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Hunt History

2006 - Moudry vs. Slovensky

ARTICLES Captains' Roundtable

Team Moudry Starts Fast, Coasts to Win in Desert Hunt IX Decisive Opening Day leads to 17.5 to 12.5 Victory For the second consecutive year a dominant start by one of the teams in the Desert Hunt Invitational contributed to a lopsided victory in the annual match play tournament held in May in the Palm Springs area. At this year's Desert Hunt IX, held for the first time at the beautiful Silver Rock Golf Course in La Quinta, CA, it was Team Moudry jumping to a decisive 7.5 to 4.5 advantage over Team Slovensky following the first two rounds of competition. Similar to past results, this opening day lead would prove to be too great to overcome. As with most of the previous eight tournaments, the anticipation going into Desert Hunt IX was for a closely challenged match. Both teams featured two of the finest golfers in the field as Captains. Tom Moudry, whom many view as the top player in the tournament, entered the tournament playing to a 4.6 index, and Mark Slovensky, long-considered one of the smartest and toughest competitors in the tournament, came in with just a slightly higher index at 5.9. Each team also boasted a set of experienced players with a history of performing well in the Hunt, including serving as a winning Captain. Team Slovensky had Clayton Oswald, Bill Levey and Steve Woodhead while Team Moudry countered with Eric Rudney, the tournament's all-time point leader, Paul Coupin, Reg Griggs, and Darell Breedlove, who was recently selected by his peers as the greatest Captain in Desert Hunt history. The only other winning Hunt Captain, Ron Connors, was unable to participate this year due to health reasons. While there were many similarities between the two teams there were also some major differences. Probably the most important distinction was determined on draft day when Moudry bucked the recent trend to place a premium on the better high index players as part of a balanced team mix of high and low players - a path that would be followed by Slovensky - by prioritizing the selection of longer hitters regardless of handicap. Moudry, who resides in Minneapolis, traveled to play the newly opened Silver Rock, which will become part of the PGA Tour's Bob Hope Desert Classic in 2007, prior to the draft and correctly surmised that longer players would have an advantage over shorter hitters given the course set-up and length. Moudry also believed that the difficulty of the course combined with the recent rule change to use 75 percent of a player's index for team matches, would prove to be problematic for some of the higher index, shorter hitting players in the field. This draft insight would prove to be pivotal in the tournament to be played. Slovensky's draft strategy, on the other hand, centered more on establishing a clear stroke advantage for his team during the three rounds of team matches. He wanted good and proven low players supported by an arsenal of the field's higher index players. Slovensky's belief, not unlike that of many of his successful predecessors, was that having the benefit of strokes in match play competition, particularly in rounds two and three when the Four Ball format is used, would be too much for Team Moudry to deal with even though the 75 percent cap on handicaps disproportionately affects the higher index player. Round One, May 18th, 7:37 a.m. The first round, featuring the tournament's traditional Foursomes or alternate shot format, began under clear skies and a mild breeze that was hardly noticeable. The sun was already hot when the first group of players showed up at the range to begin their warm up. The festive atmosphere from the prior night's Champions Dinner had been replaced by a quiet and steely seriousness that so often accompanied the opening round matches. Several players from Team Slovensky: Spencer Larson, Jim Ireland and rookie John Protopappas . arrived late and not feeling their best, perhaps the victims of too much food and drink the night before. Team Slovensky had four pairings enjoying a stroke advantage over their opponents, although only two would be considered substantial. In the fourth group, Team Slovensky's pairing of Clayton Oswald and John Protopappas (18) had a nine stroke advantage over Moudry and Paul Coupin (9). And, in the sixth and final match of the round, the surprise pairing of Bill Levey and Matt Macy (17) would receive seven strokes from the strong Team Moudry pairing of Rob Bigelow and Derek Smith (10). Both matches turned out to be close, but Team Moudry ended up prevailing in each case with Moudry/Coupin winning late, 2 & 1, and Smith/Bigelow prevailing with a 3 & 2 victory. "The only reason we were in this match was Tom played great and we got a little lucky late when Clay's drive on sixteen ended up in tough spot in the left fairway bunker," reported Coupin. "He hit a good drive but it barely rolled in and they were left with an impossible shot and it took them two to get out. We were all even at the point and winning that hole was huge. Of course, we never should have been tied but I was playing like shit. In one stretch on the front my putting was so bad I left Tom with three six-to-eight footers on three consecutive holes. Thankfully he banged them all in to save my ass. I also think we were helped when they decided to have Two Pops tee off on the odd holes when we thought it was obvious the B player should drive on the even holes," added Coupin. The other four matches in the morning were evenly split from a team strokes standpoint and, it would turn out, in victories. The lower handicapped team won two of the matches with Moudry's opening pairing of Rob Robinson/Ces Butner (8) defeating Spencer Larson/Joe Dunphy (10), 4 & 3, and Slovensky's Jim Ireland/Bruce Del Fante (8) waxing Darell Breedlove/Dave Mullen, 6 & 5, in the second grouping. In match number three, the pairing of Slovensky and Steve Woodhead would have a three stroke advantage over Team Moudry's Eric Rudney and first-year player Ignacio Vega, and they won without much trouble, 7 & 6. Slovensky, "The difference was Woody. With my length, Woody had 60-120 yard approaches all day. I think they thought they would get some opportunities from Woody missing some approach shots. Not only did Woody hit greens all day with his wedges and low irons, he put them tight even hitting the stick from 80 out on hole five." In the fifth pairing, teeing off at 8:07 a.m., last year's winning Captain, Reg Griggs, and the undefeated Shahan Soghikian would get two strokes off of the power pairing of Chris Hoff and Jamie Pearl. The match was very close, but Griggs/Soghikian closed Hoff/Pearl out on the par three 17th hole for a 2 & 1 victory. The final tally for the first round was 4 to 2 in favor of Team Moudry, a nice cushion going into the second round of Four Ball matches held that same afternoon after a short respite for lunch. After the tournament was over, Moudry was asked about the importance of the opening round. "As Ces told me, and I couldn't agree more, alternate shot is probably the most important match of the week," explained Moudry. I had confidence in some strong pairings and I felt there were some real grinding performances in some of the early matches that day. It was, as Ces predicted, an early turning point." Slovensky's take: "With great reservation, I made a late switch in two pairings, changing Pearl/Macy and Hoff/Levey to Pearl/Hoff and Levey/Macy. After Levey/Macy drew the would be Captains, Smith and Bigelow, we really needed the Pearl/Hoff match which unfortunately fell short. I can't help thinking, my original lineup would have put us in a better position and we may have come out of that morning 3-3 changing the dynamic of things to come. With everyone knowin d Two, May 18th, 12:52 p.m. The urgency of getting back on track in the afternoon matches was palatable for Team Slovensky as the two teams split up and strategized over lunch on the pairings for the all important afternoon matches. They were well aware that the Hunt had never been won by a team trailing after the first round so it was absolutely critical for them to win the afternoon's matches outright so they could even things up, or in a perfect world, be slightly ahead. "We knew that it was time to put up or go home," said one member of Team Slovensky who asked to remain anonymous. "Unfortunately the mojo wasn't really good for us at that point as it became increasingly clear that Team Moudry was better suited for this course." "I obviously felt good at this point," remarked Captain Moudry in a post-match interview. "Overall we were playing well and, more importantly from my perspective, we were playing loose and with confidence. Above all, I wanted to break their spirit early in the afternoon by leading off with my four strongest teams." Once again the pairings seemed to favor Team Slovensky's strategy for creating a substantial stroke advantage over the competition. In five of the six matches Team Slovensky had the greater number of strokes; all but one by six strokes or more. Only in match number of four, featuring the match up of Griggs and Bigelow versus Slovensky and Larson, did a Team Moudry pairing have the benefit of having more strokes. Putting aside any perceived disadvantages from a strokes standpoint, Team Moudry came out smoking again winning three of the first four matches, two in deciding fashion, and halving the other to take a commanding 7.5 to 2 lead. Only victories in the final two matches of the day, a solid 4 & 3 win by Pearl and Woodhead over Coupin and Vega, and a close 2 & 1 victory by Oswald and Macy against Robinson and Mullen, would keep Team Slovensky from giving up hope that a comeback was possible. In match number one the powerful duo of Smith and Breedlove from Team Moudry easily defeated Ireland and Protopappas, 4 & 3. This was followed by the only halve of the round in an exciting match between Moudry and Bigelow against the double Ds . Dunphy and Del Fante. Match number three was another squeaker with the incomparable Rudney pairing with Butner, now 2 and 0 for the first time in his career, in a 2 & 1 classic over the always tough Levey and Hoff. In match number four the white hot Griggs and Soghikian took care of business early in a cakewalk over Slovensky and Larson. "Let's just say, Spence had some issues.", Captain Slo recounted, "However, I realized in that match how smart a player Shahan is. His success is not a fluke or the result of strokes, his game and course management skills are as good as anyone in the Hunt, regardless of handicap. On a course like Silverrock, where I believe it is imperative to play the Now, as the sun began to set on a warm and windy Thursday evening with Team Moudry now holding a commanding 7.5 to 4.5 lead, the proverbial fat lady was not only busy slapping on another layer of pancake makeup in preparation for a big night out at Costas, she was also warming up her pipes. "I am a grinder", Slovensky relayed, "and after getting down three, which is not even in the ballpark of insurmountable, I was disappointed in a select few of my draft choices whose eyes were already looking at their shoes and who were in their condos prepping the white towel for a toss. The comeback is the greatest thing in sport and I revel in the challenge it represents. You don't go through the motions, you find a way. At this point, I was disappointed that I could not brand all of Team Slovensky with that spirit" Round Three, May 19th, 11:00 a.m. Even with a three point lead Captain Moudry was intent on putting as much distance between his team and the opponents before the final round of Singles matches. Recognizing most of his team was performing at a very high level and sensing the other team was reeling a bit after a tough opening day, he brought his together for an in-pool strategy session to discuss the pairings for the third round of Four-Ball matches. After a few minutes of celebratory talk following the big day, Moudry got right to the point with his team, "With those guys down I want to jump on them hard tomorrow. While I primarily drafted this team to win the Singles matches I don't want to wait until Saturday to finish this thing. We can end this tomorrow but it means we have to make some sacrifices as individuals. Our best chance is to go with the strongest teams possible even if that means I pair a couple guys together who may not be playing their best. That doesn't mean I don't expect to win all six points." Clearly moved by the Captain's passion and buoyed by the day's success and multiple beers, all ten attending players quickly rallied to the idea and began offering suggestions on the top groupings as well as forecasting what Team Slovensky was likely to counter with. Of course no one knew it at the time but the resulting pairings would prove to be quite formidable. The 24 players woke up on Friday morning to idyllic conditions with only a wisp of a breeze and a high haze floating above the still-snow topped Santa Rosa and San Jacinto mountains that shoulder the western front of the Coachella Valley. The crisp air of the morning was silent except for the low hum of far off lawn mowers combing the Desert Falls Country Club course that weaves through the village of brown stucco condos housing the field for the seventh consecutive year. The first match of round three brought together two classic pairings and would set the tone for the entire day. For Team Slovensky it was the familiar duo of Ireland, one of the most talented players in the field, and Del Fante, who according to Moudry has the "best short game of any high-handicapper I know," against what many view as the toughest team in Hunt history . Smith and Breedlove. In a close match with several lead changes, Smith and Breedlove held on for a 2 & 1 victory. "We expected a very tough match and we realized early that the grind was on," said Breedlove. "Jim birdied the first hole to go one up. We halved the next hole with pars and then I pared the third while Jim and Bruce each found desert in what proved to be the only "missed" shots from the group on the entire front. We rotated from one up to even to one down to even until the turning point at the par five 12th. J.I., playing superb golf up to this point suffered driver betrayal with a hook into the desert followed by a bath in the canal. BD likewise found water and we went up with two pars. It was at this point that Bruce went a little dark with a tee shot into the water on 13 that was shortly followed by a heeled drive into the canal on 15, proclaiming "That's it for me guys!" As J.I. rolled his eyes, Derek threw a dart down the center and he ended up winning the hole. Personally, I thought I hit the shot of the day on 16. I flared my drive to the right while Derek and Jim were in perfect shape. BD's whereabouts are still in question. My second shot was a four iron from 235 yards that hit next to the pin and rolled to the back fringe. With a stroke on the hole, I was certain I'd made some noise until Little Tiger lofted a soft pitch that landed and stuck five feet below the cup. As Jim was offering congratulations on the green after Derek sank his birdie putt, BD's swearing could still be heard as he flailed away in the cavernous bunker fronting the green. Actually the match was never in doubt from the driving range which featured Derek humming the Budweiser commercial "Don't you wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?" The tune became our anthem after every good hole from that point forward . we were destined for victory. d match featured four golfers at the top of their game with Rudney and Robinson from Team Moudry taking on Pearl and Levey. After a blistering front nine by all four players the match remained close and was even when they teed off on the 16th par 4. Both Levey and Pearl were safe in the fairway when Robinson hit a 300 yard drive down the center that would leave him a short wedge into the tricky elevated green. Rudney was next to tee off and he hit what looked like a perfect low ball down the left side of the fairway when it appeared to take a funny hop after it landed. It was not until the foursome arrived at Rudney's ball did they realize it had hit a rake left out of the fairway trap and settled in the sand. This unlucky break left Rudney 208 yards from the pin facing almost an impossible shot. After Levey laid up to better attack the hole, Rudney hit one of the greatest shots ever at the Hunt. "Has to Using a new utility club, Rudney made perfect contact sending the ball on a very high trajectory and ultimately a soft landing on the undulated green ending up eight feet from the pin. His two putt par won the hole and a 1 Up advantage that would hold up over the next two holes. "Winning four and a half points today was huge," said Moudry from the back patio of his condo later that evening. "I was worried with the big lead that we might let down, but the guys stepped up big time. Probably the single most impressive act of team was Mull and Coup agreeing to play together so we could field five strong teams towards securing a commanding lead going into Singles. Neither had been hitting the ball exceptionally well leading up to Friday, but they took the decision like men, without question. I think everyone on the team had Slovensky added after the tournament, "After our team got smoked in four ball two consecutive rounds, it became clear to me that I had not put my team in a very good position. For all the talk about our team getting strokes, the reality was my players were not getting enough. I drafted a high-low matching squad specifically for four ball based on conventional wisdom in USGA 100% handicap match play competition. 75% put our team's higher handicappers at a disadvantage. It is pathetic that an analyst like myself couldn't figure that out before the draft. Even post draft, in hindsight, I would have actually paired high handicaps together more so the reduction in strokes would have not effected as many matches. I was sick that I put our guys in that position. However, despite all that, most matches come down to making shots and clearly, Team Moudry was making plenty of them, evidenced by Rudney's sand shot and many others. Tom's team was clearly playing well. I am proud of all the members of Team Slovensky that grinded out matches that came up just short" Round Four, May 20th, 9:00 a.m. Facing a six point deficit going into the final round, Team Slovensky knew it would have to win 9 of the 12 matches to earn a tie and force a sudden death playoff between Captains. They would make it interesting early by winning four and one half points in the first six matches, but all was lost when Team Moudry won matches number seven and eight. First it was Breedlove easily defeating Larson, 5 & 4, and then Mullen clinched the overall team victory by hanging on to beat Macy in a hard fought 1 Up win. Mullen was relieved and gracious following the big win, "After losing my first three matches despite feeling confident in my game, I felt I had to prove myself in Singles. I got ahead of Matt after the first hole and led by four at the turn. But I have to give Matt credit. He never gave up and he started to get new life with a near chip-in birdie on 13 that I was lucky to halve with a 25 foot par putt. An eight-foot birdie putt on 14 would have closed the match out at 5 & 4, but my putt just missed and we pushed. I had him dormie at this point but, again, Matt really dug in. He won 15, 16 and the dreaded 17th hole to pull within one. I needed to hit the six iron of my life over water on 18 to insure victory. I went from 4 Up to 3 Up to 2 Up to 1 Up to (almost) throw up, but that is what happens with the quality of competition and the pressure of the Desert Hunt. I went wire-to-wire, but I couldn't help and think how bad I would have felt if I had not held on. But that feeling was quickly eliminated when I was informed that my 1 Up win clinched the tournament victory for Team Moudry. That makes one-and-three feel real good." Macy added, "Mull played great and deserved the victory but I didn't help myself with a mental mistake on the par three 8th. I hit my tee shot into the dirt on the right side of the green. I knew there were OB stakes down that side so I hit a provisional. As I approached the green I stopped and picked up my first ball. As I did, Spence yelled stop but it was too late. I hadn't noticed that the OB stakes took a sharp turn and my first ball was actually in play. It would have been an easy chip or putt onto the green but I had to take a DQ giving Mull the hole and a three shot lead. I don't know what would have happened on that hole but, of course, he ended up beating me by only one so felt pretty sick about it." The first two matches of the day produced a point and one half for Team Moudry. Griggs capped another wonderful tournament by whipping Hoff 4 & 3 and Soghikian retained his undefeated status by halving his match with Del Fante. Soghikian now stands at 6-0-2 all-time in The Hunt. Match number three was a surprise for some with Oswald defeating Rudney rather handily, 4 & 3. Unbelievably, this match along with Slo and Woody's alternate shot victory 7&6 produced Rudney's most lopsided losses in the nine years at the Hunt. In match number four, Levey mauled Coupin, 7 & 6. The win served as redemption for Levey, one of The Hunt's greatest all-time players, who, facing tough competition, suffered through three consecutive losses in the team matches despite playing excellent golf. Coupin, on the other hand, was very happy that his team won the tournament. In match number five Butner was attempting to go undefeated for the first time ever, but it wasn't meant to be as Ireland prevailed 2 Up. This tournament was a coming out party for Butner, who has played well over the years but often struggles walking away with points. Woodhead, playing well for the second consecutive Hunt, defeated the mysterious Vega, 2 Up, in match number six. "I was up early and Ig came back to even the match after he won the 9th hole," said Woodie. "The turning point for me was on the long par five 12th hole, where we both struggled. Ig had a snowman and I needed to sink an eight-footer for a nine and a push since I stroked. I made the putt and it seemed to give me renewed energy having dodged the bullet. It also reminded me to never give up in a match," he added. "If anyone knows where Vega is please let me know as I'd like to meet him before I have to leave tomorrow," quipped Captain Moudry after the Singles matches. With the victory earned following match number eight, the final four matches were anticlimactic for all but the combatants and even some of them didn't seem to care too much. In match number nine, Team Moudry's Smith failed in his bid to go undefeated by losing to the reinvigorated Dunphy, 2 & 1. Smith, considered by many to be the toughest competitor in the field, has one of the top overall records in The Hunt. And his three and one record secured his selection as a Captain for Desert Hunt X in a well deserved, some would say overdue, honor. "A win in Singles would have been icing on the cake," reported Founder Levey. "Speaking for all the Founders, he was a lock at Captain no matter what happened in that final match." Dunphy, who had largely become a non-factor in The Hunt over the past two years while playing left handed instead of his normal right handed, switched back to the right side and reemerged as a premiere player in the field and one of the few bright spots for Team Slovensky. "Joe is talented player, has the best attitude for this game you can have and I recommend any Captain drafting this guy whether he plays left, right, in polyester, with a croquet mallet, sober, high, without sleeping or with a hickory stick", endorsed Captain Slovensky. The following match featured Bigelow versus Protopappas and the man who drinks wine for breakfast, Bigelow, held on to win, 2 Up, despite giving up 16 strokes to the rookie from Greece who played well all week for a first-time competitor. Captain Slo on Protto, "Despite the disappointing results of the week, I had an absolute blast meeting, drinking and playing with Protto. With the ball half submerged, his 6 iron out of the water back into play was my favorite shot of the week". The singles win over Protto resulted in an undefeated tournament for Bigelow and his selection as a Captain in 2007, the first time two Captains have been selected from the same team. "We just didn't feel there was anyone on Team Slovensky who earned the privilege who hasn't already served as Captain," said Founder Larson. "Woodie had another great tournament, but he's already been a winning Captain and we felt it is mor With the outcome of the tournament decided, the final two matches were contrasts in style and outcome. First, Robinson outlasted Pearl in a very well-played and tight competition, 3&2. Robinson, after a double-bogey on the first hole, was one under over the next eight holes and held a 4 Up advantage entering the back nine. Pearl, who played exceptionally well all day, made a nice comeback to close the gap before running out of holes. In the final match of the tournament, the two Captains hacked around the course in what soon became a comedy of poor shots and decision-making that almost defies description given the quality of players. Slovensky put together a run of scrambling pars on the back including an up and down from a greenside bunker which normally wouldn't be that big of deal except in this case the bunker was on a different hole. Slovensky eventually prevailed 4 & 2 and both players couldn't get to the clubhouse soon enough. Captain Slo commented post tourney, "It was nice to see my players have success in singles despite many assumptions we would not. Even there at the end, it was closer then many realize. Some year in the Hunt, a team will experience a comeback. I hope I am on that team." "As for my singles victory over Tom, I get no satisfaction from it as the team fell short. As for Hunt IX, if I am going to lose as Captain, there is no better Captain to lose to. I am sincerely happy for Tom and his squad. Badgers-Gophers, Vikings-Packers, add Moudry-Slovensky to the classic rivalries, we are two midwesterners that have had some epic matches getting to know each other and I have the greatest respect for him as a person and golfer. His competitiveness within a relaxed fun demeanor permeated Team Moudry and led to their success." "I couldn't be prouder of my guys," proclaimed the winning Captain following his match. "I was very confident going into the tournament with my team, not because of my low handicaps, but because I had a team with strong Singles records; which I thought in a tight tournament would give us an advantage on the last day. Truthfully it was a lot tougher today than I thought it would be, but we hung on. Of course, having Mull get the point that won the Cup was sweet. It was clearly anti-climatic being last in the order, and my performance proved it. That said, even with a big lead, golf can be crazy. At least for the first ten holes, I thought I was going to be the first Captain in Hunt history to shit the bed with a six point lead on the last day." Team Moudry had a stable of players who performed well and earned at least three points, including Griggs (4-0), Breedlove (3-1), Butner (3-1), Robinson (3-1) Smith (3-1), Bigelow (2-0-2) and Soghikian (2-0-2). The top performers for Team Slovensky were Woodhead (3-1) and Dunphy (2-1-1).

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