News

St. Louis, MO - The final matches of the 5th Robert A. Shogren Cup were another strong showing from the Metropolitan amateurs. The Gateway PGA and Metropolitan teams met one final time at Bellerive Country Club to take each other on in the singles matches. Coming into the final round, Team Metropolitan’s held 11.5 points, leaving them in need of only 2.5 points to retain or 3 points to win. Team Gateway on the other hand would need 12 points to steal the trophy away from the amateurs. As the 3 time defending champions, Team Metropolitan was looking to make history. 

First off this morning was Brian Lovett for Team Metropolitan versus Jeff Whitfield for Team Gateway. Lovett was one up after one, but then Whitfield rallied back to give hope to his team by winning the match 5 & 3. The second match of the day Ryan Eckelkamp of Team Metropolitan faced Blake Sharamitaro of Team Gateway. The pair went back and forth until Eckelkamp went 2 up on the back nine. The match went to hole 17 where Eckelkamp would win Team Metropolitan’s first point of the day 2 & 1.   

Four matches behind, Sam Migdal was taking on JD Auping. Migdal got off to a hot start and never looked back. Through nine holes Migdal was 5 Up and a birdie on Hole 10 got him to 6. Captain Migdal clenched Team Metropolitan’s second point in his 6 & 5 win. Three groups back from Migdal was the Metropolitan’s Peter Weaver facing the Gateway’s Matt Ginder. Weaver dominated his match, making the turn 6 Up. He nailed a putt from across the green on Hole 10 to get to 7 Up. Then on Hole 12 - playing as par 3 this week - Weaver stuck his tee shot into 2 feet of the hole to win the match 8 & 6 and secure Team Metropolitan’s third and Cup winning point. This round by Weaver is the largest match win margin in Shogren Cup history.  

With the cup secured, the rest of the team could rest easy, but that did not stop them from going for it. The third match off this morning was Blake Skornia for Team Metropolitan against Brett Moomey for Team Gateway. Each time Skornia went up in the match, Moomey had a response. The match ended in a Tie, giving each team a half point. Next was Tony Gumper of Team Metropolitan versus Gideon Smith of Team Gateway. Besides Smith’s lead after Hole 2, Gumper held control of the match and would add another point to Team Metropolitan’s score with a 2 & 1 win. The Metropolitan’s Max Kreikemeier faced the Gateway’s Kyle Szyhowski. Szyhowski seemed to have the upper hand on the front nine, but Krekemeier took charge on the back to win the match 1 Up.  

Marking the halfway point of the tee times, Ryan Sullivan of Team Metropolitan took on Adam Betz of Team Gateway. Betz was up after three holes, but Sullivan rallied back to take control and win the match 4 & 2. Following behind this match was Chad Niezing for Team Metropolitan against Bob Gaus for Team Gateway. Niezing would add yet another point for his team with a 3 & 1 victory. The day saw a tightly contested match between Team Metropolitan’s Drew Pranger and Team Gateway’s Ryan McClintock. Going back and forth, both held the lead twice in the match. At the end of the day, Pranger would birdie on the 18th to bring the match all square to gain a half point for his team.   

Chris Kovach for Team Metropolitan and Jeffrey Schulte for Team Gateway was another battle to the finish. In the home stretch, Schulte held the lead, but Kovach won the final three holes to win 2 Up and bank a point for the Metropolitan. Skip Berkmeyer of Team Metropolitan faced Brian Fogt of Team Gateway. Senior Captain Berkmeyer maintained control throughout his match and earned his team a full point with a 4 & 3 victory. Behind this match was Team Metropolitan’s John Moore against Team Gateway’s Mike Tucker. It was a test to the end with the pair staying neck in neck throughout the match. This match ended in a Tie, providing half a point to both sides. Rounding out the day was Paul Neeman of Team Metropolitan versus Steve Hausmann of Team Gateway. Neeman fought hard, but would fall to Hausmann 3 & 2 to give Gateway one final point for the week.  

In the final round, Team Metropolitan gained 10.5 points while Team Gateway gained 3.5 points. By the end of the Metropolitan madness, the amateurs would walk away with 22 total points. This is the most points earned by a team in the Shogren Cup, and the largest winning margin yet. Team Metropolitan lifts the Shogren Cup for the fourth consecutive year. The two sides will meet again next year at Greenbriar Hills Country Club to see if the professionals can put a stop to the amateurs’ dominance on the course.  

Full Results
Day 1 Recap
Photos

– – –

The Shogren Cup is an annual competition between the best amateurs of the Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association and the professionals of the Gateway PGA. The cup is held in honor of the late Robert A. Shogren, a dedicated member of the St. Louis golf community. This cup represents and honors the years of service of Shogren to both organizations and the impact he had. As a former member of both Bellerive Country Club and Greenbriar Hills Country Club, the two clubs agreed to host the championship on an alternating rotation.

The 2025 Teams:

Team Metropolitan: Skip Berkmeyer - The Legends CC Ryan Eckelkamp - Franklin County CC (MO) Tony Gumper - Normandie GC Chris Kovach - Old Hickory GC Max Kreikemeier - Forest Hills CC Brian Lovett - Bellerive CC Sam Migdal - St. Louis CC John Moore - Metropolitan eClub Paul Neeman - Persimmon Woods GC Chad Niezing - Meadowbrook CC Drew Pranger - Glen Echo CC Blake Skornia - Algonquin GC Ryan Sullivan - Tapawingo National GC Peter Weaver - Bellerive CC

Team Gateway PGA: Adam Betz - Family Golf & Learning Center Blake Sharamitaro - Family Golf & Learning Center Bob Gaus - Family Golf & Learning Center Brett Moomey - Algonquin GC Brian Fogt - Bellerive CC Gideon Smith - Quincy CC JD Auping - Bellerive CC Jeff Whitfield - The Quarry at Crystal Springs Jeffrey Schulte - Bellerive CC Kyle Szyhowski - Norwood Hills CC Matt Gindler - Greenbriar Hills CC Mike Tucker - Bellerive CC Ryan McClintock - Panther Creek CC Steve Hausmann - Annbriar GC