Jackson Park Victorious in 2015 Seattle Cup
For the second year in a row, Jackson Park Men’s Golf Club won the Seattle Cup.
The Seattle Cup is a Ryder Cup style four-day net competition between the men’s golf clubs at Seattle’s four municipal golf courses: Interbay, Jefferson, Jackson Park, and West Seattle. Each team has 24 players, including a pro who plays on the final Sunday. The competition is fierce as well as providing the opportunity to get to know players from other clubs.
This year competition began at Interbay on August 22nd with Fourball matches. There was smoke in the air from the wild fires, creating a haze over the course. This was not a problem for the Jackson team, winning five of its six matches to take a two point lead. The team was delighted at this surprisingly strong showing.
Jackson Park hosted Sunday’s Scramble on the 23rd. The wild fire smoke was even more pronounced at Jackson, on a sunny day. The Jackson team again won five of its six matches, extending its lead to four and a half points. By this point, the rookies on the team had amassed a 6-1-0 record. The team was amazed and overjoyed at its weekend results, giving Jackson Park’s Men’s Club a strong lead.
The following weekend, in the midst of a wind storm, play was held at Jefferson on Saturday, the 29th, where the Jackson team won four and a half points in a Chapman (alternating shot), increasing its lead to six and a half points over nearest rival, Jefferson: 14.5 to 8, with Interbay at 7.5 and West Seattle at 6. Jackson’s rookies were now 7-2-0.
Sunday’s matches on August 30th, all singles, were played at West Seattle, with each team playing twelve matches. It was another windy and rainy day, with long spells of sun. At the end of the day, each team had won six points. That meant Jackson Park had won handily, with a 6.5 point margin of victory. Our pro, Josh Gaskell, won his match again. Our rookies compiled an 8-3-0 record, single time players an unbelievable record of 8-1-0, and overall we had sixteen undefeated players.
Most Valuable Player honors are shared by Greg Heim, Kyle Johnson, and Jeff Schoening, who each compiled a 4-0-0 record. Greg and Kyle teamed up for three days and then won their singles matches. Before winning his singles match, Jeff Schoening teamed up once with Matthew Stutzenberger, who went 2-0-0, and twice with Reed Johnson, who went 3-0-0. Other multiple winners are Jimmy Bucher and Don Harrell, both 2-0-0. Veteran Mark Ohrenschall went undefeated at 1-0-1. The complete records are posted at the club house.
This year’s rookies who compiled such a great record are: Jake Bresnahan, Roger Brown, Jimmy Bucher, Dennis Mueller, Brett Polen, Shea Robinson, and Jeff Sohn.
The spirit of the team, strong throughout the Seattle Cup, contributed to the winning performances in the team matches. Most of our players got to play with their regular partners or with people they had enjoyed playing with in the past. Credit goes to our Captain, Jason Hart, for putting together these teams within the team. He and our Assistant Captains, John Clements and Jim Huckabay, provided calm emotional support all four days of the tournament. Jason and Jim are new to their positions and the results of their efforts speak for themselves. Jason served as Co-Captain with Dan Puetz, Sr., on last year’s Seattle Cup team. John has a long history as either a captain or assistant and has been instrumental in forming our winning strategy. He is also the heart of the men’s club, serving as the club’s tournament chairman since 2005. His long time efforts building a competitive camaraderie in the club paid off hugely this year.
We also benefited from extra efforts from some of our members: Jimmy Bucher with photography, Dennis Mueller with fore-caddying at Jackson, and Dan Puetz, Sr. and Roger Brown with emotional support, Dan all four days and Roger at West Seattle.
Jackson Park Men’s Golf Club is fortunate to have many excellent competitive golfers. While this is good for our team, the fact that there is a limit to how many people can be on the team means that some worthy individuals must be left off the team. Captain Hart wants to know who is interested in playing in the Seattle Cup. Selections are made based on stroke and match play championship tournament records, past Seattle Cup performances, place on money list, interest, and availability.
There is an actual glass Seattle Cup which will reside at Jackson until next year’s contest. Check it out in the Jackson Park club house, above the computer. You will also find there plaques for each of Jackson Park’s five winning Seattle Cup teams.
Full results for Seattle Cup Jackson Park Mens Player and Team Records 2015