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2005 Draft • 2005 Match Results • View 2005 Slideshow
Hunt History
2005 - Griggs vs. Butner
ARTICLES
Team Griggs Jumps Out on Team Butner and Coasts to Finish
In a tournament that pitted two long time friends from Sequoyah Country Club in Oakland, California, and carried bragging rights at the club for the next fiscal year, Team Griggs came out firing and never looked back in claiming victory over Team Butner in the Eighth Annual Desert Hunt Invitational. After a six year absence, the tournament returned Desert Willow Golf Resort in Palm Desert, California from May 18th to May 21st under hot conditions that saw the temperature rise to over 100 degrees during the final round.
The first day Foursome matches spelled the beginning of the end for Team Butner as Team Griggs took 5 of the 6 matches to grab what would end up to be an insurmountable 5-1 lead. Team Griggs victories included Oswald/Larson over Butner/Coupin (5&4), Rudney/Del Fante over Ireland/Pearl (1up), Slovensky/Macy over Robinson/Levey (3&1), Dunphy/Bigelow over Connors/Woodhead (4&3) and Griggs/Soghikian over Lyons/Mullen (4&2). The lone bright spot for Team Butner was the Moudry/Hoff victory over Smith/Breedlove (3&2). "My guys played great and I am very proud of the effort they put forth this morning" stated Captain Griggs upon the completion of the round. "I couldn't have hoped for much better." The most intriguing match of the day saw Ireland/Pearl fight back from being down 5 on the back 9 to all square going into the final hole. "Jamie and I worked hard to get back into this match and we really wanted win for Captain Butner", said Jim Ireland. "Unfortunately my shot into the 18th green missed its mark." Jim's approach into the final green found water and opened the door for Rudney/Del Fante to take the match. Bruce Del Fante was heard to say, "That match was insane!" as he walked off the course. The Slovensky/Macy vs. Robinson/Levey match was a see-saw battle with Slovensky and Levey holding serve on their respective tee shot holes. "We'd do something good on one hole and then falter on the next, and then they would do something good on one hole and then falter on the next", said Mark Slovensky. "Rob and Matt were both struggling and I told Matt if he came around first, we would win. Matt did just that making some big putts down the stretch which ended up making the difference." The team of Griggs/Soghikian responded to a Dave Mullen 40 foot snaking putt on the 12th hole, bringing the match to even, by winning the next 4 consecutive holes to claim the 4&2 victory. "I thought my putt got us back in it but I think I just made them mad. Those guys were just too tough" said Dave Mullen.
Team Butner needed to make some noise in the afternoon Four-Ball matches to get back into a position to compete for the Tournament. "I knew that the alternate shot didn't play to our strength" explained Captain Butner, "but I didn't expect to come out of it 1-5. I am expecting bigger and better things out of the afternoon Four-Ball matches". The afternoon Four-Ball matches didn't fair much better for Team Butner as Team Griggs continued its strong play and posted 3 wins against 2 losses and 1 tie. The afternoon round began with Oswald/Soghikian defeating Ireland/Connors (4&2) and earned rookie Shahan Soghikian with the nickname "The Assassin". "I am happy that I was given the opportunity to play in this year's event and that I have been able to contribute so far" noted Shahan Soghikian. In an epic battle, Slovensky/Larson and Moudry/Levey played to a draw. After an average front nine, Moudry/Levey refueled at the turn with some "fruity drinks" for the battle with Slovensky/Larson. The drinks suited the now relaxed Moudry prompting a 4 under 32 on the back including birdies on 15 and 17. Slovensky, however, answered with his own 2 under 34, including a topping birdie on 15 and a gallery viewed bomb on 16. "That was one of the greatest Desert Hunt matches I have ever been involved in and I have had some good matches over the years", stated Spencer Larson. "It was a classic back and forth match that tested your nerves and challenged your skills." Hoff/Coupin gained a victory over Griggs/Del Fante (2up) by virtue of their solid play, a miracle shot by Chris Hoff to win a hole after taking a penalty drop and Bruce Del Fante's missed 18" putt on 17. "Oh my God you guys! I can't believe I just did that?" blasted Bruce Del Fante. In another classic battle, Robinson/Pearl took on Rudney/Macy in a duel to the end that saw Rudney/Macy prevail 1up. "Man, what a match", said Eric Rudney. "Jamie shot a 39 and Rob shot a 38 on the back nine. It was everything Matt and I could do to hold on for the victory". Smith/Dunphy defeated Butner/Mullen (3&2) and Lyons/Woodhead defeated Breedlove/Bigelow (3&2). "Steve and Tommy laid down a classic ham & egg on me and Breed" commented Rob Bigelow. "Tommy was solid and Woody didn't need his stokes in this match." The afternoon ended with Team Griggs winning three matches, Team Butner winning two matches and one match all square. After the first day of the Tournament, Team Griggs held an 8.5 to 3.5 lead.
The third round (Four-Ball) found Team Butner in virtually the same position they were in going into the second round. Team Butner needed victories. The quality play of the members of Team Griggs earned them some breathing room and the opportunity to play a little more relaxed. "I like our position" stated Darell Breedlove. "We're not going to give anything away and I'm sure the other team is feeling some pressure." The day started off with Slovensky/Macy pairing up once again to defeat Moudry/Woodhead 3&2. Slovensky continued from his last 9 on Thursday, firing a 2 under 34 on the front nine and despite the fine play by Steve Woodhead, the hole was too deep. Pearl/Levey defeated Rudney/Dunphy (4&3) with Levey sinking a 50' putt for birdie on #10 to take control of the match. "That putt put a dagger in our heart. We went from feel like we were going to win the hole to losing it" said Joe Dunphy. The team of Smith/Del Fante defeated Butner/Hoff 3&2. "Ces played very well today. He was steady throughout the round" commented Derek Smith. "He forced me to play as well as I can (3 over through 16) to squeak out the victory". Ireland/Coupin defeated Larson/Oswald 2&1, gaining Jim Ireland the small consolation of revenge over his previous loss to Clayton Oswald. The team of Robinson/Mullen defeated Griggs/Bigelow 3&2, giving Dave Mullen a measured degree of satisfaction for the 4-0/0-4 golf hat Captain Griggs presented to him at the Champions Dinner. "I have got to get back to the condo and BBQ a hat", announced teammate Andrew Robinson shortly after the completion of the match. In the final match of the day, Breedlove/Soghikian easily defeated Lyons/Connors 6&4. Team Griggs retained the lead after the third round and went into the final day with an 11.5 to 6.5 lead.
Although battling, going into Singles Team Butner did not gain on their early deficit. Team Griggs needed only to win 4 of the remaining 12 matches to claim victory. Conversely, Team Butner need to win 9 matches to come out on top. It turned out to be too tall of an order for Team Butner. The day of the final round began like no other. Tommy Lyons had to withdraw due to an illness in his family. "My son suffered a concussion earlier in the week and his condition wasn't getting better. I needed to get home to my family. I felt bad for Ces and the rest of the team" explained Tommy Lyons. With Tommy on his way back to Minnesota, the Founders were faced with making a decision on how to handle this turn of events. Tommy was slated to play Shahan Soghikian in singles. It would be unfortunate if Shahan was unable to compete. The Founders provided Captain Griggs with two options. The first was to accept the Soghikian/Lyons match as a forfeit victory. The second was to allow Captain Butner to play Shahan in place of Tommy and in addition to playing his traditional Captains singles match. Captain Griggs took the high road and choose the latter option. "Shahan was having a great tournament up to that point. I wanted to provide him the opportunity to go undefeated. It was the right decision given the circumstances. I may have made a different choice, however, if the tournament was all tied up going into the final day?", said Captain Griggs. In the traditional manner of the tournament, Captain Ces Butner and Captain Reg Griggs led off the final day Singles matches. In addition, Ces also represented Team Butner in the match with Shahan Soghikian. Ces battled valiantly, trying hard to overcoming the difficulty of playing two players at once and the searing heat, but was unable to post victories in either match. Reg Griggs defeated Ces Butner 1up and Shahan Soghikian defeat Ces 3&1. In a battle of the top two draft picks in this year's draft, Tom Moudry held on to defeat Eric Rudney 1up claiming the singles rubber match between these two, while Steve Woodhead earned a victory over Joe Dunphy 4&3. "Man it was hot out there. I'm glad I was able to get through it. And I'm pissed I beat Joe and have to pay him $100.00!" exclaimed Steve Woodhead later that night. Derek Smith defeated Jim Ireland 3&1 by winning the final 4 holes to erase a 1 hole deficit. Bill Levey beat Bruce Del Fante 3&1 and Andrew Robinson took Clayton Oswald 2&1. Matt Macy, fueled by his opponents failure to give him a putt of a shorter distance then that of one he had given him earlier, defeats Ron Connors 2&1. With his victory, Matt Macy avenges his 2005 draft position critics and joins a select group of players, and fellow teammate Shahan Soghikian, to post a 4-0-0 record at the Desert Hunt. "I'm thankful that Captain Griggs paired me with some great players and that I was able to contribute to the team cause. This has truly been a special Hunt" pronounced Matt Macy. After a ruling controversy on the second hole of the match led to friction amongst players in the group, Mark Slovensky completed his undefeated showing by shooting 37 on the front nine en route to an easy victory over Jamie Pearl 5&3 while Rob Bigelow used a hot driver to take the singles rubber match over Dave Mullen 5&4. In the last group, Chris Hoff defeated Spencer Larson 3&2 and, in a battle that pitted the last two winning captains against each other, Darell Breedlove defeated Paul Coupin 4&2. The final results showed Team Griggs with 18.5 points and Team Butner with 11.5 points.
Congratulations to Captain Griggs and all the member of Team Griggs on your 2005 Desert Hunt Invitational victory! It was truly a team effort and a team victory. Virtually all the members of Team Griggs posted .500 or better records with the most outstanding performers being Matt Macy (4-0-0), Shahan "The Assassin" Soghikian (4-0-0), Mark Slovensky (3-0-1) and Derek Smith (3-1-0). There is no arguing that the better team won. Congratulations to Captain Butner and all the members Team Butner for continuing to battle to the end. Outstanding performers for Team Butner included Chris Hoff (3-1-0), Tom Moudry (2-1-1) and Bill Levey (2-1-1). In recognition of their outstanding play and team contributions, the Founders are happy to announce that Mark Slovensky and Tom Moudry have been selected as Team Captain's for the 2006 Desert Hunt Invitational.
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