Event 9c – Results – Friday, September 30 – Twin Oaks GC – “Top 8 – Quarter Finals” Seacoast Cup playoff round
Welcome to the 11th event of our golf season ! Today we held our 3rd playoff post season round. Two brackets have been formed: If you accumulated a sufficient amount of points to be in the “Top 8”, then you had an automatic invite to continue on in the “Championship Cup Bracket” for match play competition. All other players were welcomed to play and compete in the “Player’s Cup Bracket” to continue on in our playoff season
Twin Oaks GC provided us a great beautiful day of golf with accommodating fairways, and receptive greens. Our top 8 players really tore the course up in several ways…some even playing sore hard that a bogey would win the hole. There were several heated battles…many went all the way to the 18th hole. In the end, most of the players played their best and gave it their all to remain in the “Championship Bracket.” After all was done, 4 players emerged victorious in staying alive in their quest to win the 2017 Seacoast Cup Championship . All other players who remain, have a chance to fight it out in the “Player’s Bracket.” There are a handful of guys who have 2 remaining events to see if they can rack up wins and scoreboard points to be named the “Player’s Cup” champion.
Welcome to newcomer Gus Gustafson …to our golf group.
A Big Congratulations to our winners:
Low Gross Winners
Flight A – Scott Tucker (80)
Flight B – Scott Jordan (89)
Flight C – Bruce Huebner (89)
Low Net Winner
Bruce Huebner (69)
Below are the results:
Recap:
Match 1– Kent Coykendall vs. Curtis Chan (+7) – Both players have played each other for the past 10 years. Both have been past champions of the Seacoast Cup and know each other’s potential. Their level of play was not stellar today, but in the end, the match was quite a site to see. During the first nine, Curtis fell behind but crawled himself out from 3 Down and squared up the match by the end of 9. Then taking his momentum into the back nine, Curtis pulled out to be 2 up on Kent early …but Kent fought back but only could get to within 1 by hole #16. Holding onto the 1 up lead going into #17, Curtis couldn’t answer back Kent’s incredible 25 foot down hill putt to save par, and so the two past champions found themselves ALL SQUARE going to the final hole #18. Curtis had the advantage with a handicap stroke allotment, but failed to capitalize on this as he sliced his 3rd shot into the right hillside deep rough. Failing to get up and down out of the green side bunker, Curtis sadly had to score the dreaded Triple Bogey, while Kent tapped out for a bogey to WIN the hole and match. Both players acknowledged each other’s poor and great play, but the winner was the one who made the least amount of mistakes on the last hole, and Kent was the deserving, rightful winner. In the post game interview Curtis explained “I’ve been going through a major swing change this past year, and trying to work on getting consistency out of it…it is truly a work in progress. Today, I felt good enough to at least give Kent a run for his money. We’ve had many outings together, and for some reason, I thought I had a good chance today at winning as I had the lead much of the back nine. But then when he nailed that 25 footer on #17, that was amazing. Then I failed to make the winning shots on #18 which did me in. Kent deserves to win today and I wish him the best !” Kent appeared a bit exhausted after his round as he sipped his beverage in the club house. He explained, “Today, I didn’t play very well. I couldn’t believe that I was still in it after having so many poor holes. Then Curtis opened the door when he missed a short put on #16. I realized that I had to par out to have a chance. Then I did an incredible up and down par save on #17 which gave me the needed momentum to finish the round. Of course, Curtis didn’t play his best on #18 and kind of help wiped away his chances at winning. I know he’ll be back again.”
Match 2– Ebin Smith vs Kevin Barrett (+7) Both players came out with their best as they traded shots and by the end of six holes, the match remained ALL SQUARE. Then on holes #7 – 9, Ebin went on a par spree and found himself going 3 UP going into the back nine. Kevin dug deep and was able to slowly chisel away at Ebin’s lead and by hole #13, the lead was down to 1 UP. But things unraveled for Kevin as a work related issue came up and Kevin could no longer keep his full attention on the golf match. And being the gentleman that Kevin is, he gracefully conceded the match as he had to tend to an important call that require his professional expertise. Kevin even had to depart the course early, but he knows that there will be another opportunity down the line for him to get The Cup . Ebin realized he was given an early Christmas gift from his friend Kevin. In the post game interview, Ebin stated, “I don’t know what happened, but Kevin just suddenly had to take a call on his phone. I didn’t know what to think…was he having a family emergency?…but Kevin informed me and apologized for the phone call. But then he told me that it was so important that he had to leave the was going to CONCEDE the match. This was totally something I didn’t imagine…and the next thing I realized, Kevin was driving away in his cart to the Club House. I wanted to win today…but never intended to win this fashion.” In a phone call interview, Kevin explained, “I wish it didn’t have to turn out this way…waking away from a match, but I had to take care of an important matter, and I didn’t want to interfere with the match. Ebin was playing hard, and it wasn’t fair to him for me to hold up the match with my phone call. I knew the right thing to do was to concede as I wanted to do the right thing. I wish it would be been different, but sometimes life throws things at you and you just have to go with the punches.”
Match 3 – Lee Fitzgerald vs. Peter Andrew(+4) – Both these players are not new to Championship Match post season play. Both have had their times as Champions: Lee 2011 / Peter 2013. They both know how to play under pressure and understand the competition of “Match Play.” Their match was a constant battle throughout the round. The front nine was ALL SQUARE as they made the turn, and then Peter took advantage of consecutive pars against Lee’s missed putts on #10-11. Taking a 2 UP lead into the 12th hole Peter now had the momentum in the match. Lee countered by calmly tapping out for par on the next hole #12 and then matched Peter’s play on #13. Lee seemed to upright his ship and boldly took advantage of Peters “double bogey” blunder on #14 and took the match again back to ALL SQUARE. Both players played their hearts out on the final 4 holes, but the slight advantage went to Peter as he had stroke holes to help his cause on #16 and 18. The match as ALL SQUARE going into #18, and Lee missed out on his par opportunity to put the pressure on Peter. Peter slipped in his putt with a bogey (net par) to WIN the hole and match. In the post game interview Lee explained “I tried to keep my composure all the way…and I was happy how I played today…I did miss a few putts, but in the end, we were All Square but I came up short as we tied, but those stroke holes on #16 and 18 really gave him the edge he needed to WIN the match.“ Peter was interviewed as he was getting his clubs back into his car in the parking lot and explained, “Boy…was that a match today…I some how pulled out a win when I didn’t think I had a chance. On the front nine, both of us kept up with each other to be tied, but then as the match progressed I could feel the tenseness and my body seemed to want to tighten up. I did all I could do to make sure the holes I had strokes on counted, and my game plan worked. I squeezed out the bogey on #18 to pull out the win. Lee is a gentleman and a great player…but I’m so happy to be able to move on.”
Match 4 – Ted Clinite vs. Scott Jordan (+6) – Both players love the match play format. Ted has been the experience one on post season play, as he currently is the reigning Seacoast Cup Champion. The match didn’t play into Ted’s game today, as he ran into an opponent who played steady golf after the 2nd hole. Scott got off to a great start by birding the first hole for the 1 UP lead, but the second hole must have jolted Scott’s game as he pulled off a “10” on the hole. From there on, Scott became a changed golfer and played fairly steady until he got the WIN on hole #16. Ted explained in the post game interview room, “I just didn’t have the right stuff today. Sometimes in competitive golf there will be days you just want to forget…and today is that day for me. Scott played very well for himself, and battled away the pressures. He certainly became a changed golfer after he took the big score on #2. First he birdies number 1, then the 2nd hole he falls apart. Many players would not be able to recover from such an ordeal, but Scott just kept calm and played through it all. I had my set of own problems and before I knew it, he had a 5 UP lead on me. I did my best to claw my way back into contention, and I’m proud that I got it back to with 1 UP, but when you double bogey many times, you don’t deserve to win. Today was not my day!” Scott explained to our post game reporter, “I was in the zone today. Playing a single digit handicapper, is never an easy task. I knew I had to bring my “A” game today, and I did for the first hole. But then, I did the unthinkable on hole #2 and botched that hole up a lot. But somehow I composed myself and told myself that it was only one hole, and that I had to focus on what was in front of me. I stayed true to that thought and before I knew it…I had the WIN on hole #16 at 3 and 2. I’m happy for the WIN and know that I got off easy as Ted didn’t have his best today.”
Next Event : Friday, October 14, 2016 Place: The Golf Club of California GC, $55 /player 7:30a start
Leader board – We are fully into our Playoff Season. Our, “Top 20,” “Wild Card – Top 16, ” and “Quarter Finals – Top 8” have been completed. Only 4 golfers remain in the Championship Cup bracket. There were many close matches, but only the mentally tough and only those who kept composed remain to fight another day towards their quest to be the solo winner to raise the 2016 Seacoast Cup. All others fall into the “Player’s Cup” division and we have at least 10 players in the hunt who have a chance to become the “Player’s Cup” champion. If you are within 800 points of the number the #5 seeded play, (Scott Tucker), then you are within striking range. All that’s required is that you come with your “A” game at our next event, score low with low gross and low net placing, and win your match. At our last event, Scott improve his status by racking up 590 points , taking him up the ladder from 9th seed to the 5th Seed (top spot for the “Player’s Cup).
Our 4 remaining players in our Championship Cup bracket are: Kent Coykendall, Ebin Smith, Peter Andrew, and Scott Jordan. They will all square off at our next event (Semi-Finals) , to see who can continue onto the Championship Finals. In the mean time, get out to the range, sharpen up your short game, and get your ball rolling on the right line to the cup….see you all at the next event – Golf Club of California GC on Friday, October 14, 2016.
In the “PLAYER’S CUP” bracket, Scott Tucker has established himself as the front runner. Any player who is within 800 points of Scott Tucker, can be in close contention at winning this division. So get out and practice your short game and get consistent at running in your long putts. See you all at the next event, where the point earning potential increases as we get into the “Semi Finals.” Match Play wins will be worth 500 points.
Quest for the 2016 Seacoast Cup– This year will be full of fun times on the golf course. Several years ago the tournament committee added a new dimension to our club’s monthly event play by having Match Play events beginning September of our golf season.. Twenty players will earn their way to this year’s match play event. Points are earned by finishing well in both individual low gross and low net score postings. Also points are earned in different team and individual events ranging from match play, 4 man team best ball, and 2 man best ball events. Net Skins are also another category that allows players to add points to their monthly points.
Also, “Major” events were added, which will have increased value in scoring for that particular event. These events will take place in April and July of the golf season..
Remember only those players who have an Official SCGA or USGA golf index qualify for low net play and compete in Seacoast Christian Golf Club Points System. Players who participate in our events who do not have an official golf index / handicap, will be assigned a “Flight” depending on their level of play. These players also may be assigned a course handicap and may participate and qualify for team net play points . For information on how to obtain an official golf index contact Curtis Chan and visit : Membership and SCGA
Seacoast Cup Playoff Season – (September – November). If you have been playing in this golf group for over 5 years then you know that after August, our playoff season begins. Match Play format is instituted for our rounds, in addition to our low gross/low net play. With the added element of “match play,” players get to stir up their competitive juices and bring out their game faces to bring out the best golf they’ve ever played. Many players have shown their “A” game, while others find how difficult it is to play golf when everything is on the line.
This year, the Golf Tournament Committee has reviewed the last few seasons and have instituted a few new elements to our “Playoff Season.” If a player has sufficient points to be in the “Top 20” then he will qualify to participate in the Seacoast Cup – “Champions” bracket, which will determine our club champion. Below is the playoff calendar of events. Note that events will take place every 2 weeks until November.
- No more “Bye” weeks for our top 4 players. All players will continue to earn points in our playoff season. The “Top 20” and “Wild Card” rounds will take the top 20 and top 16 players (total points) respectively. This will allow players to possibly lose a match, but still continue in the playoffs if they have the points to sustain their level to be part of the top 16. Only when we get to the Quarter Finals will there be eliminations for losing a match.
- Players will continue to reply back to event invite emails to obtain their spots for the event. If a “Top 20” player desires not to participate in an upcoming event, then the next seeded player (#19) will then be given the opportunity to play in the “Champions” bracket.
- “Match Play” points will have an increased value per playoff event. The deeper one goes into the playoffs, the more value for a match play win. For the “Top 20” and “Wild Card” events, players who’s match ends in a TIE will split the earned points. Tie matches in subsequent events will have a “tie-breaker” sudden death playoff…see below.
- “Player’s Cup Bracket” – for those who don’t qualify or have fallen out of the “Championship Cup” bracket, your points total will transfer into the “Player’s Bracket.” In the Player’s Bracket, players will be matched up with other players in the same bracket to have match play competition. Points will also be earned for Wins and Ties. Value for Player’s Bracket wins are 250 points. All Players who fall short of making it to the Semi-Final Championship bracket qualify for the “Player’s Bracket.” There will be no TIE breakers for tie matches in the Player’s Bracket. Points will be split between the two players.
NOTE: TIES / Tie breakers For “Top 20” , “Wild Card” matches, Tie matches will have total points split between players. In Quarter Finals / Semi Finals, tie matches will continue by having players return to designated areas near the 18th hole for a sudden death playoff to determine winner. In Championship Finals, tie matches will be settled by returning to #10 hole for sudden death playoff.
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