Over the years, 10 different clubs have advanced to the finals of the Team Interclub. And half of those have made at least two finals appearances. But the two clubs that have qualified for the finals most of all are The Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs and Rifle Creek Golf Course in Rifle.
And guess who the two 2018 finalists are who will square off on Oct. 20 at CommonGround?
That’s right — The Broadmoor and Rifle Creek.
The Broadmoor will be making its fourth appreance in the finals and Rifle Creek its third. But the only time either club has actually won the title was in the one previous year that they squared off in the finals, 2014. The Broadmoor earned the trophy that year with a 23-13 victory. This year will mark the first time two teams have met twice or more in the Interclub finals.
(For the record, the other three clubs that have made the Team Interclub finals more than once are Lone Tree, Todd Creek and Battlement Mesa. And Lone Tree remains the only two-time champion of the event, having won in 2011 and ’12, though The Broadmoor would give LT company should it beat Rifle Creek next weekend.)
The CGA Team Interclub stands apart among CGA championships. Every other championship on the schedule is contested over the course of one to four days. The Team Interclub, on the other hand, typically lasts five months or more, with a regular-season round-robin of geographically-linked groups of teams going from May through July, then a 16-team single-elimination playoff from August to October.
Both in the regular season and the playoffs, teams of eight golfers each — of widely varying abilities — square off, with net singles and net four-ball matches held concurrently. Each individual match is worth two points — two for a win and one for a tie. Rosters can vary throughout the season.
This year’s original CGA Team Interclub field featured 32 teams, up six from last year. The record number of team entrants for the event was 64 in 2013. Notably, both Rifle Creek and The Broadmoor come from the two round-robin groups that are the furthest from Denver.
Two changes took effect for this year’s Team Interclub — going from teams of 12 to teams of eight, and teams are now comprised of four “A” players of low handicap indexes of 9.9 and under and four “B” players of low handicaps between 10 and 20.
Both clubs in this fall’s Team Interclub finals are undefeated going into the last match of the year, with The Broadmoor being 6-0 and Rifle Creek 5-0-1, with the tie coming against Battlement Mesa during the regular season.
The Broadmoor is the top seed in the playoff bracket, having scored more points in the regular season (57) than any other club, but it was tested in getting to the finals. Representatives of the Colorado Springs-based resort course edged Lone Tree and Elmwood by 14-10 margins in the round of 16 and the quarterfinals, respectively, before beating The Meadows 16-8 in the semifinals. The Broadmoor’s previous finals appearances came in 2014, ’15 and ’16.
Seventh-seeded Rifle Creek, a public course that also made it to the finals in 2012 and ’14, defeated Broken Tee Englewood 17-7 in the round of 16 and Mariana Butte 16-8 in the quarterfinals. Then in the semis, RC ousted defending Team Interclub champion Saddle Creek/Murphy Creek, 16-8.
When The Broadmoor and Rifle Creek met in 2014 for the title, it was the first of three straight final appearances for the Colorado Springs club. The 23-13 win gave The Broadmoor a 7-0 record that 2014 season. In fact, it won all seven of its matches by double-digit margins.
Four Broadmoor players on that winning team in 2014 will compete again in the finals on Oct. 20: Mike Allred, Ron Crowder, Roger Perry and Scott Meagher. And five Rifle Creek competitors from that 2014 runner-up team are back: Jeb Savage, Tod Smith, Mark Sours, Michael Higginbotham and Pat Hays.
The Team Interclub finals will conclude the 2018 CGA championship season.
CGA Team Interclub Finals Pairings
Singles
Mike Allred (B) vs. Jeb Savage (RC)
Curtis Olson (B) vs. Tod Smith (RC)
Ron Crowder (B) vs. Cole Manupella (RC)
Luke Travins (B) vs. Eric Copen (RC)
Joe Diver (B) vs. Mark Sours (RC)
Roger Perry (B) vs. Michael Higginbotham (RC)
Tom Haggard (B) vs. Tim Roe (RC)
Scott Meagher (B) vs. Pat Hays (RC)
Four-Ball
Allred/Olson (B) vs. Savage/Smith (RC)
Crowder/Travins (B) vs. Manupella/Copen (RC)
Diver/Perry (B) vs. Sours/Higginbotham (RC)
Haggard/Meagher (B) vs. Roe/Hays (RC)
Road to the 2018 CGA Team Interclub Finals
THE BROADMOOR
Regular Season (3-0 with 57 points)
— Defeated The Club at Flying Horse 18-6
— Defeated Garden of the Gods Club 15-9
— Defeated Colorado Springs Country Club 24-0
Playoffs
— Round of 16: Defeated Lone Tree 14-10
— Quarterfinals: Defeated Elmwood 14-10
— Semifinals: Defeated The Meadows 16-8
RIFLE CREEK
Regular Season (2-0-1 record with 45 points)
— Defeated Glenwood Springs 15-9
— Tied with Battlement Mesa 12-12
— Defeated Lincoln Park 18-6
Playoffs
— Round of 16: Defeated Broken Tee Englewood 17-7
— Quarterfinals: Defeated Mariana Butte 16-8
— Semifinals: Defeated 2017 champion Saddle Rock/Murphy Creek 16-8
For more information on the CGA Team Interclub, CLICK HERE and go to CGA Team Interclub tab.
]]>A CGA Team Interclub season that lasted five months wasn’t officially complete until long after the sun had set on Sunday night and play had ended in the championship match.
In a controversial final in which one four-ball and two singles matches weren’t completed as darkness fell, the combined men’s club from Saddle Rock and Murphy Creek Golf Courses (left) defeated Glenwood Springs Golf Club 22-14 at CommonGround Golf Course to win its first CGA Team Interclub title.
With a late start time for the finals planned — 1 p.m. on Sunday — a 90-minute frost delay on Sunday morning pushed back tee times throughout the day, and the first of the six Interclub foursomes didn’t begin competition until about 1:30. The first two foursomes finished as the sun set and the last two groups stopped after the 16th hole, with the Glenwood Springs players (two in singles and one a four-ball team) saying they couldn’t complete the match due to darkness and therefore “conceded”.
In the end, that turned out to be the key word as it gave the win to their opponents in match play, though that may not have been the intention. In the case of two of those matches, Glenwood Springs was 2 down with two holes to play, and in the third, the individual was 1 down with two to go. So even if Glenwood Springs had won every hole of all three of those matches, the result would have been an overall tie at 18-18. Then the appropriate tiebreaker would have had to be found.
Instead, after much discussion among CGA officials and team captains and the players involved, Glenwood Springs agreed to let the results stand with Saddle Rock/Murphy Creek getting the victory.
“We ultimately take responsibity (for) starting too late,” said Dustin Jensen, the managing director of operations for the CGA. “The frost delay hurt us. But it’s completely our fault; we can’t do that going forward. Ultimately, daylight hurt us. It may not have impacted the winner, but it may have had an impact on the (scoring) outcome. That’s a fair way to put it.”
Said Glenwood Springs captain Dave Sorel: “I’m a little disappointed (in not being able to finish all the matches due to darkness). We traveled a long way — from the Western Slope. These guys spent a lot of money. We’ve got people that have to work tomorrow and drive three hours. But Dustin is a straight-up guy. He takes responsibility for that.”
As for the combined men’s club from Saddle Rock/Murphy Creek winning the title, it was quite a feat. After all, the club has been playing in the Team Interclub since 2011, but had never before qualified for the 16-team playoffs, much less won it all. But it all fell into place this year, despite losing a regular-season match to Lone Tree Golf Club, and needing a tiebreaker to get past West Woods Golf Club in the playoff semifinals. SR/MC posted a 5-1-1 record, though none of its wins came by double-digit margins.
“It’s fantastic,” said Calum White, who defeated four-time CGA Mid-Amateur champion Keith Humerickhouse 1 up in singles and teamed up with David Snow to beat Humerickhouse and Danny Schard 2 and 1 in four-ball. “We’ve not even made the playoffs in the past. So to make it into the playoffs, we were excited about that. Then to make it all the way to the final and win it, that’s unbelievable.”
(Calum, in green, and Snow are pictured at left.)
In the end, while Saddle Rock/Murphy Creek split the six four-ball matches with Glenwood Springs, the Aurora team prevailed in singles 16 points to 8.
“I’m very proud of the way our guys pulled it out, fighting through the day to get it done,” said SR/MC playing captain Craig Stephenson, the assistant to team captain Patrick Horvath, who was out of town this weekend. “It was a great job. We had some very close matches.”
Six of Saddle Rock/Murphy Creek’s players won both their singles and four-ball matches: White, Snow, Mike Desmarais, Julio Palacios, Ian Culverhouse and Dave Henderson. On the Glenwood Springs side, going 2-0 were Sorel, Kirk Blaszyk and Parker Hille.
“I’m proud of these guys,” said Sorel, whose Glenwood Springs team was trying to become the second straight club from the Western Slope — following Battlement Mesa last year — to capture the Team Interclub title. “They played hard. It was a good year.”
Murphy Creek/Saddle Rock and Glenwood Springs advanced to the finals from an original field of 26 clubs (22 actually competed) after roughly five months of competition. First, there was a regular-season round-robin of geographically-linked groups of teams lasting from May through mid-summer. The team from each group with the highest point total advanced to the playoffs — along with nine second- and third-place finishes in the round-robins, including SR/MC. Playoff matches ran from August through October.
Both in the regular season and the playoffs, teams of a dozen men each — of widely varying abilities — square off, with net singles and net four-ball matches held concurrently. Each individual match is worth two points — two for a win and one for a tie.
The finals of the eighth CGA Team Interclub conclude the CGA’s 2016 championship season.
As part of the Team Interclub, the CGA will donate $500 each to the junior golf programs at Saddle Rock/Murphy Creek and Glenwood Springs.
CGA Team Interclub Finals
At CommonGround GC in Aurora
OVERALL SCORE: SADDLE ROCK/MURPHY CREEK 22, GLENWOOD SPRINGS 14
FOUR-BALL (Saddle Rock/Murphy Creek 6, Glenwood Springs 6)
Calum White/David Snow (SR/MC) def. Keith Humerickhouse/Danny Schard (GS), 2 and 1
ҬRoland Gauthier/Mark Smith (GS) def. Tom Trueax/Joe Fabrizion (SR/MC), 2 up
“¨Mike Desmarais/Julio Palacios (SR/MC) def. Paul Nelson/Jim Roy (GS), 4 and 3″¨
Kirk Blaszyk/Dave Sorel (GS) def. Jay Janzen/Craig Stephenson (SR/MC), 5 and 3″¨
Ian Culvershouse/Dave Henderson (SR/MC) def. Jeff Austin/Jim Otto (GS), 2 upӬ
Jerry Butler/Parker Hille (GS) def. Steve Brown/Mike Dormond (SR/MC), 3 and 2
SINGLES (Saddle Rock/Murphy Creek 16, Glenwood Springs 8)
Calum White (SR/MC) def. Keith Humerickhouse (GS), 1 upӬ
David Snow (SR/MC) def. Danny Schard (GS), 4 and 3
ҬTom Trueax (SR/MC) halved with Roland Gauthier (GS)Ӭ
Joe Fabrizio (SR/MC) halved with Mark Smith (GS)
ҬMike Desmarais (SR/MC) def. Paul Nelson (GS), 1 upӬ
Julio Palacios (SR/MC) def. Jim Roy (GS), 4 and 3
“¨Kirk Blaszyk (GS) def. Jay Janzen (SR/MC), 4 and 3″¨
Dave Sorel (GS) def. Craig Stephenson (SR/MC), 1 up
“¨Ian Culverhouse (SR/MC) def. Jeff Austin (GS), 2 and 1″¨
Dave Henderson (SR/MC) def. Jim Otto (GS), 2 and 1
“¨Steve Brown (SR/MC) def. Jerry Butler (GS), 2 and 1″¨
Parker Hille (GS) def. Mike Dormand (SR/MC), 4 and 3
Even though each year there are dozens of clubs competing in the net match play event, the same ones tended to perform the best.
The CGA Team Interclub has been around only since 2010, but already five clubs have made two or more appearances in the finals, which pit two teams that both performed well during the regular-season round-robin and survived the single-elimination playoffs.
Lone Tree Golf Club has gone 2-0 in the finals, while Battlement Mesa and Todd Creek are 1-1, The Broadmoor 1-2, and Rifle Creek 0-2.
But this year, for the first time since 2013, the Team Interclub will feature two 12-man squads that will be making their first appearances in the finals.
Culminating five months of competition, the finals for the eighth annual CGA Team Interclub will match Murphy Creek/Saddle Rock against Glenwood Springs Golf Club. The matches will begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday at CGA-owned CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora.
Both teams took improbable paths to make it to the finals. In what was supposed to be a four-team round-robin during the regular season, Glenwood Springs ended up the only club ready to compete, so it advanced to the 16-team playoffs. Then it won three relatively close playoff matches, 20-16 over Colorado National, 22-14 over Mariana Butte/Olde Course at Loveland, and 20-16 over Battlement Mesa in the semifinals. So in matches that were actually played, Glenwood owns a 3-0 record — all in the playoffs.
Murphy Creek/Saddle Rock went 2-1 in round robin play and finished second in the group behind 3-0 Lone Tree, which beat MC/SR 22-14. Then Murphy Creek/Saddle Rock defeated Meadow Hills 22-14 in the round of 16, beat West Woods in a tiebreaker after being knotted 18-18 in the quarterfinals, and topped Homestead 20-16 in the semis.
The bottom line is, every match that Glenwood and Murphy Creek/Saddle Rock actually competed in was close, with no double-digit margins of victory.
As for how the past champions fared this year, Lone Tree fell 19-17 to Mariana Butte/Old Course at Loveland in the round of 16, Battlement Mesa lost 20-16 to Glenwood Springs in the semis, and Todd Creek was ousted 22-14 by Battlement Mesa in the quarterfinals. The Broadmoor, Bear Dance and The Ranch did not compete this year.
Both Murphy Creek/Saddle Rock and Glenwood Springs advanced to the finals from an original field of 26 clubs (22 actually competed) as numbers were down from previous years. First, there was a regular-season round-robin of geographically-linked groups of teams lasting from May through mid-summer. The team from each group with the highest point total advanced to the playoffs — along with nine second- and third-place finishers in the round-robins. Playoff matches run from August through October.
Both in the regular season and the playoffs, teams of a dozen men each — of widely varying abilities — square off, with net singles and net four-ball matches held concurrently. Each individual match is worth two points — two for a win and one for a tie.
Below are the four-ball and singles pairings for Sunday. Among the competitors is four-time CGA Mid-Amateur champion Keith Humerickhouse, who will play for Glenwood Springs.
FOUR-BALL
Calum White/David Snow (SR/MC) vs. Keith Humerickhouse/Danny Schard (GS)
Tom Trueax/Joe Fabrizion (SR/MC) vs. Roland Gauthier/Mark Smith (GS)
Mike Desmarais/Julio Palacios (SR/MC) vs. Paul Nelson/Jim Roy (GS)
Jay Janzen/Craig Stephenson (SR/MC) vs. Kirk Blaszyk/Dave Sorel (GS)
Ian Culvershouse/Dave Henderson (SR/MC) vs. Jeff Austin/Jim Otto (GS)
Steve Brown/Mike Dormond (SR/MC) vs. Jerry Butler/Parker Hille (GS)
SINGLES
Calum White (SR/MC) vs. Keith Humerickhouse (GS)
David Snow (SR/MC) vs. Danny Schard (GS)
Tom Trueax (SR/MC) vs. Roland Gauthier (GS)
Joe Fabrizio (SR/MC) vs. Mark Smith (GS)
Mike Desmarais (SR/MC) vs. Paul Nelson (GS)
Julio Palacios (SR/MC) vs. Jim Roy (GS)
Jay Janzen (SR/MC) vs. Kirk Blaszyk (GS)
Craig Stephenson (SR/MC) vs. Dave Sorel (GS)
Ian Culverhouse (SR/MC) vs. Jeff Austin (GS)
Dave Henderson (SR/MC) vs. Jim Otto (GS)
Steve Brown (SR/MC) vs. Jerry Butler (GS)
Mike Dormand (SR/MC) vs. Parker Hille (GS)
Suffice it to say that the fifth annual CGA Team Interclub Championship has had all parts of the state covered.
And, after almost six months of competition, the 2014 champion will be crowned on Sunday at CommonGround, where the Broadmoor and Rifle Creek will meet in the finals of a competition which originally featured 61 teams, the second-most in the history of the event.
The CGA Team Interclub is a season-long net match play competition that involves golf clubs from throughout the state. This year’s championship included teams from as far west as Adobe Creek National Golf Course in Fruita, as far east as Bunker Hill Country Club in Brush, as far south as Elmwood Golf Course in Pueblo, and as far north as Fort Collins Country Club.
The “regular season” lasted from May through early August, with geographically-linked groups of four teams playing round-robins against one another. The team from each group with the highest point total advanced to the playoffs, which run August through October. This year, the finals will mark the 83rd match of the year, not counting walkovers.
Both in the regular season and the playoffs, teams of a dozen men each — of widely varying abilities — square off, with singles and four-ball matches held concurrently. Each individual match is worth two points — two for a win and one for a tie.
Rifle Creek, a public course located just north of I-70 in Rifle, about 185 miles west of Denver, becomes just the second club to qualify for two CGA Team Interclub finals. Rifle Creek also made it in 2012, when it lost 28-8 to two-time champion Lone Tree Golf Club. (Pictured above are two players from that 2012 Rifle Creek team, Jeb Savage and Cole Manuppella. Savage is one of seven Rifle Creek competitors returning from that 2012 finals team.)
In this year’s Team Interclub, Rifle Creek has gone 5-0, not counting one walkover match. It has outscored its opponents by a combined 115-65, with its closest match being a 19-17 victory over Glenwood Springs Golf Club.
The other finalist, the Broadmoor, has been even more dominant. The resort club, seeded No. 1 in the playoffs, has gone 6-0, collectively outscoring opponents 165-51. Every one of the Broadmoor’s six victories has come by a double-digit margin, with the closest a 23-13 win over Hiwan Golf Club.
Both teams came up with strong semifinal performances to make it to the final two, with the Broadmoor routing Sunset Golf Course 30-6 and Rifle Creek defeating Lincoln Park/Tiara Rado 26-10.
Overall in the playoffs, the Broadmoor has beaten the Pinery 25-11, Hiwan 23-13 and Sunset 30-6. Rifle Creek defeated Riverdale 21-15, 2013 runner-up Todd Creek 23-13, and Lincoln Park/Tiara Rado 26-10.
The Team Interclub concludes the 2014 CGA championship season.
CGA Team Interclub Finals Pairings
Oct. 26, 2014 at CommonGround GC
Singles
Mike Allred, B, vs. Jeb Savage, RC
Ron Crowder, B, vs. Michael Smith, RC
Phillip Temple, B, vs. Jack Parkinson, RC
Greg Flaks, B, vs. Tod Smith, RC
Doug Wasson, B, vs. Jim Grabe, RC
Jerry Tilton, B, vs. Jeff Hauer, RC
James Hafemeister, B, vs. Mark Sours, RC
Roger Perry, B, vs. Steve Stanek, RC
Scott Meagher, B, vs. Clint Hostettler, RC
Josh Waymire, B, vs. Michael Higginbotham, RC
Duke Mitchell, B, vs. Pay Hayes, RC
Jerry Petersen, B, vs. Mike Whitt, RC
Four-Ball
Allred/Crowder, B, vs. Savage/Smith, RC
Temple/Flaks, B, vs. Parkinson/Smith, RC
Wasson/Tilton, B, vs. Grabe/Hauer, RC
Hafemeister/Perry, B, vs. Sours/Stanek, RC
Meagher/Waymire, B, vs. Hostettler/Higginbotham, RC
Mitchell/Petersen, B, vs. Hayes/Whitt, RC
The CGA Team Interclub Championship is a breed apart when it comes to golf tournaments.
Where most tourneys last four days or fewer, the 2013 Team Interclub will span 175 days. It began with a couple of regular-season matches on May 5, and it’ll conclude with the championship finals Oct. 27 at Murphy Creek Golf Course in Aurora.
What started out as a competition involving a record 64 teams — seven of which later withdrew or forfeited all their matches — will finish on the final Sunday of October when a contingent from Todd Creek Golf Club in Thornton squares off with its counterparts from the Golf Club at Bear Dance in Larkspur.
All told, 95 matches will have been played in 2013 in the season-long net match play competition that involves golf clubs from throughout the state.
The “regular season” lasted from May through early August, with geographically-linked groups of four teams playing round-robins against one another. The team from each group with the highest point total advances to the playoffs, which run August through October.
Both in the regular season and the playoffs, teams of a dozen men each — of widely varying abilities — square off, with singles and four-ball matches held concurrently. Each individual match is worth two points — two for a win and one for a tie.
Either way next weekend’s finals go, a first-time champion will be crowned. This is only the fourth official season for the CGA Team Interclub, with the Ranch Country Club winning in 2010 and Lone Tree Golf Club each of the last two years. This summer, Lone Tree finished third in its regular-season group and failed to advance to the playoffs.
As for the 2013 finalists, the Bear Dance team has appeared to live a charmed life. It won its regular-season group by a single point (57-56) over runner-up Heritage Eagle Bend, then won tiebreakers in both the round of 16 (over Meadow Hills) and quarterfinals (over Sunset) to advance in the single-elimination playoffs. Overall for 2013, Bear Dance sports a record of 3 wins, 1 loss and two ties in its six matches to date. But it did win its semifinal match handily, 28-8 over West Woods.
Todd Creek, meanwhile, has gone 6-0 to this point, outscoring its opponents by a combined 142-74. It defeated 2012 finalist Rifle Creek 22-14 in the semifinals.
Though neither of the semifinals went down to the wire, the previous rounds of the playoffs certainly had their share of nail-biters. In the 11 round-of-16 and quarterfinal matches that were played — one was forfeited — there were five 18-18 ties that had to be broken and three other matches that were decided by four points or fewer.
This year’s number of entries for the CGA Team Interclub — 64 — was up from 59 in 2012, 52 in 2011 and 40 in 2010.
The Team Interclub concludes the 2013 CGA championship season.
For the rosters and pairings for the Oct. 27 competition, CLICK HERE.
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And champion No. 3 could bear a remarkable resemblance to champion No. 2.
When the season-long net match play interclub competition concludes on Saturday with the finals at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora, Lone Tree Golf Club will seek its second straight title. Trying to unseat the champs will be a men’s club at another public facility — albeit one more than 200 miles away — Rifle Creek Golf Course.
Saturday’s matchup, which will feature singles and four-ball matches held concurrently, culminates a championship which began on May 5. A total of 59 clubs from around the state entered teams, up from 52 last year and 40 in 2010.
Competing teams battled it out through round-robin matches in pool play, with the top clubs advancing to the 16-team playoffs. Both in the regular season and the playoffs, teams of 12 men of widely varying abilities square off; Saturday’s finals will feature players with handicap indexes ranging from 17.8 to a plus-2.4. Each individual match is worth two points — two for a win and one for a tie.
After going 6-0 in its matches last year — including a 24-12 victory over Battlement Mesa Golf Club for the title — Lone Tree hasn’t had an easy road back to the finals. In fact, the defending champs won one and lost two in their group, but edged The Meadows Golf Club 62-61 in points — over the course of three pool-play matches for each team — to earn an automatic spot in the playoffs.
Then in the single-elimination playoffs, Lone Tree advanced by narrow margins — 20-16 over the Broadmoor and 20-16 over The Meadows in the round of 16 and the quarterfinals, respectively — before defeating Broadlands 23-13 in the semis.
Not only has Lone Tree returned to the finals, but nearly half of the team members are the same as last year. The five scheduled returnees are Randal Gaddis, Doug Moore, Mike Morong, Andrew Pimental and William McDermott.
As for Rifle Creek, it will take a 5-1 record into the finals, having only lost to a combined team from Tiara Rado and Lincoln Park. In each of its five victories, Rifle Creek has won by at least eight points, including a 22-14 semifinal victory over Eagle Vail. Rifle Creek is the second straight finalist from the Western Slope, joining Battlement Mesa.
The CGA Team Interclub finals conclude the association’s 2012 championship season.
Members of the Lone Tree men’s club enjoy the fun and camaraderie of playing in the CGA Team Interclub Championship. But make no mistake: They take the competition seriously.
If there was any doubt about that, just ask team captain Jim Eliassen how much time he spent putting together the best possible team throughout the 2011 season for Lone Tree Golf Club.
“I would say in all honesty — because I really dig into the numbers and I attend each match, too — I put over 150 hours in,” Eliassen said.
And all that time — much of it spent analyzing players’ low handicap indexes, tournament scores and results, and how their games might fare on particular golf courses — apparently paid dividends on Sunday. That’s when Lone Tree defeated Battlement Mesa Golf Club 24-12 in the finals of the second annual CGA Team Interclub at CommonGround Golf Course.
In a match-up of players from two public golf courses separated by 215 miles, Lone Tree won the singles matches 17-7 and the four-ball competition 7-5 to become the first public facility to claim the Team Interclub title.
“It’s a huge deal for the club,” said Mike Morong, who won both his singles and four-ball matches on Sunday. “It’s the biggest thing that’s ever happened for the men’s club. It’s just phenomenal.”
Battlement Mesa was the top seed entering the playoffs and had won four of its five matches by double-digit margins. But on Sunday, after taking an early lead, there was no keeping pace with Lone Tree, where the men’s club outnumbers Battlement Mesa’s approximately 195-35.
The season-long net match play Interclub competition, which originally featured 52 men’s club teams from around the state, culminated Sunday after 5 1/2 months of matches. Both in the regular season and the playoffs, teams of 12 men of varying abilities squared off, simultaneously playing singles and four-ball matches. Each match is worth two points — two for a win and one for a tie.
Lone Tree won all six of its team competitions in 2011, while Battlement Mesa (Gordon Elliott and Michael Stiers are pictured at left) went 5-1. Overall, Sunday marked the 80th dual match of the 2011 championship, and the 12th of the playoffs. It was also the last CGA championship of the 2011 season, and the finale couldn’t have featured better weather in late October.
“We were happy to get to this point definitely,” said Doug Choate, who went 2-0 for a Battlement Mesa team which traveled about 420 miles — largely as a group — over the weekend to get from western Colorado to the Interclub finals and back. “It was a good day, a good golf course and great weather, but golf is a fickle game and it just didn’t go our way.
“But it’s a great event and we’ve had fun playing in it all summer. It’s a good, competitive format.”
Though players with handicaps ranging from 0 to 17 competed on Sunday, Choate put on one of the more impressive performances. After being 4 down after five holes to Randal Gaddis, Choate played holes 6 through 11 in 6 under par en route to singles and four-ball victories.
In all, seven players won both their singles and four-ball matches on Sunday — five from Lone Tree and two from Battlement Mesa. Morong, Daniel Lowe, Andrew Pimental, Derek Dodd and Bob Emmett went 2-0 for Lone Tree, while Choate and Tom Gentilcore did the same for Battlement Mesa. (Pimental and Dodd are pictured at left.)
Eliassen didn’t play on Sunday, though he did compete once for Lone Tree in the Team Interclub this year. But he made a significant contribution without swinging a club.
“Jim Eliassen did a phenomenal job in picking the teams for each match,” Morong said. “You had to play well to make it further into the competition.”
Lone Tree used roughly 30 players during the course of the season, and after each match Eliassen crunched the numbers and talked to the players before making recommendations as to who should represent the men’s club in the next competition.
“It’s like doing your annual performance appraisal because I have to select (the best) 12 people,” he said. “There’s a lot that goes into it, but I also try to get as many (players) involved as I can — and share the wealth.”
For reaching the finals, Lone Tree and Battlement Mesa received $250 each for their junior golf programs from the CGA.
Last year, The Ranch Country Club won the inaugural Team Interclub Championship. Lone Tree failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2010 despite scoring an impressive 70 points during the regular season.
CGA Team Interclub Championship Finals
At CommonGround GC in Aurora
OVERALL FINAL SCORE: LONE TREE GC 24, BATTLEMENT MESA GC 12
SINGLES (Lone Tree 17, Battlement Mesa 7)
Douglas Choate, BM, def. Randal Gaddis, 3 and 1
Doug Moore, LT, def. Frank Oakley, 1 up
Mike Morong, LT, def. Charles Perrin, 4 and 2
Daniel Lowe, LT, def. Jack Elsea, 3 and 2
Tom Gentilcore, BM, def. Bryan Rowe, 2 and 1
Mark Eberly, LT, def. John Santos, 2 up
Andrew Pimental, LT, def. Ken Seidel, 3 and 2
Derek Dodd, LT, def. Jonathan Prater, 3 and 2
Michael Stiers, BM, def. Karl Kiefer, 1 up
Bob Emmett, LT, def. Gordon Elliott, 3 and 2
Michael Anderson, LT, def. Al Tanner, 1 up
Charles Hall, BM, halved with William McDermott, LT
FOUR-BALL (Lone Tree 7, Battlement Mesa 5)
Douglas Choate-Frank Oakley, BM, def. Randal Gaddis-Doug Moore, 3 and 2
Mike Morong-Daniel Lowe, LT, def. Charles Perrin-Jack Elsea, 5 and 4
Tom Gentilcore-John Santos, BM, def. Bryan Rowe-Mark Eberly, 1 up
Andrew Pimental-Derek Dodd, LT, def. Ken Seidel-Jonathan Prater, 3 and 2
Karl Kiefer-Bob Emmett, LT, def. Michael Stiers-Gordon Elliott, 5 and 3
Michael Anderson-William McDermott, LT, halved with Charles Hall-Al Tanner, BM