The Potomac Cup - Yes Virginia

By: Jay Flemma

Editor's Note: Cybergolf's Jay Flemma recently attended the annual Potomac Cup matches, which pit the best amateurs in Maryland and Virginia in a Ryder Cup-style competition. For the second straight year, the event was held at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort's famous Mystic Rock Course in Farmington, Pa. Here's Jay's report for the three-day tournament.

First Day - Old Stars, New Blood Power Virginia to 7-5 Lead

A mix of old stars and new blood powered a well-balanced Virginia Amateur Golf Team to a 7-5 lead over their hated rivals from Maryland after the first day of play at the Potomac Cup in Farmington, Pa. Zimbabwean ex-pat Ross McIntosh won both his morning Captain's Choice and afternoon best-ball matches to raise his lifetime record in the Potomac Cup to a sparkling 8-3-1.

The affable McIntosh was humble afterward. "My partner helped a lot," he said, nodding to cup newcomer Peter Badawy, who also won both his matches. "Peter played great today," McIntosh added. "Peter had two eagles on two par-5s - 8 and 11 - and he rolled in the putts after our opponents made birdies. He really responded well."

Badawy won his morning match while teaming with doubles partner Mark Vandegrift to best a pair of Maryland newcomers, Chris Drescher and Chris Taylor 2 and 1. Another Virginia stalwart, Frank Romano raised his career cup record to 9-5-3, teaming with McIntosh in the morning match and cup newbie Matt Hines. Virginia eked out 3 � to 2 � margins in each session during doubles play.

Team Blue sputtered out of the gate initially. The leadoff team of Chris Huemmer and last year's Most Outstanding Player Scott Inman, a combined 7-2-1 in last year's Cup, were bested by rookies and father-and-son tandem Michael and J.J. Occi 2 and 1.

Perhaps the worst embarrassment may have triggered the awakening. With several groups yet to tee off, word filtered back that Virginia's Buddy Patch - a Cup first-timer already in deep water as he and partner Dan Derisio drew Maryland's marquee players Vance Welch and Keith Wilson - had played the first three holes with 15 clubs in his bag.

"But it wasn't just any club," chirped Maryland's Ron Thomas gleefully. "It was 'The Medicus!' "

"Medicus?!?!" screeched Virginia captain Steve Czaban, who looked angry enough to stop a herd of charging rhinoceros. "I'm going to kill him." Then, with teammates looking hawkishly at him, Patch mispronounced the name of the club, saying "I'm stupid, I can't believe that I had to call a penalty on myself because of the Meniscus�"

"Meniscus?!" yelled the rest of the team as the Virginians met in their locker room for a pairings meeting. The room fell apart laughing while the genial Patch tried not to look mortified. "As punishment," began Badawy, cackling about it afterward, "we made Captain Czaban flog him with a rubber chicken."

"How do you even have that in your bag?" asked Badawy. But Patch had an explanation - albeit a patchy one. "My partner has one too," he started before the room erupted in laughter again. Someone shouted "Meniscus!" as he tried to continue the interview. "Well I saw it in the car and swung it in the parking lot thinking it was mine, but it turned out to be his," he said meekly.

Nevertheless, three Mcintosh birdies in a row at Nos. 13, 14 and 15 closed out the morning matches 4 and 3 over Maryland's anchor team of Al Aldana and co-captain Pedro Carrasco - dubbed "the Spanish Armada" by opponents - giving Virginia an early 3 � to 2 � edge.

The groundswell started early as Virginia jumped out to leads in all six matches. Moreover, Maryland looked listless. Welch and long-time doubles' partner Dan Meyer were missing greens and hitting balls all over the course. Ron Thomas and Michael Wah, another seasoned doubles team, squandered an early lead to a pair of cup rookies. By 3:00 p.m., with the matches approaching the midpoint, Virginia was leading every contest.

"Things looked bleak, but we dug deep," said Aldana, who sat out the session but provided inspiration to his teammates as they mounted a comeback. By 4:30 p.m., Welch and Meyer had taken the lead as did Thomas and Wah. Now they were down only by two and looking to tie the session as Michael Occi and Fred Ashby raced past Hummer and teammate Dan DeRisio.

As a sauna-hot afternoon that turned to a tolerable evening, Maryland steadied the ship. John Rhodes and J.J. Occi, a senior on the University of Maryland golf team, battled fiercely against Virginia's Don Phattiyokel and Scott Inman. Birdie followed unlikely birdie as the teams traded uppercuts and roundhouses. "It was the most exciting match I have ever played in my life," Rhodes remarked after the match. "Each team was 6-under on their round, and every time one team tallied a 'bird' the other guys just came roaring back. On the 18th tee as we stood all-square, we looked at each other and said, no matter how this turns out, this was the best match I've ever been a part of in my life. This is just a fantastic event."

Appropriately, the match ended in a hard-fought draw as neither team could tally a winning birdie. Moments before, Virginia's Mark Adams rolled in 20-foot birdie putt to power him and teammate Phil Goldberg - who refers to himself in the third person, as in "Hey Reporter! Goldberg just rolled in a birdie putt to tie the match!" - to a 1-up win over Wah and Thomas.

The teams tee it up again at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday for six alternate-shot matches in the morning and six best-ball matches in the afternoon. Virginia, which leads the series 4-2, has claimed the last three Cups. The teams played from almost all the same tees the PGA Tour members used for the now-defunct 84 Lumber Classic at Mystic Rock.

Day 2 - Virginia Breathing Fire, Maryland Seeing Red

Getting spanked on the patookus by a conga-line full of angry government stiffs and good ole boys must do wonders for your motivation in golf. After blowing his first career Potomac Cup match by taking "The Medicus" swing aid into competition as a 15th club and then -for penance - being spanked on the butt with a rubber chicken by every Virginian, Patch led a furious charge in the Saturday morning singles for Team Blue. Patch and teammate Dave Taylor, (who played in the 2006 U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine) rolled to 6-and-5 win over Maryland rookies Keith Wilson and and Erik Koch spearheaded a 5-1 margin in the alternate-shot portion of the 7th annual matches between the border states. Virginia leads 12-6 as the tournament reached its halfway point.

Virginia captain Czaban is a master motivator; in this case punishing a player for committing a dismal mistake and yet making a joke of it to quickly diffuse the situation and not erode a fragile ego. Patch recovered from both the gaffe and his hilarious mispronunciation (he slurred "Meniscus" in his interview). Nevertheless, do you think they'll use that on the infomercial? "The Meniscus! We'll cost you four shots or two holes each and every round!"

Even so, coupled with his mastery of pairings, Czaban's skippering has Virginia on the verge of claiming their fourth straight Potomac Cup victory. A second consecutive rout in the Saturday alternate-shot format appears to provide both separation on the leaderboard and the eventual margin of victory.

"This is the second year they have beaten us soundly in the alternate-shot format. Last year we lost this same session [Saturday morning foursomes] by a 5 � to � margin," lamented Maryland's Aldana. "We have to mount a comeback this afternoon though and it's never over till the last match." Aldana will have a chance to trigger the rally as he plays in the first best-ball match of the afternoon with fiery Maryland teammate Thomas.

"Yeah, for us, this is Alternate NOT," echoed Maryland's John Rhodes. "Get us off that merry-go-round and into the better ball." Rhodes will team with Wah, another spirited Team Red thoroughbred.

Nevertheless, for the first time in years, Virginia's line-up is as replete with characters as Maryland's. Normally in bed for curfew before the Maryland team heads to the bar, this year's Team Blue has more spunk and fire than several previous Virginia Potomac Cup team combined. Australian Rob Lapointe spent as much time zinging New Zealanders as he did spinning half-wedges around the Pete Dye-designed Mystic Rock.

"They bugger sheep in New Zealand, we chase kangaroos," he joked during his post round interview yesterday. "Chasing 'roos gives me strong calf muscles so I can drive through the ball." LaPointe and Mark Vandergrift defeated Chris Drescher and Maryland co-captain Pedro Carrasco 2 and 1.

Moreover, feisty Frank Romano - who plays every match as if it's the match of his life - has won both his tilts, most notably sinking "The Spanish Armada" in the anchor doubles match Friday morning. Patch has been aw-shucksing and laughing his way from Team Blue joke to Team Blue hero.

Virginia captain Steve Czaban credited Team Blue's dominance in the alternate-shot format to careful planning. "I think I liked what I call our 'personality pairings.' What two guys can hang with each other and feed off each other and deal with each others' mistakes? I pair guys that can handle the adversity, which is the hallmark of alternate-shot golf."

Two pairings paying dividends are McIntosh and Badawy as the anchor and Chung and Don Phattiyakul in the meat of the order. "Badawy is an incredible find and I look forward to having him as a cornerstone for years to come. He and Ross are not just two personalities that work together, they are two great players."

Chung and Phattiyakul are also two rookies making an impact. They've won 2 � out of three possible points, while also having the most effeminate golf clubhead covers in the Northern Hemisphere. "I got beat by a guy with a 'Hello Kitty' head cover [Phatiyakul] - freakin' Hello Kitty!" lamented one Marylander.

"Maybe we should spank you on the butt with a rubber chicken next," joked Maryland team prankster Thomas. Chung isn't much better, sporting a chipmunk on his driver, but you can't argue with the results. "Those two have serious mojo," remarked Czaban with a knowing grin and a confident nod. "There is a reason they are playing together; they are the perfect example of personalities working together."

"This is our first tournament together as a team," explained Phattiyakul earnestly. "But we play in the Virginia State Amateur and U.S. Open qualifiers together all the time. We see each other everywhere."

"Yeah, anywhere Don wants to lose to me," joked Chung, who will play with a different partner for the first time in the matches when he teams with another Virginia rookie, Henry Marche.

Even a pair of dweebs, dubbed "The Wonder Twins" by Captain Czaban, has proven tough on the course. Do you remember "Superfriends?" Zan and Jana and their stupid monkey Gleep were the comic relief, soft-option, heroes in training with lame superpowers ("shape of a bucket of ice???" - What the hell kind of superpower is that??). Yet their Potomac Cup counterparts - one of whom chirps worse than that infernal purple cartoon monkey - are playing .500 ball, with a loss and a win.

Virginia has clearly gelled. While the Marylanders know each other and like each other, they have yet to solve find the alchemical solution to getting gold nuggets out of his jocular "bunch of lead lugnuts," as Thomas described them.

It's a team event, gentlemen. Witness Exhibits A & B.

For the second year, Maryland captain Sheehan - blond locks flowing in the wind, jaunty shades perched on his nose, but a grimace on his face betraying his frustration - teamed experimental pairings that could not compete with the deeper Virginia squad. Nevertheless, he and the team breathed fire coming out of the locker room for the afternoon matches: "6 and 0, 6 and 0," chanted Team Red as they headed to the tee. "Just like we planned it, we've got 'em right where we want 'em. Damn it!" said Sheehan. Nevertheless, a fiery pep talk spurred a furious rally last year.

Spirit is three-quarters of the remedy, but talent is the rest. Virginia may have Maryland outmanned with a deeper, more diverse squad. Nerd and government man, good ole boy and foreign ex-patriot - they still can each be state champions and open qualifiers.

Maryland's been talking the talk. But Virginia's been walking the walk so far, but all that can change in one good session. Maryland leads with strength in the last doubles matches. But if VA can withstand the initial cannonade, the singles may be smooth sailing.

Day 3 - Virginia Rides Rookies to Potomac Cup Title

Badawy proves that there are golf gods. On a weekend where a few of his teammates were frustrated, clueless, disagreeable, or taking needless penalties, the Potomac Cup rookie from McLean, Va., won all four of his matches - frequently from the anchor position -powering Virginia to a 25-15 victory. The annual event was held at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort's famous Mystic Rock Course in Farmington, Pa.

The affable and humble Badawy also walked off with the Joe Hardy Most Outstanding Player Award and was the poster boy for good sportsmanship during the seventh annual "Maryland vs. Virginia" amateur golf team battle. Virginia breezed through the singles matches 10-6, including a 4-0 romp through the first four tilts, taking advantage of a godawful pairings gaffe by the Maryland co-captains. Team Blue secured their fourth consecutive cup and seized a 5-2 overall lead in the series.

Behind 15-9 after two days of doubles play and needing 11 out of 16 points to force a playoff (there is no "tie goes to the defending champion" at the "P-Cup" as it is affectionately called), Maryland's first eight players to go off for the singles were a combined 3-17-4.

The conversation on the Sportstalk 980 radio program was humorous: Maryland captain Sheehan (imitating Ben Crenshaw from the 1999 Ryder Cup): "I'm a big believer in fate and I have a good feeling about tomorrow."

Jay: "How do you have a good feeling about 3-17-4?"

***cricket! cricket! cricket!***

"It was definitely a welcome surprise to me, when I heard that stat," remarked Virginia co-captain Adam McCaa candidly. "Last year, they front-loaded and we back-loaded and they almost stole the Cup." Of the first eight Maryland players to tee off in the singles, four were 0-3 and a fifth was 0-2-1. Of those five, four were Cup rookies.

There was confusion and a lack of deep consideration of the pairings on Maryland's side. The tournament uses the "President's Cup formula," whereby one teams puts up a name, the opponents respond with that opponent, then provide a player for a response from the opposing team. Rather than front-load and try to cut the deficit early and spur a rally, co-captains Vance Welch and John Rhodes seemed more concerned with trying to secure individual match-ups that rarely materialized. These opening eight men for Maryland went 1-6-1 in singles play on Sunday, the one victory coming over Virginia's Huemmer who finished with a 1-3 record. Clearly, Maryland needs to improve its pairings procedure, especially in alternate shot, called "foursomes," where they were trounced 10.5 to 1.5 in the last two years.

This year, Czaban learned from last year's gaffe and put horses in the front and rear of his lineup. His first four players were a combined 7-4-1 in doubles play and all four won their singles matches. Cup rookie Chung - dubbed by Czaban as "The Silent Assassin" - sank the cup-clinching putt in style by rolling in a twisting 8-footer after recovering from the worst position on the hole.

After missing a 3-foot putt on 17 that would have secured no worse than a tie for Virginia in the event, Chung hooked his tee shot left into the deepest rough on the course - between 1 and 18 - and at the foot of a 60-foot-high hill. Completely blind, without even a cloud in the sky to guide him, he hit 20 yards short of the green, then scraped the winning up-and-down to edge Maryland's Drescher. As he posed with the Potomac Cup in hand his teammates serenaded him, singing "Everybody Dae Chung tonight!"

Still, the weekend belonged to Badawy who, playing in the next-to-last group, smiled broadly as he finished off a feverishly tough match against U. Maryland senior J.J. Occi, a Cup rookie who also proved he will be a force for several years for Maryland as both a player and a well-mannered veteran. Paired in the same group with his son, the father (Michael) of the father-and-son Occi team finished a 4-0-0 weekend to lead Team Red.

Besides, Badawy, Matt Himes went 4-0-0 for Team Blue. Virginia veteran Ross McIntosh went 3-1 over the weekend, losing only his singles match to Maryland's anchor, Vance Welch. Virginia's Phattiyakul, Chung's frequent doubles partner over the weekend, tallied a 3-0-1 record.

Since launching his first golf writing website in 2004, http://www.jayflemma.thegolfspace.com, Jay Flemma's comparative analysis of golf designs and knowledge of golf course architecture and golf travel have garnered wide industry respect. In researching his book on America's great public golf courses (and whether they're worth the money), Jay, an associate editor of Cybergolf, has played over 220 nationally ranked public golf courses in 37 different states. Jay has played about 1,649,000 yards of golf - or roughly 938 miles. His pieces on travel and architecture appear in Golf Observer (www.golfobserver.com), Cybergolf and other print magazines. When not researching golf courses for design, value and excitement, Jay is an entertainment, copyright, Internet and trademark lawyer and an Entertainment and Internet Law professor in Manhattan. His clients have been nominated for Grammy and Emmy awards, won a Sundance Film Festival Best Director award, performed on stage and screen, and designed pop art for museums and collectors. Jay lives in Forest Hills, N.Y., and is fiercely loyal to his alma maters, Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts and Trinity College in Connecticut.