"I can see clearly now, the rain is gone....."

Let's just keep playing

Looking out of the window on Friday May 6, 2016, the chance of having to play in anything less than a sloppy quagmire on Saturday was beyond reasoning. But as luck would have it, after almost 2 weeks of rain, the course would be Mattaponi Springs Golf Club. 

Although, when the annals of most difficult courses to do “Cart Path Only” on are recorded, Mattaponi Springs will be in the Top 5, it couldn’t have worked out any better on this day. With its hilly and sloped terrain and thick Zoysia grass fairways, the course played drier than anyone would have predicted.

Mattaponi Springs Golf Club is a world class golf design sculpted from 330 acres of wildly undulating countryside in historic Caroline County Virginia. After five years of

meticulous planning and detailed development, Mattaponi has quickly become recognized as the premier golf destination in central Virginia.

The 6,972 yard, par 72 course maintains a flair for the dramatic. The first East Coast design by Bob Lohmann (designer of the Merit Club—host site of the 2000 U.S.

Women’s Open), offered all of the challenge that the 48 players representing 6 different Golf Channel Am Tours would want. Players competed for the Points, Prizes and trophies in 6 individual flights.

As players began to start their rounds, a glimpse of sunshine and blue skies had begun to periodically appear. This was a very welcome sight after an all-day 

downpour the previous day preceded by nearly 2 weeks of cloudy rainy weather. Occasionally there appeared

ominous looking clouds as the last of the weather system moved out, but by mid-day the temperature and sky gave way to a long awaited beautiful day.

The upgrade in the weather seemed to elevate the quality of play for the competitors as the scores reflected, and for some an extension of play was necessary to decide the winner as 3 play-offs developed upon the conclusion of the regulation round.

RESULTS

(Click on players name to view scorecard)

Championship Flight

The first of the dramatics began in the Championship flight as 3 players, Tip Wight, Ryan Clark and Tour Rookie, Conrad Anguera, battled it out for the trophy. In the beginning Anguera showed signs of the first tournament jitters on his way to posting a score of 40 on the outgoing 9 holes, compared to scores of 2 over par, 38’s for the two veterans. Clark and Wight began to extend the lead over Anguera on the inward 9 holes with rock solid tee to green performances. But beginning at hole 13 Conrad Anguera found his “A” game and carded 3 birdies over the next 6 holes that allowed him to take advantage of a couple of uncharacteristic miscues by the more seasoned competitors. When the scores were tallied it was Clark and Anguera headed to the 1st tee for a play-off leaving Wight 1 shot out in 3rd. There were no nerves to hamper Anguera now as he had 18 holes of Golf Channel Am Tour experience behind him and he made quick work of the play-off by winning on the 1st extra hole thus ending Ryan Clark’s 3 tournament winning streak as well.

Palmer Flight

Not to be out done by their lower handicap counterparts, the contingent of the Palmer flight had a shoot-out of their own to decide the eventual Champion. Once again 3 players would clash down the stretch in a hotly contested finish. Louis Autry, Sam Bailey, Mike Sheehan, and Michael Owens, set the pace on the opening 9 holes with their steady play. Autry and Owens made the turn in 38 followed by Bailey and Sheehan only 2 back. Autry began to apply the pressure as he played the next 7 holes in only 1 over par, Bailey began to fall back a bit but countered by posting the last 4 holes with a score of minus 1 to bring himself back into contention. Mike Sheehan would have preferred to hold the tournament on a par 3 course this day as he masterfully navigated the 4 par 3’s with a combined score of 3 under par to keep himself in the hunt. As it had done in the Championship flight, the demanding 17th hole, par 3, would be a pivotal hole in the outcome in deciding the winner. A monumental 3 shot swing aided by Sheehan’s 3rd par 3 birdie of the day now had him in the lead by 2 over Autry and Bailey. The long dogleg downhill 18th hole awaited the trio and would play major role in the finish. Guarded by a water hazard, for a long approach shot, and coupled by a harsh pin location, the final hole at Mattaponi Springs is the perfect finishing hole to decide the conclusion of any golf tournament and there would be no exception on this day. As Sheehan and Autry strived to obtain a good finish, it was only Sam Bailey that managed to achieve par on 18 and propel himself into a play-off with Sheehan.
Mike Sheehan and Sam Bailey have a history of play-offs between them, with Sheehan holding the upper hand. That advantage grew by 1 more on Saturday as Sheehan prevailed on the 2nd extra hole for the win.

Hogan Flight

Was it the beautiful day or perhaps the lack of golf the players had experienced over a period of 2 weeks, that had them thinking they needed to play as many holes as they could? A third play-off would ensue in the Hogan flight before a champion could be crowned. Jim Bryant, Kyle Hoge, Ferdinand Hudencial  and Johm Nesbitt were all in contention over the final holes to win The Caroline Classic. Bryant held the lead at the turn by 2 shots over Hoge and Nesbitt with Hudencial 3 back. Hudencial, however would make birdie at 10 while the other 3 made par to bring himself within 2 shots of the leader. With 2 holes remaining Kyle Hoge had now propelled himself into the lead by 2 strokes over Bryant and Nesbitt, with Hudencial seemingly out of contention for any chance of a win. As had been the case in the previous flights to finish, the last 2 holes would play a major factor in the outcome. Hoge would make bogey at 17 while his 3 challengers all made par, shrinking his lead to a narrow 1 shot heading to the demanding final hole. Needing a miracle to have any shot at the title, Ferdinand Hudencial got it by his own stellar play, combined by the troubles of his opponents, as he was the only one to successfully make par on the 18th hole. When the scores were tallied a 3 way play-off would take place between Bryant, Hoge and Hudencial. Still reeling from a demoralizing finish Kyle Hoge was eliminated on the 1st extra hole, which left him in a second place tie, which now left it up to be decided between Bryant and Hudencial. Matching each other’s score over the next 2 holes, it went to a 4th extra hole before Jim Bryant came away with the victory.

Sarazen Flight

Things got back to normalcy in the Sarazen flight with only a regulation round of 18 holes needed to decide a winner. It didn’t take long for Ronald Velasco to renew his winning ways as he captured the Caroline Classic championship in his 1st tournament of the 2016 Richmond Golf Channel Am Tour season. Velasco’s round of 88 was good enough for a 2 shot margin over his closest competitor, Jim McGaha representing the Cincinnati/Louisville Tour. Following 1 shot back of McGaha, was Chris Heipel in 3rd.

Jones Flight

Stephen Despres finally put together the complete round of golf, on the Caroline County layout at Mattaponi Springs, which he knew he was capable of playing, on his way to capturing “Top Honors” in the Jones flight. Despres’s outstanding round of 82 catapulted him to a 6 shot cushion over Mattaponi Springs member, and odds-on favorite Paul Davidson. Mike Lenett, of the Baltimore Golf Channel Am Tour finished 3rd.

Snead Flight

In only his 2nd tournament, Ruel Basilan became a 1st time winner on the Golf Channel Am Tour. Coming down to the final 2 holes things looked bleak for the Tour Rookie to have any chance at his initial title. Combined by a strong finish, and the last 2 holes being a nemesis to Maury Gatewood, as they had to so many before him, Basilan was able to squeeze out a 1 shot separation for the win. George French finished the round in 3rd.

UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS
(Click on the tournament name to register)

Sat. May 21, 2016

The Chesapeake Challenge at Bay Creek (Palmer)

Round 3 of the Chesapeake Cup Challenge

Sun. May 22, 2016

The Cape Charles Classic at Bay Creek (Nicklaus)

Round 4 of the Chesapeake Cup Challenge

Sat. June 11, 2016

The Chesterfield Open at Lake Chesdin CC