2013 Phi Alpha Cup Tournament Summary

Monday, May 6th, 2013

Team Captains Andy Sands and Dave Johnson battled shot-for-shot in the final deciding holes of the 2013 Cup, delivering the finest display of golf in Phi Alpha Cup history.

Team 1997 Takes 2013 PAC Title In Thrilling Fashion

May 6, 2013
In what will go down as the finest display of shot-making and one of the most exciting Phi Alpha Cups in history, Team 97 edged out Team 98 to win the 2013 Phi Alpha Cup, denying Team 98 the elusive PAC 3-peat, and repaying Team 98 for denying them their own 3-peat in 2011. The thrilling match captivated slackjawed fans during the final 9 hole 8-man Captain’s Choice Scramble, with both teams playing side by side, and matching each other shot for shot. The excitement culminated in what will forever be remembered in PAC folklore as “The Bomb” – the 40 foot birdie putt dunked by Team 97’s Andy Sands with three holes to play that helped Team 97 clinch the 2013 title.

Clad all weekend in vintage, hipster-style, custom-made team hoodies, Team 97 uncharacteristically and consistently pulled off crowd-frenzying shots throughout the event, shots reserved in years past for Team 98.

“It was a new look for this team in more ways than one,” said 97’s Steve Burr in his post-tournament press conference. “Sometimes you just gotta shake it up.”

Shake it up they did, including Team 97’s unorthodox pre-tournament training, or lack thereof. Rumors circulated in the days leading up to the Cup that Team 97 had shunned any sort of training in the offseason, virtually taking the year off since the 2012 event.

“Is it a new formula for success?” said Andy Sands when asked if it was a new formula for success for his team. “I can’t say for sure. What I can tell you is that I’ll be sure the bananas are out of my golf bag before next year.”

The fireworks started as soon as the two teams teed off in Friday morning’s initial Best Ball Matches with Team 97 taking an early 1 1/2 – 1/2 lead. The 97’s were able to successfully neutralize 98’s Jeff Eaton out of the gate – a big concern for Team 97 since Eaton was playing on his home course. However, Eaton and Team 98 bounced back in the remaining 3 events behind the leadership of their Captain David Johnson, eventually sqeaking out a Day 1 overall victory, and putting the defending champs in great position to retain the Cup for the third straight year.

Playing some of the best golf of his career, 98’s Dave Johnson picked up his stellar play on Day 2 right where he left it on Day 1, needing only to lead his team to a tie of Saturday’s Captain Choice Round for 98 to retain the Cup. Roars reverberated back and forth across the course all morning while Johnson and 97’s Sands matched each other’s incredible shots in classic punch-counterpunch fashion. Between the fireworks, 97’s Andrew Parker and Steve Burr came up with clutch chipping and putting, and Todd Balsley was the spark plug that helped give Team 97 a 2-shot lead after the first 18 holes of play. The lead though, was effectively only a 1-shot lead, since Team 97 needed to win the Captain’s Choice round outright to take the Cup back from 98. A tie would send it back to Team 98 for the third year in a row.

Heading into the final 9 holes of the 27-hole match, 98 made their first threatening move of the afternoon on the 3rd hole with a birdie on the 175-yd par 3 behind Johnson’s dart to 5 feet, closing 97’s margin to just 1 stroke. But in what would become the storyline of the 2013 PAC, 97 matched 98’s birdie on the very next hole behind Sands’ approach on the 380-yd Par 4 to 2 feet. However, the furious shotmaking and back and forth scoring was merely setting up the most exciting moment in PAC history.

With both teams playing conservative shots into the 180-yard Par 3 23rd hole, each team seemed content with trading pars and letting the match be decided on the final 3 holes – holes where there would be plenty of both scoring opportunities, as well as opportunities to drop a stroke or two. As the players approached the green, it appeared both teams had putts of identical length, around 40 feet, but from different directions. Tournament officials were forced to step off both putts to see who was away, and by a matter of inches, determined that Team 98 would putt first.

After watching his three teammates not really threaten the long attempt, 98 Captain Dave Johnson stepped over his putt for his own unlikely attempt. Johnson put a sweet stroke on the sidehill putt with what appeared to be perfect speed, and after what seemed like an eternity, the ball found the bottom of the cup, sending Team 98 into an absolute frenzy – the likes of which had never been seen during Phi Alpha Cup play.

After having to watch the prolonged Team 98 celebration on the 23rd green, and facing a long, quick, slippery, downhill, left-to-right putt, it seemed certain that Team 97 had lost the momentum of the match, and was in real danger of dropping another stroke and losing The Cup after being in the driver’s seat all day. The 97’s did their best to collect themselves, and Balsley and Burr both hit good putts giving their teammates good reads.

What happened next will go down as the biggest shot in Phi Alpha Cup history – an honor previously held by 98’s Dave Johnson no more than 5 minutes prior. Having brought a hot putter to the competition, 97 Captain Sands stepped up to his putt, uncannily calm given the intensity of the moment. Taking the putt 5 feet out to the left, Sands rolled his putt down the hill. Seeing that the speed and line both looked good, both teams held their collective breaths as time seemed to stand still as Sands’ putt continued on its track.

As the putt approached the hole, voices from the gallery became louder and louder until the ball disappeared in the hole, turning the scene on the 23rd green into chaos. While the intense celebration around him turned into a replay of the extreme jubilance displayed in the 1997 Ryder Cup at Brookhaven after Justin Leonard’s unlikely putt, Sands simply stood up straight and stoic, gave a prolonged fist pump directed at Team 98, and walked off the green.

The putt demoralized a suddenly resurgent Team 98, and by stealing back the momentum of the match from Team 98, Team 97 was able to hold on for the final few holes and capture their 4th Phi Alpha Cup title.

The amazing display of golf also resulted in some of the Phi Alpha Cup’s longest standing records to fall. Grabbing more accolades for Team 97 was Andrew Parker, who was finally able to put a halt to Stirling Bomar’s 9-year Singles losing streak. It was Bomar’s first Singles victory in his Phi Alpha Cup career and put an end to one of the most amazing uninterrupted runs in modern sports history. And while Parker was able to end Bomar’s impressive losing streak, Bomar can still hang his hat on the treasure trove of PAC records he still holds, including: Most Consecutive Phi Alpha Cup Singles Losses (9); Most Phi Alpha Cup Singles Matches Without A Win (9); Largest Losing Margin in a Phi Alpha Cup Singles Match (9&8 to Andy Sands); Highest Seed to Lose 9 Consecutive Phi Alpha Cup Singles Matches; and First Player to Lose 9 Consecutive Phi Alpha Cup Singles Matches.

It was also a stellar individual performance for 97’s Todd Balsley, who captured his first ever PAC title, his first Jeffrey J. Eaton MVP Award (co-MVPs with Andy Sands) and was also awarded the Jeffrey B. Cohen Sportsmanship Award. It is the first time a PAC player has walked away from a single competition with all three awards. In an unprecedented move, the PAC Executive Committee revoked Winston Black’s 2012 Sportsmanship Award for his poor display of sportsmanship and conduct unbecoming a PAC player during the 2013 event.

With the 2013 edition now completed, the golf world’s attention now turns to anticipating the announcement on where the 10th Anniversary Phi Alpha Cup will be held in 2014. Upholding its reputation as “The People’s Cup,” the PAC Executive Committee opened up the venue selection to the fans who can vote on their preference for the 2014 PAC location HERE.