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St. Louis, MO - The Robert A. Shogren Cup is the one time of the year local golf professionals and amateurs come head to head in a Ryder Cup style format: Four-Ball, Foursomes, and Singles. The Gateway PGA and Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association form teams of 14 players consisting of 10 regular golfers and 4 senior golfers. MAGA selects from its top performers from the two previous seasons to join the team, and the captains have three picks - two regular, one senior - to fill the team out. Though matches between these two have taken place over the years, three years ago, they got together to make this championship a permanent fixture in the season to honor the late Robert A. Shogren. Bob Shogren, or Shogie as many knew him, played an integral part in both the amateur and professional game in this region, making this a great way for both sides to honor him. The championship alternates between Bellerive Country Club and Greenbriar Hills Country Club each year, as Shogie had called both home at a point during his life. The 3rd Shogren Cup was held at Bellerive Country Club this year. 

Team MAGA: Buddy Allen, Richard Skip Berkmeyer, Brad Carpenter, Ryan Eckelkamp, Tony Gumper, Chris Kovach, Brian Lovett, Joseph Malench, Sam Migdal, Paul Neeman, Chad Niezing, Drew Pranger, Ryan Sullivan, Peter Weaver

Team Gateway PGA: JD Auping, Brian Fogt, Bob Gaus, Matt Gindler, Steve Hausmann, Sam Lee, Grant Masson, Brett Moomey, Ryan Roy, Rob Sedorcek, Blake Sharamitaro, Gideon Smith, Jeff Whitfield, Kyle Williams

Sunday afternoon, the teams took to the course in the Four-Ball Matches. Team MAGA came ready to show Team Gateway PGA that they were not to be underestimated, winning 4 of the 7 matches. Malench and Neeman of Team MAGA took an early lead on the first hole, but were unable to hold off Fogt and Whitfield of Team Gateway who won the match 3 & 1. Allen and Niezing put together a strong front for the amateurs, never letting Sedorcek and Auping bring the match to tied or better for the pros. Team MAGA won the second match 3 & 2. In Match 3 of the Four-Ball, Migdal and Kovach kept the match at bay against the pros, Smith and Roy, until Hole 5, where the amateurs took the lead and refused to let go until the match was won 2 & 1. In a back-and-forth match, Gumper and Eckelkamp for Team MAGA and Williams and Lee for Team Gateway PGA found themselves in a fight to the finish, where the amateurs would come out on top after 18 holes, 1 Up. Also showing their amateur strength, Weaver and Carpenter gave Masson and Hausmann no wiggle room in Match 5. By Hole 12, the amateurs were 5 Up and never gave up a hole to the pros until Hole 14, but were able to close out the match 4 & 3. Maybe sensing their team could use some help, Moomey and Gindler brought the pros their second win over Berkmeyer and Pranger by only giving the amateurs a win on the first hole and then shutting them down to win 4 & 3. In the final match, amateurs Lovett and Sullivan tried to fight back against the pros by winning a few holes and taking it to 18, but Gaus and Sharamitaro came out on top 1 Up. After the Four-Ball Matches, Team MAGA was up with 4 points and Team Gateway PGA had 3 points.  

Knowing the score was tight, Team MAGA was ready Monday morning to extend their lead through the Foursomes Matches before the Singles Matches came along in the afternoon. Starting out the day for the amateurs were Lovett and Malench. The pros, Fogt and Whitfield, tried to put the pressure on, but the amateurs pulled out the first point for Team MAGA with a 2 & 1 win. Struggling to find themselves up in the match Carpenter and Weaver refused to let the pros win Match 2. They fought until the very last hole, where they won the hole to finish the match Tied with Lee and Sharamitaro. In Match 3, Sullivan and Kovach for Team MAGA put the gas on, finding themselves 5 Up through eight holes over opponents Gindler and Masson. Despite the pros' efforts, the amateurs brought in another point by winning 5 & 4. After being down through seven to Roy and Hausmann, Berkemeyer and Pranger turned their match around for Team MAGA to take the lead and win the match 3 & 2. Match 5 also had the heat turned up for the amateurs with Migdal and Niezing sitting 5 Up through eight against Williams and Smith. It only took 13 holes to finish out the match 6 & 5 for the amateurs. Gumper and Eckelkamp found themselves in the same boat as in the Four-Ball match where they fought to the very end against pros Auping and Moomey to win the match 1 Up. Allen and Neeman had another amateur lead through 9 holes, but the pros, Sedorcek and Gaus, found their footing on the back nine. In the final match of the morning Sedorcek and Gaus brought in the Gateway PGA its first full point of the morning, 2 & 1. After the Foursomes, Team MAGA remained on top with 9.5 points and Team Gateway PGA sat at 4.5 points.

All of these players know anything can happen when you get to the Singles Matches. In fact the last two years, the champion came down to the wire with the Singles Matches. Eager to get the singles matches rolling, Berkmeyer for the amateurs and Gindler for the pros hit the course first. Berkmeyer took the early lead and only let Gindler tie the match once, winning Team MAGA a point, 3 & 2. Looking for another hefty win, Sullivan took on Williams from the Gateway PGA, and hammered out a 5 Up through 9 holes run. Sullivan kept pushing to win the match 6 & 5. Weaver never let pro Smith get the score to better than tied, and won Match 3, 4 & 2. In Match 4 on the course, Whitfield barely gave amateur Malench room to make a move. With Malench only winning 2 holes, Whitfield was able to bring the pros their first Singles point, 5 & 4. Amateur Pranger and pro Hausmann took it to the last hole before Pranger brought the match to a close, 1 Up. Carpenter for Team MAGA took on Roy of Team Gateway, where they kept the match close, but Carpenter was able to close it out 2 & 1 for the amateurs. Match 7 saw Eckelkamp and pro, Masson, duke it out to the eighteenth hole, where Masson would bring the match to all square and give both teams a half of a point. Putting up a strong front after Hole 5, amateur Niezing never looked back when he defeated pro Lee 6 & 4. Looking to turn things around for the Gateway PGA, Moomey never let amateur Kovach get ahead in the match and earned the second pro singles full point, 2 & 1. In Match 10, Lovett and Gaus went back-and-forth, taking the match to 18 holes. Gaus won the final hole to win the match for the professionals, 2 Up. For Team MAGA, Gumper went on a tear in his match against Team Gateway’s Sharamitaro. Never letting Sharamitaro win a hole, Gumper earned the amateurs a point with a 7 & 6 victory. In Match 12, amateur Neeman was up against pro Fogt through 7 holes, but Fogt fought back to win the match 2 & 1. Migdal took on pro Auping, and despite his efforts, was unable to get up in the match. Auping found the pros another point with his 3 & 2 win. In the Final Match of the weekend, Allen closed out the championship with a Team MAGA win by never allowing Sedorcek to tie the match after Hole 2, and winning the match 3 & 1. In the Singles Matches, Team MAGA earned 8.5 points and Team Gateway PGA earned 5.5 points. 

Team MAGA stood victorious at the end of the Championship, defending its title, with 18 points to the Gateway PGA’s 10 points. 

 

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