2010 Draft • 2010 Match Results  

Hunt History

2010 - Dunphy vs. Ireland

CONFRONTATION OVERSHADOWS COMPETITION IN THE 2010 DESERT HUNT In what going into Saturday seemed like a rout turned into a nail-biter ending to the Desert Hunt XIII "Back to the Future" as Team Onion (captained by Jim Ireland) managed to peel and steal a victory from the come-from-behind Team Burglar (captained by Joe Dunphy) at the end of Saturday's singles for a 15-14 victory. However, it may be a tournament more remembered for confrontation than competition when history can finish the story of the 2010 Hunt. The Captains exchanged gifts as is traditional at the Wednesday night dinner at Morton's. Captain Dunphy earlier gave Captain Ireland a set of sunglasses, and then at dinner followed up with an opportunity to be replaced by Clayton Oswald as captain, a shot at Ireland who had preferred to face-off with his long time friend Oswald. Ireland responded by giving Dunphy a book called "Lost Balls" and some odd looking balloons. Mother Nature blessed the Hunt with temperatures in the mid 90's and low humidity. The wind, for the most part, behaved. And as always, Rob Bigelow brought wine that was very memorable. Bruce Delfante lost his putter in the first round, which led the 21 other players to ask "How Can You Lose Your Putter?" It was never found, but it was assumed that the ghost of Big Foot (or maybe Dito) may have snagged it for his collection. With the number of players just 22 this year, created by the absence of Matt Macy, Tom Moudry and Oswald and the addition of Matt Rei, singles matches opened the three rounds on Thursday and Friday and Team Ireland fared well with three victories. Team Onion's Delfante, Mark Slovensky, and Spencer Larson all won the round-opening singles matches. As a Captain typically does early in four-ball, Dunphy tabbed a seemingly struggling Paul Coupin in a match against a favored Ireland and Bigelow team. But Coupin - who points his staff to the Golf Gods before every shot - stepped up and Dunphy - playing with a newly self-manufactured set of right handed clubs - played brilliantly for a 2 and 1 win. Derek Smith and Ces Butner beat Steve Woodhead and Ron Connors 4 and 3 and Team Dunphy was off to a good start. In a match that grinded like a Krups espresso machine, Reg Griggs DDS and John Protopappas beat Jamie Pearl and Dave Mullen 1up. In another epic match, Andrew Robinson and Chris Hoff halved Slovensky and Shahan Soghikian on 18 when Slovensky, who putts like he has Parkinson's disease, made an 18-footer and Robinson missed a short winner. To read more about how great the 3-0-1 Slovensky played, log on to the www.deserthunt.com /2010 Match Results and read his modestly written comments. Finishing in darkness because of a 2:20 start for the first team and excruciating slow play, Bill "Buzz Saw" Levey and Larson led all the way to beat Eric Rudney and Rei 3 and 2 as Team Ireland took a 4 ½- 1 ½ lead into Friday's two rounds. Friday literally went from dawn to dusk. Twelve hours elapsed before play ended. Anniversaries and birthdays were missed, although Rudney was able to call everyone from the golf course to wish them the best. In the morning, Dunphy and Coupin again bested Ireland . this time paired with Connors . 1up. A very competitive Woodhead and Griggs DDS drilled Robinson and Hoff 4 and 3 and Defante and Bigelow uncorked a 4 and 3 victory over Breedlove and Rei. Mullen battled as he took pocketed partner Rudney to 18, but ultimately lost 1up on 18 with a push to Larson, despite overall great play by partner Soghikian who was also in pocket. B player Mullen, now 0-2 with two 18-hole 1up losses, was heard saying "Why Me? Why Me?" The Larson/Soghikian vs. Rudney/Mullen match was the first to be put on the clock by the Marshals at Indian Wells although there was no one in front of them, and no one behind them. The seemingly abrasive Stan the Marshal, actually hard of hearing, badgered Rudney. As did the cellulite-laden cart girl. When he asked for ice, she informed Rudney that there was ice available on the course. The ice could not have been colder than the stare toward the beverage cart. The monitoring of slow play continued as another Marshal said that the group would be forced to skip a hole if they did not speed up. A makeable short putt by Mullen, which would have won the hole, was missed at 16 because of the added pressure applied by the Marshal. That example, and many others throughout the rounds, clearly affected the result of the overall match. It was just part of what would become part of the controversy surrounding this Desert Hunt. Overcoming a three-shot deficit at the turn, Levey and Protopappas halved former "Soul to the Hole" teammates Smith and Butner despite the number of dots granted Team Ireland's squad. Butner stayed liquidated and this year did not look like San Diego Chargers tight end Kellen Winslow at the end of the 1982 playoff game against the Miami Dolphins. Team Onion led 6 ½ - 3 1/2. After Larson's singles win, Captains matched up again in alternate shot but this time it was an Ireland/Delfante team besting Dunphy/Coupin 3 and 2. Delfante putted with a club that Captain Ireland had acquired earlier the day before, although Delfante was prepared to putt with a broomstick attached to one of his size 15 shoes. As the temperature rose, the Slovensky/Protopappas duo beat Hoff/Breedlove in short order winning 6 and 5. As Mullen and Rei waited with opponents Levey and Bigelow at the tee box, Slovensky may have had the line of the tournament when he went up to the Bigelow/Levey cart filled with provisions and lots of beer and a lot of man weight and said "Does that cart have an extra battery?" Mullen carried Rei for the first 5 holes until he demanded that Rei have a Bud Light to relax. That, and the fact that Bigelow had a small bodega in his golf bag, offered the starving Mullen (unable to eat breakfast or lunch because of the closeness of the first and second tee time) a sleeve of peanuts after he passed on the smoked trout and pork rinds that would have been coupled with a wonderful Pinot Noir. It turned out to be the saving grace as Rei (who switched to Coors Light) played well on the back nine and Mullen had one blow-up hole (in front of everybody on 16) nailed a putt on 18 for a 2up win. Now down five, Rudney and Robinson stepped up for a 5 and 4 win over Griggs DDS and Soghikian RICH. Going into singles, Team Burglar had the seemingly insurmountable task of going 8-3 on Saturday at the Players Course to win. It nearly happened. This year's team shirts, worn during Saturday's singles matches, offered a new twist. Captain Ireland opted for a team logo that no captain had ever introduced. His attempt to accent the shirts in emerald green was actually replaced with a blood red feature with a horizontal versus vertical "I" for Ireland. Team Dunphy's handsome tan and white combination featured the new Desert Hunt logo, with a collar so large that it could be turned up and used as a hoodie. The collar seemed to be inspired by John Travolta's shirts in "Saturday Night Fever." In the opening Saturday singles match of the Captains, Dunphy backed up his talk with a 3 and 1 victory over Ireland. Then Hoff beats Delfante, Butner beats Levey, and the impossible seemed possible. The last pick Mullen, who was 2-2 overall and most felt could have been 4-0, beat Protopappas 3-2 with a snaking 8-footer for the win. Opponents Griggs DDS and single foe Protopappas congratulated Mullen for the victory. Mullen teammate Rudney asked him to move the flag laying 30 feet from the hole so he could tap in. Smith beat Soghikian 1up and Coupin beat Connors 2up. Could it really happen? Although Larson beat Robinson 2 and 1, Griggs DDS beat Rudney 3 and 1 and Slovensky beat Pearl 3 and 2, the match was going down to the end. A 30-foot chip-in by Team Ireland's Woodhead on 16 seemed to seal a victory over Team Dunphy's Rei late in the match. As the winners approached Captain Dunphy, who knew little about what had taken place behind them, it seemed like the Miracle on the Levee (not Levey) might actually have a chance. But alas, the shot by Woodhead preserved the 15-14 win. Slow play was the biggest issue at this year's Hunt, as was carelessness poolside. The people at Indian Wells were in a big huff. Twenty four rain checks were allegedly handed out to players behind the Hunt groups after Thursday's round. Friday's two rounds took 12 hours. The Founders deferred to nominate captains for next year, as is traditional at the Saturday dinner, as they consider modifications to next year's tournament including teeing off from the Whites rather than the Blues and having all out-of-bounds tee shots considered a lateral hazard. Founder Larson said he had never been so depressed, or as he revised "pissed," even after going 4-0 because part of his duties were to have a pow-wow with the Indian Wells golf management after each day. Clearly, there will never be a Desert Hunt at Indian Wells again. Ironically, the only pool time during the entire tournament . after Saturday's singles . was marred in controversy as well. Loud music and glass bottles at the pool raised the ire of an older tenant at Desert Falls and brought security. Founder deposits are being held by the Desert Falls homeowners group pending a review by the board. In a match that offered some of the best and most even play in Desert Hunt history, the story of great golf might well take a back seat to the controversy that surrounded it. - David Mullen

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