-3-4 to win the match 2 up, going 2-0-1 on the week.

In the final match, Jamie Grace would struggle against Mike Walters, making only one score better than double on the front nine. Walters led by five at the turn, when Grace started playing a little better to hold off the pasting. Grace halved 10, 11, and 12, and then won the 13th with a bogey and the fourteenth with a bogey, and now down only three, wondered if another comeback might be in store. But Walters hit a fifteen foot par putt at the 15th to close the match 4&3.

Blue had won their third straight Concord Cup 12 to 8.