The 2008 Match Play Championship got off to a challenging start on Saturday as the winds picked up and the temperature dropped during the first hour of play which began at 7:00 a.m. at Old Warson Country Club. "The first round matches were teeing off and before we knew it, the tent on the first tee box was rolling down the tee towards the fairway," commented Bill Burton of the Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association.
Consisting of 16 of the top amateurs in the St. Louis area, the Match Play, formerly known as the Taylor Cup, is an honor for every player invited. "We were missing about 7 of last years top players due to their college commitments, but it is a great field nonetheless," said Burton on the Back Nine Radio program earlier in the morning.
Round of 16
Match Play events frequently produce unexpected and lopsided results but this years first round was very tightly contested and only two of the matches failed to reach the 17th hole. Number one seed and defending champion Skip Berkmeyer was involved in the most lopsided match of the opening round, defeating Joe Molitor of Normandie Golf Club 7 & 6. Scott Thomas of Meadowbrook Country Club defeated Mark Gardiner of Cardinal Creek Golf Course 3 & 2 the only other match of the day to not reach at least the 17th. All square through the 10th hole, Thomas won 11, 12, 13 and 14 to take a commanding 4 up lead that Gardiner could not overtake. The next five matches all reached the 18th hole with one going to extra holes. Scott McClellan of WingHaven Country Club defeated Matt Hines of Fox Run, 1 up. Buddy Allen, one of Fox Run's four players in the event defeated Jack Ehlers of WingHaven Country Club in 19 holes after Ehlers led nearly the entire match including a 4 up lead through the 11th hole.
Number 2 seed and Fox Run player Darren Lundgren had a true test from Matt Rau of Quail Creek and the UMSL Men's Golf Team. Neither player ever led by more than 1 and Rau took a 1 up lead on the 16th hole when Lundgren failed to get up and down from short of the green, but Rau went long on 17 and Lundgren made a nice up and down from the right bunker which seemed to rattle Rau as he doubled the 18th hole giving Lundgren the 1up victory. "It was a good match, but really tough conditions today, you just had to grind it out and with match play, anything can happen," commented Lundgren after the match with Rau.
UMSL Men's Golf Head Coach, Dustin Ashby, faired slightly better than his player Rau and won the final three holes of his match against Paul Neeman of Old Hickory Golf Club, to win 1up on the 18th green. "At least three of the par fours played like par 5's today. Fortunately I was able to get up and down at a few key times in the match. The golf course was hard, flat out hard this morning," said Ashby just off the 18th green.
The 18th hole again was decisive for the match between Ted Moloney of Fox Run and Ryan Weinhaus of Meadowbrook Country Club. Moloney made a solid par as Weinhaus bogeyed to lose a match that was very closely contested throughout the 18 holes. Moloney won only three holes, the 9th hole to take the first lead of the match, the 16th to square the match and 18th for the eventual win. Weinhaus, a sophomore at Missouri State, won just two of the 18 holes to fall one short.
Brian Kennedy of Persimmon Woods Golf Club played one of the most consistent rounds of the day in leading Phil Caravia of Gateway National for nearly the entire match in winning 2 and 1 on the 17th hole. A double bogey 7 on the par 5, 12th hole squared the match, but Kennedy quickly won the next hole to take a 1up lead he never relinquished.
Round of 8
Following a 30 minute break between matches the second round quickly began and Skip Berkmeyer and Scott Thomas were off first. Thomas was looking forward to the challenge in playing Berkmeyer but got off to a slow start as he trailed early and often including a 3 down deficit through 14 holes. Berkmeyer, with a chance to close the match out on 15, instead bogeyed three straight holes as Thomas made par to even the match going to the 18th hole. Closing bogeys by each player sent the match to extra holes starting at the par 5 16th hole. Pars by both players on 16 and 17 found them back at 18 where Berkmeyer made a difficult par in to the wind to win the match after 21 long holes.
In the second match of the afternoon, Scott McClellan won the first hole of the day and never looked back as he led the entire match in winning 4 & 2. Buddy Allen of Fox Run struggled to make pars with only three on the front nine and could not muster a charge on the back nine.
The third match featured two more accomplished players as Darren Lundgren took on Dustin Ashby. Ashby built a 3up lead through just 7 holes and maintained a 2up lead through 13 and then watched Lundgren win 14, 15 & 17 to take a 1up lead which he held through 18 by halving the hole with bogies to win 1up and advance to the semi-finals on Sunday.
Match number 4 featured Ted Moloney and Brian Kennedy in what was a tale of two nines. Moloney took control early wining the first two holes, but Kennedy fought to square the match by the 4th hole. The two went back and forth through the 13th hole and then Kennedy went birdie, par, par on 14 - 16 to win the match 3 & 2.
The Semi-Final matches on Sunday would include defending champ, Berkmeyer, playing newcomer McClellan and number 2 seed Lundgren facing Kennedy of Persimmon Woods.
Round of 4 (Sunday)
The weather on Sunday was much more pleasant than it was on Saturday. Beautiful, clear skies provided a perfect setting for two semi-final matches that would leave us with a final two, later in the day. Early on in match one, McClellan seemed up to the challenge making par on the first three holes and taking a one up lead. Astring of 3 bogeys in 5 holes opened the door for the consistent Berkmeyer who turned those bogeys into a 2 up lead at the turn. A double bogey by McClellan on the par 5 12th and another bogey on 13 gave Berkmeyer an insurmountable lead of 4up which held up to win the match on the 15th green, 4 & 3.
In match two of the day, Lundgren, who had survived two close calls on Saturday struggled early and often making 9 bogeys in just 13 holes while his competitor Kennedy was just one over par through 13 holes and won the match convincingly 6 & 5 to advance to the final against heavy favorite Skip Berkmeyer.
In the final match, Kennedy played well enough, score wise, to have won any of his other matches shooting just 4 over par for the round, but playing against Berkmeyer it was not enough. Berkmeyer made 4 birdies in the match including each of the three par-5's. In match play, birdies can often provide a huge swing in a match and Berkmeyer's birdies produced four winning holes which was the final margin of victory on the 16th green. In winning the Match Play Championship for a second straight year it marked the 4th win in the event overall including his 2001 and 2002 wins in the Taylor Cup previously held at Boone Valley Golf Club. Berkmeyer will balance his summer schedule around a variety of local and national amateur events, but will sure to be the favorite in every event he enters in the St. Louis area in 2008
