Hear the Echo in the Thomas O. Sobbe Cup
St. Albans, MO - Following the postponement of the final matches of the Sobbe Cup, the time finally arrived. After an eventful semi-final at The Legends Country Club that required a playoff to determine the final team moving on, Glen Echo Country Club and Bogey Hills Country Club were ready to declare a winner. The teams met in the afternoon on September 29 at the Country Club of St. Albans for the final showdown. The teams would play in the same format they had all summer, which consisted of a Professional Match, 2 Singles Scratch Matches, 1 Singles Handicap Match, 1 Senior Four-Ball Handicap Match and 1 Four-Ball Handicap Match.
The scratch matches kicked off the day first with Drew Pranger of Glen Echo CC facing Ryan Behrmann of Bogey Hills CC, while Michael Becker of Glen Echo CC took on Jeremy Reidelberger of Bogey Hills CC. Behrmann took an early lead for Bogey Hills on the second hole, but Pranger took over on Hole 3. Pranger went on to win Holes 3 through 8, as well as Holes 10 and 11 to win the match 7 & 6, earning the first point for Glen Echo. Becker took the lead on the first hole in his match, but then had to fight back and forth with Reidelberger throughout the front nine. On Hole 12, Becker managed to tie the match before winning Holes 13 and 14. The match went all the way to Hole 18 where Becker would clench a second point for Glen Echo by winning 1 Up.
The professional match was following behind the scratch matches with Ryan Roy of Bogey Hills CC taking on Michael Herbig of Glen Echo CC. Roy took the lead by winning Holes 3 and 4. Herbig tried to respond by winning Hole 5, but this would be the only hole he could win. Taking the match to Hole 15, Roy would earn Bogey Hills its first point on the board by winning 5 & 3.
In the singles handicap match, Bogey Hills CC would send out Clayton Cissell to play against Kevin McLaughlin of Glen Echo CC. Cissell pulled ahead early with a birdie on the first hole. It was not until Hole 6 that McLaughlin would win the hole and bring the match back to even. Cissell once again tried to pull ahead by winning Hole 11, but McLaughlin would catch some wind in his sails to win Holes 13, 15 and 17. McLaughlin’s 2 Up win placed another point on the board for Glen Echo.
The four-ball handicap match would follow next. Brad Nowak and Joey Stoll of Bogey Hills CC would face Jay Ott and Josh Cocking of Glen Echo CC. The side of Ott and Cocking took the early lead for Glen Echo on the first hole. Nowak and Stoll would respond by winning Holes 3 and 4 to turn the board in their direction, but not long after, Cocking and Ott would do just the same to make the turn 2 Up. Still determined, Nowak and Stoll won Holes 10 and 11 to tie the match. After Hole 13, Bogey Hills sat 1 Up, but Ott and Cocking took one last swing for the lead by winning Holes 14 and 15. Despite their efforts, Nowak and Stoll would close the match out by winning the final three holes, finishing 2 Up to earn a second point for Bogey Hills.
Finishing out the matches was the senior four-ball handicap match. The side of Michael Warden and Dennis Osborne would represent Bogey Hills CC and face the side of James Storey and Jack Abels representing Glen Echo CC. Story and Abels took the lead after winning on Hole 2 and then again on Hole 5. Osborne and Warden cut into the lead by winning the sixth hole. Continuing to tie each hole, Abels and Storey finally gained back their 2 Up lead by winning Hole 12. Still undeterred, Osborne and Warden won Hole 14 and pushed the match all the way to 18. Abels and Storey would put the match and the championship to bed by winning Hole 18 to take the match 2 Up and place the final point on the board for Glen Echo.
Glen Echo Country Club would stand as Champions and hoist the Thomas O. Sobbe Cup with a four points to two points victory over Bogey Hills Country Club.