When you birdie the toughest holes at Anchorage Golf Course, good things tend to happen, such as beating Greg Sanders’ bogey-free 68, Rob Nelson’s 67 and Herschel Deaton’s career round.
Rich Teders became the first golfer to win the AGB Cup, a new tournament presented by the Alaska Golf Blog, by shooting a net 67 and beating Deaton via tiebreaker. Teders and Deaton both shot net 67 Friday. The tiebreaker came down to who shot the lowest score on the No. 1 handicap hole and Teders birdied the par-5 14th to seal the victory. Had Deaton also birdied the hole, the tiebreaker would have moved to the No. 2 handicap hole and Teders also birdied that one, the par-4 fourth. He also birdied the No. 3 handicap hole, the par-5 17th.
“I was never in big trouble,” Teders, a 3-handicap, said of his gross 70. “Made a long birdie on four and that kind of got things going.”
A fortuitous Friday weather shift from heavy rain to no rain enabled the small field of 15 invitees to enjoy a fantastic afternoon round. There were 16 players invited to play, with one unable to make it.
“I am disappointed Aaron Roth did not show up,” Teders said. “He was getting text blasts from everybody. He was taking some heat.”
Teders, who owns Color Art Printing and was responsible for providing slick invitations for the tournament, was the only player in the field who knew what the secret trophy was before he teed off Friday. He now is the proud owner of an engraved gunmetal grey flask that reads, “AGB Champ 2015.” The idea behind the trophy was to come up with something that would look good on a mantel or in use on the course. Teders likes to partake in what is known as birdie juice on the golf course, so he plans to carry the trophy in his golf bag.
“This is cool, the first ever AGB Cup,” Teders said. “We’re gonna put some good stuff in there.”
The AGB Cup was also an opportunity to try a live leader board scoring feature via use of smart phones. There was one designated digital scorekeeper in each group, plugging in the scores for the foursome. Players in the other foursomes could follow everyone’s scores on a leader board that resembles the kind seen on TV for professional tournaments.
Deaton’s name sat atop the leader board for the majority of the round, the 10-handicap racking up pars like a State Am champ. He finished with a gross 77, prompting other players familiar with his game to call it a career round in the clubhouse. Though Deaton’s stellar play did not land him the trophy, he did take the entire net money pot, because Teders opted only to put money in the gross pot.
The gross pot went to Nelson, the honorary pro, who shot 67 despite breaking his arm on the 12th hole (Not really). A wayward tee shot left Nelson’s ball in a wooded area and when he hit his approach to the green, the club struck something other than dirt. Nelson agonized over the injury, clutching his elbow and contemplating a withdrawal, but persevered to birdie two of the last four holes. His +3 handicap made it difficult to catch Teders or Deaton, however, finishing three back in the net race.
Also contemplating withdrawal was Palmer club champion Marcus Dolejsi, after he made a 10 on the second hole. His odyssey on the par-4 dogleg right included some wild shots and lost golf balls, but he didn’t let it get to him. The long-hitting Dolejsi, along with Teders, also had to fight off the sting of being outdriven by the usually shorter-hitting Sanders on the 17th hole.
“Greg actually outdrove Marcus and I on 17,” Teders said. “(Greg) steps up and says, ‘hey, who is the long ball (hitter) here?'”
The biggest highlight of the tournament may have belonged to Trey Miller, who holed out from 100 yards for an eagle at the par-5 ninth hole. There were highlights a plenty from Nelson, who provided many honorary professional-golfer shots. He drove the green on the par-4 fifth, eagled the par-5 ninth with a 12-foot putt after hitting the green in two with ease and nearly eagled the par-5 14th hole, settling for ho-hum, two-putt birdie instead.
The bounce-back round of the day belonged to Kevin “The Daniels” Daniels, who rebounded from a four-putt of sorts on the second hole to shoot even-par 72. He shot a 3-under 33 on the back nine and said it was the best back nine he ever shot at AGC. His four-putt wasn’t a true statistical four-putt, because his first putt came from just off the green, but all four shots did use the putter.
“My first two putts were pretty good, but the third one was bad,” Daniels said while standing on the third tee box.
Daniels came into the tournament as the No 6 golfer in the AGB amateur rankings, with Teders coming in at No. 5.
“All in all, great day, fun event and I’m honored,” Teders said. “Hopefully this thing just keeps going and going.”
AGB Cup Scores
- Rich Teders 67 (Gross 70)
- Herschel Deaton 67 (77)
- Tim Ruf 68 (71)
- Greg Sanders 69 (68)
- Trey Miller 69 (82)
- Rob Nelson 70 (67)
- Kevin Daniels 71 (72)
- Michael Sullivan 71 (73)
- Paul Blanche 73 (73)
- Rick Boyles 73 (77)
- Adam Baxter 76 (75)
- Chad Isaacs 78 (76)
- Chad Grifffith 78 (86)
- Jeremy Peters 79 (84)
- Marcus Dolejsi 81 (81)
