Presidents Cup captains John Abercrombie and Ken Schumacher
Howie Tiger
The PebbleCreek Men’s Golf Association (PCMGA) held a Ryder Cup-style tourney, pitting two 120-man teams against each other over three days of competition. The event was played on Jan. 12, 13, and 20 and used two PebbleCreek courses each day. President Ken Schumacher captained one team and Vice President John Abercrombie captained the other. There was an informal agreement for the losing captain to drink a beer out of the winning captain’s shoe, an incentive for sure!
To create the two-man teams for rounds one and two, the “form your own team” sign-up process allowed buddies to play together. No team could have more than an eight-stroke differential between players.
Each winning match was worth one point, with a tie worth a half point. A total of 240 points were for the taking in the overall competition.
Day One: The format for this round was Fourball, aka one best-ball of partners. Thirty two-man team matches were played at Eagle’s Nest and another 30 at Tuscany Falls East. Team Abercrombie took a commanding lead, winning 32 matches, while Team Schumacher won 18. Ten matches were halved. So, on day one, Abercrombie earned 37 points versus Schumacher’s 23 points.
Day Two: The format for this round was Foursomes, aka alternate shot. The two-man teams decide which partner tees off on the even-numbered holes and which on the odd-numbered holes. Then they alternate until the ball is holed. The matches were played at Eagle’s Nest and Tuscany Falls West, as the teams rotated courses from the day before. Team Abercrombie won 32 matches, while Team Schumacher won 23, slightly better than the previous day. Five matches were halved. So, on day two, Abercrombie added 34.5 points to Schumacher’s 25.5.
Day Three: Starting the final day, Team Abercrombie lead with 71.5 points to Schumacher’s 48.5, a significant but not insurmountable lead. The format for this round was Singles, aka individual matches, with 60 matches played on the East course and 60 on the West course. With 120 points at stake, it was mathematically possible for Team Schumacher to catch or to even win from behind. All individuals on both teams battled mightily, with Schumacher’s team winning 50 matches against Abercrombie’s 48. They halved 22 matches. That gave Schumacher 61 points versus Abercrombie’s 59.
Team Abercrombie’s final point total of 130.5 beat Team Schumacher with 109.5.
The winning totals were announced in the Tuscany Falls Ballroom, where beer and snacks were served.
Prizes were awarded to winners of each match, as well as to members of the winning team.
Both captains want to thank Steve Straley and Clint Hull for all the work they did together on setting up the matches, a challenging task for sure.
Captain Schumacher was a man of his word as he proceeded to drink a full beer out of Captain Abercrombie’s shoe!