Dennis Marchand
The Javelina Cup is a decades’ old competition among 120 golfers from the SaddleBrooke One (SMGA) and SaddleBrooke TWO (MPMGA) Men’s 18-Hole Golf Associations. The tournament was held on Jan. 28 at the SMGA courses and on Jan. 29 at the MountainView course, home to the MPMGA.
The tournament consists of four nine-hole matches, with players matched up against each other close to their handicaps. Each match was worth one point per hole and 18 overall for the first day. With 540 points available on day one, amazingly, by the end of the day at the SMGA courses, the difference was one single point! The MPMGA held a slim lead of 270.5 to 269.5 going into day 2.
Day 2 at the MountainView course, home to the MPMGA, was not quite as close but still a tough match between the teams. With one match withdrawn, the total points available was 522, and the winning team of the MPMGA won with a 280 to 242 total. Both teams survived frigid, early-morning temperatures as they began their battles.
Top scores for the teams were as follows: MPMGA: Doug Jones and Kevin Conway with 23 points and David Lowe and John Bidegain with 22.5. SMGA: John Morales and Lindsay Nicholson with 21.5 points and Steve Kartsonis and his partners John Eakin (day 1) and Randy Williams (day 2) with 21 points. However, SMGA member Manh Pham had the shot of the tournament with a double eagle on SaddleBrooke 9 on day 1. That’s a 2 on a par 5!
This is the second year in a row for the champions at SaddleBrooke TWO.
Afterwards, all the golfers gathered at the MountainView ballroom for lunch and stories of the shots that got away. Everyone had a great time at a terrific event bonding both communities.