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Dramatic
Finish Decided With Tie Breaker at 19th
 The
day started off with a seldom used rule dispute and finished
with the first Douglas Cup being decided by a tie breaker
chip off on the 19th hole.
The white team
stormed back from 5 points down to tie the match on the
18th hole, while 20 golf carts followed the final
foursome down the 18th fairway. The white team
of Bryan Pennington and Matt Lief
successfully defeated the Blue team of Ivan Borodiak and
Bob Sullivan to complete the sweep of the last 4 points
and force a tie breaking chip off. Captains, Jeff
Douglas and Ramon Bardales,
went to the 19th to chip, one shot, closest to the pin,
to decide the cup. Ramon Bardales,
lofted his chip 30 feet past the pin and Jeff Douglas hit
his chip into the water providing the Blue Team with the
slimmest margin of victory possible. The suspense
proved infectious as the drama unfolded.
The day started with the blue team taking
an early lead in matches between the B-C players. The
blue team held a commanding 5 point lead, with only 10 points
to be decided. With wins in the late
B-C singles match, the white team remained
4 points behind.. With 8 points left to be decided
on the final six holes the white team won 2 of the first
3 matches in alternate shot format, leaving the white team
only two points down with 2 points to be decided. The
crowd, realizing the importance of the final match, joined
the final foursome on the 17th hole and watched
the white team take a 1 hole advantage
with one hole to play. On the final hole, after the
second shots, the blue team seemed in control to tie the
match and secure a Blue team victory. Ivan Borodiak placed
his shot in the middle of the fairway 150 yards from the
pin, while Bryan Pennington's
second shot landed in a deep pot bunker 165 from the pin.
The 20 handicappers were to take the next shot. Matt
Lief nervously entered the pot bunker and successfully chipped
to within 100 yards and Bryan Pennington
lofted a wedge to within 25 feet. Two puts later the match
tournament would end all even, at 20 – 20.
 Jeff
Douglas and Dave Salerno,
weeks earlier, discussed how great it would be if the match
came down to the last foursome to decide a winner, never
considering the possibility of a tie score. As the
day unfolded their wish came true. With a 20 to 20
tie, the Douglas Cup ensured it’s
place on the tournament schedule of PGC for many years to
come.
The suspense continued to grow as Paul
Crespo tallied the results confirming a tie score. The
suspense ended when the founder of the tournament, missed
the final chip, providing Ramon
Bardales and the Blue team a hard
fought victory. After the cup was presented and the
pictures were taken on the 18th green the blue
team chanted, “Ramon dive” urging the blue captain to complete
the celebration with a dive into the pond on the 18th
green. Ramon threw off his glasses and hat and happily
belly flopped for his fellow team mates.
Jeff Douglas remarked “Both teams proved
they deserved a victory but I am very happy with the outcome
and congratulate Ramon and his team. They won and
deserve to hold the cup for the next two years. I’m
glad it was me, rather then any of my team mates, who had
to take the final shot that would lose the tournament.”
The
blue team owns the Douglas Cup till 2008.
But the players are eagerly awaiting to contest it’s
ownership.
“Once in a great while
something very special comes along.
The first Douglas Cup was one of those.
It may never be duplicated.
At the very least, it will be spoken about for a
long time to come.
Firsts are always difficult.
Not in this instance. We had a “down to the wire” finish. We all saw the first victory dive into the lake
(alligators not withstanding).
We saw “D” players making clutch shots with an audience. We all experienced camaraderie and sportsmanship.
This gentlemen, is what
traditions and legends are made of.
And in 2006, at a brand new golf club, 32 phenomenal
guys became part of it.
We were there and we watched it happen. Actually, we all made it happen. We saw the whole become greater than the sum
of the parts. How
very, very special this is.
There will be others,
but this was the first.
How often have any of us been there first?
Thank you all for being
who you are and being there with me.”
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