1992 River Cup
- Willow Oaks Retains River Cup In Close Contest
- New River Cup Event Won By CCV's Moorman
- MVP Awards Go To Armstrong, Donlan
- Culley Gets Point
Willow Oaks Retains River Cup In Close Contest
Playing in cold, misting weather reminiscent of the conditions under which the original River Cup was contested some century and a half earlier, the 1992 version proved a worthy addition to the storied River Cup tradition. Willow Oaks Country Club retained The Cup with a narrow 31-25 victory over their counterparts from the Country Club of Virginia. CCV, stung by a crushing defeat in last year's outing, proved a worthy opponent in this year's event. The CCV team staked itself to a 15-9 lead after fourball matches at their home Tuckahoe Creek Course on Saturday.
CCV's Acting Team Captain John Leitch failed without explanation to appear at Sunday's concluding singles matches, and his players were clearly disheartened by his apparent lack of interest. The troops from CCV nonetheless put up a stiff fight in Sunday's singles matches in a desperate attempt to cling to their narrow lead. It was not to be however, as Langdon Moss' Willow Oaks team again proved superior in singles play, beating CCV 22-10 in Sunday's play on their home course.
It was revealed after the matches that Leitch could not attend the matches as he had been locked out of his home by his two-year old daughter, who mistook him for an intruder. Leitch attempted unsuccessfully to gain entrance by perching a ladder to the short second floor of the home, only to have the ladder collapse beneath him, leaving him clinging Ernest- like to the gutter around the roof. Leitch tore the gutter from its mooring and suffered superficial wounds to his arms in the ensuing fall. Leitch was too embarrassed to respond to inquiries about the incident.
The outcome of the matches was not decided until the final foursome concluded play on Sunday, and a last minute appeal after completion of the matches placed the outcome in doubt for additional worrisome moments for Willow Oaks Captain Moss and his team. The appeal was filed by W. C. Scott, a cocky CCV rookie who contested the handicap assignments issued by the Handicap Committee, claiming he was entitled to 2 strokes in his already completed match against Willow Oaks' Scott Warren. The Handicap Committee had assigned the match as even. After arguments were heard on behalf of both sides, the appeal was upheld and Scott was granted 2 strokes retroactively. After a review of the card, the 2 stroke allocation failed to change the outcome of the match, and Warren's 3«-« victory was confirmed.
Warren, who had not qualified for River Cup play in two years, validated his selection for this year's squad with a team leading 77 in his match against Scott. "That ought to convince the critics who said I can't play under pressure," a defiant Warren proclaimed during the raucous celebration in the Willow Oaks' Mens Grille after play was completed.
CCV's Scott was at the center of another controversy in Saturday's fourball play when he neglected to keep track of the score in the match. He and partner John Gentry claimed to have won the 1½ points awarded for the low net fourball score but Scott refused to produce a scorecard, claiming he had kept score in his head. Their opponents, Tom McCandlish and Doug Bryant were furious at Scott's refusal to produce the card but were unable to contest Scott's recounting of the match. A scuffle broke out but was quickly brought under control by the marshalls around the 18th hole.
In a River Cup first, CCV was led into this year's River Cup by tri-Captains. Rob Leitch, long time Captain for CCV, was suspended by the Club after last year's lopsided 40-16 defeat, but in a face saving effort was granted the title of ex officio Captain; his brother John was appointed as Acting Captain; and in a surprise move William B. Correll, Jr., was placed in the role of Non-Playing Captain. Although no one from CCV would confirm the suspicion, it was widely rumored that Correll's "elevation" was a result of his performance in last year's matches, in which he failed to achieve any points for the squad.
The multi-captain ploy proved fruitless as Willow Oaks Captain Langdon Moss ignored the gimmick and concentrated instead on carefully evaluating the talent available to him and selecting what proved to be one of the more cohesive River Cup teams in recent memory.
Anchored at the top by Doug Bryant, a River Cup rookie with the difficult assignment of holding CCV star John Gentry in check, and strong through the middle positions, this year's Willow Oaks team was able to hold on for victory despite an uncharacteristically lackluster performance by veteran Joseph B. "Joby" Klotz.
Klotz, paired for the fourth straight year with Team Captain Langdon Moss, was shut out in fourball play on Saturday by CCV's Bill Cramme and Ted Armstrong, who easily defeated Klotz and Moss 6-0. Klotz' frustrations began on the 8th hole when he left a one-foot putt 6 inches short. The putt would have halved the hole. Instead, the Moss-Klotz duo went to the ninth hole 1 down, and proceeded to lose everything thereafter. Commenting on the putt, Klotz claimed that "I hit a good putt - one of my better ones of the day as a matter of fact. It just got caught up in the grain." Moss, standing nearby at the time of the comment, refused to confirm the grain story.
In Sunday's singles match against Ted Armstrong, Klotz' frustrations continued on the first hole when his second shot to the green from the 18th fairway struck a tree. Klotz took an 8 on the par 4 hole and his play deteriorated during the course of the round. Klotz' 104 for the day was insufficient to stave off Armstrong, who played indifferently himself and signed off on an even 100 for his round. Armstrong took the match 3½-½.
Klotz played with an unusual selection of only seven clubs in his bag: driver; 7-wood; 1-iron; pitching wedge; sand wedge; lofted wedge; and putter. "I only carry the clubs I can hit. The putter's just for show," explained Klotz.
In the featured match of the day Sunday, Willow Oaks' Bryant was able to battle CCV's Gentry to a 2-2 tie in singles play. Bryant had Gentry talking to himself when Gentry missed a five foot putt on the fourth hole that would have put him one up. The missed putt was followed immediately by a deftly flung putter which narrowly missed Gentry's teammate Rob Leitch.
Bryant had an opportunity to put the match away at the 17th hole when he hit a solid 4- iron to within 20 feet of the hole from 192 yards out. Lying net one, Bryant needed only a two putt to win the hole to place him one up going into eighteen. After surveying the downhill, sliding putt from several angles (during which time Gentry grew a beard) Bryant proceeded to leave it ten feet short. "Boy, I sure had that line figured out," said Bryant in defense of the sorry effort. His next putt slid three feet past the hole but he was able to salvage a halve when his third putt barely slipped in the side door. He redeemed himself on eighteen, however, sinking a crucial eight footer to halve the hole and the match for the 2-2 deadlock. "I hate these net events," Gentry complained after the matches. "I'm taking my phone off the hook when Leitch starts looking for players next year."
Playing in the same foursome with Bryant and Gentry, Willow Oaks' Paul Sinclair jumped out to an early lead in his match against CCV's Rob Leitch with a tap in birdie on the first hole and never looked back. Sinclair took the match 4-0. He had originally been paired against John Leitch, who withdrew claiming a minor injury to his index finger rendered him unable to play.
After his match against Sinclair, Rob Leitch complained about the handicap assignments, which had him giving Sinclair 3 strokes. "Geez, if John isn't going to play, the least he can do as Acting Captain is sandbag on the handicaps a little. Moss has got that trick down to a science," Leitch whined after the match.
Complaints about handicap assignments also marred the match between CCV's Jim Nelson and Willow Oaks' Tom McCandlish. Nelson, who hasn't won a singles match in three years in River Cup competition, was forced to give 2 strokes to McCandlish and began complaining loudly on the first hole. Ultimately, McCandlish waived his strokes to avoid the incessant grumbling. McCandlish halved the front nine with Nelson and immediately sought a ruling as to whether the strokes could be reclaimed. It was ruled that once waived, strokes may not be reclaimed and McCandlish eventually was able to salvage a 3½-½ victory to avoid an embarrassing, though sporting, gaffe.
Nelson was near tears after the loss. "I thought that not having to play Moss [who has defeated Nelson the last two years] was a plus. When I was able to shame McCandlish into giving up his strokes, I thought I had the match in the bag. I don't know if I can take this much longer." He nonetheless vowed to return next year if an invitation is extended. Asked for comment on the vow, Acting Captain John Leitch would say only that "we'll evaluate Jim's playing status next year at the appropriate time."
New River Cup Event Won By CCV's Moorman
In an event new to The River Cup this year, George Moorman closely edged out Langdon Moss in the "Closest to the Ladies' Tee" driving contest, which was staged at the par-3 fifteenth hole on Sunday. Moss staked his claim to the award with a low-flying duck hook which caromed off the trees to within 10 feet of the red markers. Moorman, not to be outdone, chose the opposite route, pushing his tee ball into the woods to the right. His ball struck a tree (or trees) squarely and he snuck inside Moss' ball, ending up only 6 feet from the ladies' markers. Although discouraged at being nosed out in the Ladies' Tee event, Moss took the hole with a bogey 4 to Moorman's double- bogey 5. Moorman, back in River Cup play after an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Joby Klotz in 1990, was able to assuage that defeat with a 2½-1½ victory over Moss.