2009 PAC Tournament Summary: “Houston, We Have A Problem”

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

98 Team Captain Dave Johnson Could Not Keep His Team Focused During the ’09 Cup

Team 97 Routs team 98 to win 2009 title

May 10, 2009
“Houston, we have a problem.” Those infamous words took on new meaning during the 2009 Phi Alpha Cup, where off-the-course issues once again derailed Team 98, allowing Team 97 to cruise to a 7-3 victory. The most notable sideshow of the 2009 edition came courtesy of Team 98’s Jeff Eaton, who many in the 98 Camp blame for a similar espisode that cost their team the 2007 Cup (See “The Call That Lost the Cup”).

According to reports that leaked during Tournament Week, Eaton was informed by his wife that she was moving the couple to Houston, Texas (away from their current home in Connecticuit). Since Eaton did not have a job or a home in Houston, Texas, the new set of circumstances sent Eaton scrambling to set up a residence and a new employment arrangement between and during matches (his wife had already accepted a job). The incident had the overall effect of leaving the entire Team 98 distracted and more than anything, just generally confused. Matters were not helped by the fact that coaches and teammates found it difficult to communicate with Eaton during tournament action since he was constantly making phone calls, text messaging, IM’ing or just playing a friendly game of Brick Breaker.

“The answer is obviously taking the kid’s phone away from him for the weekend, as it has become a chronic distraction for our entire team,” commented 98’s Captain David Johnson (See Slide Show at the bottom of this story). “It cost us in 2007, and it ruined us this year as well. At some point he’s going to have to choose between his Blackberry and his team.”

A Team 1997 spokesman roundly denied an accusation made by Johnson during Tournament Week that Team 97 had resorted to ploys including having a tele-marketing firm repeatedly call Eaton’s mobile phone during PAC play. Phone records obtained by SmokingGun.com after Johnson made the allegation seemed to back up 97’s rebuttals, showing Eaton’s furious cell phone activity was consistent throughout the year, and that most of the calls were outgoing to his wife.

Johnson also seemed annoyed over Stirling Bomar’s well-publicized suspension that occurred right before the 2009 Cup over unsavory photographs that surfaced online. The photographs that appeared over the off-season show Bomar in an unflattering light and were an embarassment to Team 98 (view photos).

“Team 98 is facing some real challenges right now, and I’m not sure what personnel will be back in 2010. Maybe I don’t field my most talented team, but I will field a team with some heart and some focus. There will be no more ‘phone’ing it in’ so to speak. That much, I will guarantee.”

And while Team 98 searched for answers, Team 97 seemed to revel in Team 98’s disintegration.

“It wasn’t as competitive as we would have liked, but hey, a win’s a win,” said Team 97 Captain Andy Sands in his post-event comments (Watch the interview HERE). “Today was more of a victory lap than anything else,” Sands added referring to Sunday’s Singles matches.

Sands’ brash comments did not go over well with the Team 98 Camp, nor did Sands’ behavior during Sunday’s Singles matches. He was criticized by 98 supporters for socializing with spectators during his match with David Johnson, and he did not endear himself with 98’ers when he brought young women and small children from outside the ropes onto the course to finish his putts on some holes.

Even though the actual competition in 2009 did not lay much storyline groundwork for 2010, the events surrounding the 2009 play did – events that should fuel lots of off-season back-and-forth between the two teams for a heated 2010 event. For his part, Johnson is promising to shake up the PAC landscape in the coming months with a series of roster announcements. The only question is whether he’ll be able to get through to teammate Eaton to deliver the news.