27th Old Warson Cup Round of 16 & Quarterfinals
St. Louis, MO - It was a wet one at Old Warson Country Club for the first day of the 27th Old Warson Cup. Kicking off early, the first match began at 7:00am in the Round of 16. The Senior Semi-Final matches began at 12:30pm. The Quarterfinal matches followed at 1:10pm. Temperatures remained in the 50s and showers rained down throughout the day, adding another layer to the difficulty of these matches for the players.
The first match of the day was between number 1 seed, Sam Migdal, and number 16 seed, Brad Carpenter. The pair had a true fight to the finish with the players going back and forth on who was up in the match. On the 18th hole, Carpenter would take down the number one seed with a par, winning the match 1 Up and moving on to the quarterfinals. In the second match of the Round of 16, we saw number 2, Blake Skornia, face number 15, AJ Porter. For the first five holes, this match remained tied. Porter was the first to take the lead, then Skornia got to three up, and then Porter would regain the lead through 17. Skornia made par on 18 to win the hole, bring the match back to all square, and force it into extra holes. On the first extra hole, Skornia would win the match 1 Up. Next up, Justin Bryant (No. 3) and Tony Gumper (No. 14) took to the course. Bryant held control of the match starting on Hole 4. Gumper’s attempts to cut in did not deter Bryant, and he would win the match 2 & 1. Putting half the field on the course, number five seed, Chris Kovach, and the number 12 seed, Sean Brennan teed off. Kovach, the defending champion, came in with the winner’s mentality, taking the lead and control of the match early by winning the first hole. Brennan tried to fight back, but Kovach would win the match 5 & 3.
Getting the second half of the field going, number 6, Drew Pranger, took on number 11, Ryan Schuenke. Schuenke won the first hole, but Pranger won the next two and never went down in the match again. Pranger won the match 2 & 1. The sixth match of the day was between Max Kreikemeier (No. 7) and Ryan Sullivan (No. 10). Sullivan was the first to win a hole, but then Kreikemeier took control through Hole 13. Sullivan tied the match up, but with a win on 18, Kreikemeier won the match 1 Up. The 8th seeded player, Chad Niezing, faced the 9th seeded player, Tyler Linenbroker, next. Niezing was a dominating force for much of the match, getting to 5 Up through 8. Linenbroker minimized the damage after that, but Niezing would win the match 2 & 1. In the final match of the day, Ryan Eckelkamp (No. 4) took on Jason Landry (No. 13). Eckelkamp was up in the match through one hole before Landry came back to take the lead. Before making the turn, Eckelkamp pulled the match back to a tie and charged forward to win the match 4 & 3.
In the senior division, the number one seed, Skip Berkmeyer, faced the number four seed, Paul Neeman. The pair tussled back and forth, though Berkmeyer neve let Neeman have the lead. The match went to the 18th hole, where Berkmeyer would seal the deal and win the match 2 Up. The second senior match was between Buddy Allen, the second seed, and John Moore, the third seed. Allen was determined to make it into the final match and refused to give up the lead. Allen won the match 5 & 4.
The afternoon brought the quarterfinal matches as the rain relentlessly came down. Hitting the course first were Ryan Eckelkamp (No. 4) and Chris Kovach (No. 5). In this match, Kovach was a dominating force with Eckelkamp only winning two holes. Kovach would win 5 & 3 to get into the semifinals. Next, we saw Blake Skornia (No. 2) versus Max Kreikemeier (No. 7). The Old Warson Cup rookie, Skornia, hit the gas in this match. Kreikemeier won one hole, while Skornia sailed to secure his spot in the semifinals with a 7 & 5 match victory. The third quarterfinal match was Justin Bryant (No. 2) against Drew Pranger (No. 6). Proving why he is a two time champion and runner-up the last two years in this Cup, Bryant dominated the match. Bryant won the match 8 & 6 to clench his place in the semifinals. The final match of the day belonged to Chad Niezing (No. 8) and Brad Carpenter (No. 16). Niezing took the first lead, followed by Carpenter’s lead through 7. Niezing then hit the gas and went on to win the match 5 & 3 to grab the final semifinal spot.
The semifinal matches will take place at 7:00am and 7:10am. The senior final match will begin at 11:30am. The final match will take place following the semifinal at 11:45am.