Team Metropolitan 3-Peats at the Shogren Cup
Kirkwood, MO - For the fourth time, the Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association amateur golfers met with the Gateway PGA professionals to battle for the Robert A. Shogren Cup. In previous meetings, the professionals have won once and the amateurs have won twice. The amateurs arrived at Greenbriar Hills Country Club ready to defend and bring home the trophy for a third year in a row. Over the course of the two days, all players of the 14 person teams participated in a four-ball, foursome, and singles match.
Team Metropolitan: Buddy Allen, David Bremer, Corey Choate, Ryan Eckelkamp, Tony Gumper, Chris Kovach, Max Kreikemeier, Tyler Linenbroker, Brian Lovett, Paul Neeman, Drew Pranger, Ryan Sullivan, Zach Walsh, and Jason White
Team Gateway PGA: Adam Betz, Shane Blankenship, Jeff Field, Bob Gaus, Matt Gindler, Steve Hausmann, Sam Lee, Brett Moomey, Bobby Pavelonis, Ryan Roy, Blake Sharamitaro, Gideon Smith, Mike Tucker, and Jeff Whitfield
Kicking things off on Sunday afternoon were the four-ball matches. The seven matches were tightly contested throughout their duration. In the first match, Zach Walsh and Tyler Linenbroker put together a strong front against Brett Moomey and Matt Gindler. Never giving up the lead, Linenbroker and Walsh won their match 2 & 1. Next up was Jason White and Corey Choate versus Ryan Roy and Bobby Pavelonis. White and Choate also never gave up the lead - despite Gateway’s efforts - to win 2 & 1. Buddy Allen and David Bremer faced Mike Tucker and Steve Hausmann in the third match of the day. Allen and Bremer took the first lead of the match, but fell to Tucker and Hausmann 3 & 2. The fourth match saw Ryan Sullivan and Chris Kovach against Sam Lee and Gideon Smith. Though almost making a comeback twice in the match, Kovach and Sullivan would end up losing 2 & 1. Drew Pranger and Max Kreikemeier teamed up to take on Jeff Field and Shane Blankenship. It took six holes to find a lead, but Kreikemeier and Pranger moved ahead and kept going until they won 2 & 1. Brian Lovett and Paul Neeman fought Bob Gaus and Jeff Whitfield until the end. Bringing it back into green territory after being down, Lovett and Neeman tried to stay up, but would end up falling to Gaus and Whitfield 3 & 1. In the final match of the day, Tony Gumper and Ryan Eckelkamp faced Blake Sharamitaro and Adam Betz. After losing the first hole, Gumper and Eckelkamp fought in a back-and-forth match until they won 2 & 1. At the end of the day, Team Metropolitan had banked four points, while Team Gateway banked three points.
Coming back Monday morning, players regrouped for the foursome (alternate shot) matches. Sullivan and Choate went out first against Lee and Gindler. It was a successful match for Gateway, as Sullivan and Choate were unable to catch a lead and would fall 4 & 2. Back together again were Linenbroker and Walsh, now facing Field and Hausmann. Field and Hausmann would win the first hole before Walsh and Linenbroker came back to take over in dominance to win 5 & 4. Third out were duo Gumper and Eckelkamp, against Smith and Roy. Once again Gumper and Eckelkamp found themselves in a back-and-forth match, but would come out triumphant on eighteen 2 Up. In the mid-way match, Kovach and White faced Moomey and Blankenship, which was another battle to the last. Kovach and White found a strength on the back nine to win 2 Up. Bremer and Neeman went out to face Whitfield and Gaus. Unable to find a lead, Neeman and Bremer would lose the match 3 & 2. Allen and Lovett teamed up to take on Tucker and Pavelonis. Lovett and Allen were down after the first, but would come back to never let go of the lead and win the match 3 & 1. Pranger and Kreikemeier were back together again in a battle against Betz and Sharamitaro. It was a fight, but Pranger and Kreikemeier would win 2 & 1. In the foursomes, Team Metropolitan added five points to their tally and Team Gateway added two points. This brought the totals to nine points for Team Metropolitan and five points for Team Gateway.
After a lunch refuel and quick warm-up, players were back out in the singles matches. Fourteen points were up for grabs, so anyone could still win it. Matches started the round as soon as they had had time to eat and quickly prepare for the afternoon. Going out first was Linenbroker versus Field. Field would start out with the lead, but Linenbroker would make a comeback three times to get the match to the eighteenth, where he would win 1 Up. Next, Captain Tony Gumper would take on Steve Hausmann. After a battle and being three up at one point, Gumper would win on 18 green, 1 Up. In the third match, Corey Choate set out against Gideon Smith. Choate would press ahead to win this match 4 & 3. Behind them were Jason White and Ryan Roy. White would take the early lead and never give it up to win 3 & 2. Still looking for a Shogren Cup win, Paul Neeman faced Bob Gaus. Neeman would get to three up on the front nine, but Gaus fought back and the pair would end Tied on the eighteenth green. The sixth pair to go out were Chris Kovach and Matt Gindler. Kovach would be the first to have a lead in the match, but Gindler came back and defeated Kovach 3 & 1. Zach Walsh and Shane Blankenship went off at the halfway mark in the seventh match. Walsh won the first three holes, but Blankenship made a comeback to find a lead. Walsh took the match to eighteen, where he would win the hole and end the match Tied.
Ryan Sullivan and Brett Moomey started out the second half of singles matches. Sullivan had dominant control of the match from beginning to end and would win 4 & 3. Following behind them were Max Kreikemeier and Sam Lee. Lee would have the early lead, but Kreikemeier got the match back on his side. The pair continued to battle and would finish Tied. In the tenth match of the round, Brian Lovett took on Jeff Whitfield. Lovett had the first lead and the pair would be evenly matched until the back nine. Lovett ended up losing the match on the back 3 & 2. Ryan Eckelkamp and Blake Sharamitaro had a clash around the course. Eckelkamp took a stand on the back nine to win the match 2 Up. Buddy Allen had to take on Mike Tucker in the twelfth match. It was a tough round for Allen, as he could not catch a break and would end the match down to Tucker 4 & 2. David Bremer and Bobby Pavelonis set out to each get their side a point. Bremer had the early lead until Pavelonis made a comeback. Bremer tied the match up on Hole 12 and the pair would end the match Tied. The final match of the day was between Drew Pranger and Adam Betz. Pranger dominated the front nine, and then it flipped with Betz dominating on the back nine. Pranger was five up on the front, but Betz’s comeback left the match to end Tied. At the end of this round, Team Metropolitan had earned another 8.5 points and Team Gateway had earned 5.5 points.
At the end of the second day, the totals came to Team Metropolitan with 17.5 points and Team Gateway with 10.5 points. The amateurs would take the win for the third year in a row over the professionals.