Team Metro Returns from the Mid-America Junior Cup
Overland Park, KS - The two sides of the state met once again to compete in the 27th Mid-America Junior Cup. Eight junior golfers from the Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association and eight from Central Links Golf were selected to compete. The Mid-America Junior Cup is a Ryder Cup style, match play invitational event with foursome, four-ball, and singles rounds. There are a total of 16 points available in the matches with teams needing 8.5 points to win the Cup. Team Central Links needs just 8 points to retain the cup as the defending champion. This year’s competition was hosted by Central Links at The Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate in Overland Park, KS.
Each team consists of four boys and four girls. Two boys and two girls must be aged 15 and under, while the remaining four players will compete as the 18 and under.
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Team Metropolitan:
Emilia Brown |
Team Central Links:
Josh Fratzel |
For the three days in Kansas City for the practice round and two days of competition, golfers were faced with tough weather conditions. Colder temperatures with rain and wind left players battling not just each other, but the conditions themselves.
The first round was the foursome matches. For this format, players were paired one boy and one girl to compete as a side while playing alternate shots. Team Metropolitan got off to a hot start in this round. By the third hole, we had held the lead in all four matches. First out were Team Metropolitan’s veterans Sarah Hyten and Cole Packingham against Team Central Links’ Lynne Powell and Peyton Smith. The match remained tied through the first two holes, then Hyten and Packingham won the third hole to take the lead for the Metropolitan. Central Links tied the match back up on the fifth, but it was short lived. Hyten and Packingham won the next two holes and only lost one hole after that. Winning the first four holes on the back nine, Hyten and Packingham secured Team Metropolitan’s first point with a 6 & 5 victory.
The rest of the morning matches remained close for much of the day. The second match saw the Metropolitan’s Hudson Shy and Rachel Johnson take on Central Links’ Josh Fratzel and Gabby Vineyard. This match went back and forth between the two sides with each having a lead. Shy and Johnson took the match to the 18th green where they would fall to Central Links 2 Down. The third match of the round started the 15 and under groupings with Caden Kite and Emilia Brown for Team Metropolitan took on Maddox Sundet and Alexi Omillian for Team Central Links. Brown and Kite remained steady through the first ten holes, sitting 4 Up with 8 to play. Central Links clawed their way back, however, to tie the match on the 15th. The Metropolitan won the 16th hole, but would end up finishing the match Tied to gain a half point for their team. The final match of the morning was Team Metropolitan’s Charlotte Stafford and Isaah Kandula facing Team Central Links’ Betsy Mitchell and Charles Rome. Once again the Metropolitan took an early lead. Kandula and Stafford were 3 Up through 7 and made the turn 1 Up. Like all of their teammates before, the pair won the 10th hole, but this would be the last hole they secured. Team Central Links made a comeback to flip the match, leaving Kandula and Stafford to lose the match 3 & 2. At the conclusion of the Foursome matches, Team Metropolitan would hold 1.5 points, while Team Central Links would hold 2.5 points.
The players quickly grabbed a bite to eat before heading back out for the afternoon four-ball matches. The four-ball format played boys against boys and girls against girls. The older division golfers played first again in this round. First out for Team Metropolitan was Sarah Hyten and Rachel Johnson against Gabby Vineyard and Lynn Powell for Team Central Links. It took a few holes for anyone to break through, but Hyten and Johnson took the first lead on Hole 3. Without looking back, Hyten and Johnson were 4 Up in the match at the turn. Central Links won one hole on the back, but Team Metropolitan won the next hole. Hyten and Johnson closed out the match to win the Metropolitan’s first point of the session 4 & 3. The second match was between Team Metropolitan’s Hudson Shy and Cole Packingham versus Team Central Links’ Josh Fratzel and Peyton Smith. Shy and Packingham won the first hole of the day, showing promise for their team, but would end up not winning another hole until the 12th. Shy and Packingham would fall 6 & 4 in their match.
The third four-ball match saw Emilia Brown and Charlotte Stafford of Team Metropolitan face off against Betsy Mitchell and Alexi Omillian of Team Central Links. It took four holes for anyone to take a lead, but Brown and Stafford won back-to-back holes to sit 2 Up through 6. The side held the lead through eleven holes before Central Links started coming back. Brown and Stafford continued to fight and even won on Hole 16, but would end up losing the match 2 & 1. In the final match of the day, Team Metropolitan’s Caden Kite and Isaah Kandula took on Team Central Links’ Charles Rome and Maddox Sundet. This match got off to a tough start for Team Metropolitan, going three down by the third hole. Kite and Kandula did not give up though, winning Holes 8 and 9 to cut back into the lead. The pair would fight to the finish, taking the match to the 18th. Darkness set in, delaying the completion of this match with one hole left to play. The players returned to restart the match at 9:00 on Sunday morning. Making their way down the final hole, Kite and Kandula gave it their best effort, but would fall 1 Down. After the second round, Team Metropolitan was trailing Team Central Links 2.5 points to 5.5 points.
Turning to the singles matches, Team Metropolitan faced a tall order, needing 6 points to capture the Cup. Though an uphill battle, this team was ready to fight for it. The first match of the day sent Rachel Johnson for Team Metropolitan out against Lynn Powell for Team Central Links. This match was tightly contested at the start with the two remaining tied through five holes. On the sixth, Johnson sunk a long putt for birdie, which opened the door for her to win that hole and the next. Johnson was 1 Up through 11 before going on a tear to win the next four holes and win her match 5 & 3, putting the first point on the board for Team Metropolitan this round. Next up was Team Metropolitan’s Sarah Hyten versus Team Central Links’ Gabby Vineyard. Hyten took the lead by winning holes 2 and 3. Vineyard slowly brought the match back to square with the pair making the turn tied. Hyten fought back to take holes eleven through thirteen to regain her lead. Hyten claimed a second point for Team Metropolitan with a 2 & 1 win. This made Hyten the only undefeated player on Team Metropolitan this year.
The third match of the day was between Isaah Kandula of Team Metropolitan and Charles Rome of Team Central Links. It was a tough start for Kandula, but he never gave up. Kandula found himself five down through 6, but he won holes 7 and 8 to give hope of a comeback. Despite his efforts, Kandula would fall 7 & 6. Closing in the first half of the matches, Caden Kite of Team Metropolitan faced Maddox Sundet of Team Central Links. Kite was down after two holes, but got up and down for par on Hole 3 to tie the match back up. Kite continued to fight, but would only be able to win one more hole during the match, losing 5 & 3.
At the halfway point, Charlotte Stafford for Team Metropolitan took on Alexi Omillian of Team Central Links. Stafford got off to a hot start, winning the first three holes. The match would come back to be tied by the turn, but Stafford would win on Hole 10 to get back up. Both golfers still fighting to the end, Stafford would eventually fall 3 & 2. In the sixth match of the day, Team Metropolitan’s Emilia Brown faced Betsy Mitchell of Team Central Links. Brown won the first hole and in a tightly contested match, kept the lead through Hole 5. Brown would slip on Hole 6, but pick the lead back up on Hole 7. Making the turn tied, Brown battled hard for her team, but would also fall 3 & 2 in this match.
In the seventh match of the day, we saw Hudson Shy of Team Metropolitan take on Josh Fratzel of Team Central Links. Shy became the third member of his team to win the first hole and take the early lead. After that, this match was a back and forth battle between the two boys. Shy made the turn 1 Down and tied it up on Hole 11. Fratzel then hit a streak that left Shy 3 Down with 3 to play. Shy was not ready to back down, winning holes 16 and 17 with par to take the match to the final hole. A wayward tee shot on the 18th left Shy to fall in the match 2 Down. In the final match of the day, Cole Packingham of Team Metropolitan faced Peyton Smith of Team Central Links. Packingham gave it his all in an attempt to break through in this match, but each time Packingham had a chance of getting red on the board for his team, Smith was right there to match him. Packingham would only win 2 holes during this match and would fall 4 & 2.
At the conclusion of play, Team Central Links would walk away as Mid-America Junior Cup Champion again after earning 11.5 points. Team Metropolitan may not have come home with the Cup this year, but the fight in this team never stopped. From the first tee shot to the last putt, Team Metropolitan gave it their all and remained a unified front, supporting each other every step of the way. Despite the outcome and the weather, this team walked away with smiles on their faces, new friends, and a memorable experience. Next year, the Mid-America Junior Cup will be back in St. Louis as we host and take another crack at reclaiming the Cup.