Kansas Wins Tri-State Director's Cup
by Slim Margin
1/2 point win over Iowa team is narrowest margin of
victory in history of event
The Tri-State
Director's Cup came down to the final putt on the final green of
the final match. Iowa's Ron Peterson converted an 8-foot
par putt on the 18th green which forced Sean Thayer of Kansas to
make his four-footer to halve the hole and win the cup for the
Kansas team. Thayer drilled it right in the heart.
It was the fifth
time the Tri-State Director's Cup Matches have been played and
the home team has won all five. The Kansas team found
itself trailing Iowa by three points heading into the singles
session but overcame that with a 14 1/2 point showing on the
final day. Kansas finished with 26 total points while Iowa
was a mere 1/2 point behind with 25 1/2. Nebraska finished
third with 20 1/2.
The Iowa team was
lead by Jon Brown who won 8 out of a possible 9 points during
the two days. Terry Cook and Nate Dunn also had very
strong showings with 6 1/2 and 6 points, respectively. The
biennial matches are scored on a Nassau format with one
point awarded for the front nine, one point for the back nine
and one point for the total 18.
The 2008 edition of
the Tri-State were contested at Alvamar Country Club in
Lawrence, Kansas. Iowa will host the next edition of the
matches which will be pushed a year later than normal, to 2011,
because the USGA is moving the Men's State Team Championship to
even-numbered years beginning in 2010.
