News

Semifinal

St. Louis, MO - It was a picture perfect day at Old Warson Country Club for the second and final day of the 28th Old Warson Cup. The field had been whittled down to six golfers through the round of 16, quarterfinals, and senior semifinals on day one. The four remaining in the Old Warson Cup returned for an early start for the semifinal matches, while the two in the senior division came for their final match just before noon. 

Semifinal match one began at 7:00am between number one seed, Ryan Sullivan of Tapawingo National Golf Club and number five seed, Sam Migdal of St. Louis Country Club. Migdal was the first leader of the match, winning the second hole. This didn’t last for long as Sullivan won holes 4, 6, and 8 to make the turn 2 Up. By Hole 12, Sullivan was 4 Up. Migdal got one hole back on the 13th and pressed the match to 16 holes. Sullivan closed out the match with a win on 16. Sullivan secured his spot in the final, 4 & 2. 

The second semifinal match saw Chris Kovach of Old Hickory Golf Club against Drew Pranger of Glen Echo Country Club. Pranger, the 14th seed, showed dominance throughout the match. He won the first two holes and refused to let go. Kovach was only able to win one hole in the match just before the turn. Pranger staked his claim on the last spot in the final match.

 

Senior Final

The Senior Old Warson Cup final match kicked off at 11:45am. This was a meet up of David Pfeil of The Legends Country Club and Buddy Allen of Sugar Creek Golf Course. This match looked like it was going to be a long one for the first half of the day. Allen went 1 Up after 2, but it was short lived as Pfeil won the next hole to get back to even. The pair went toe to toe for the next five holes, remaining tied. Allen won Hole 9 and that was the change in momentum he had been looking for.  

Winning on holes 10, 11, and 13, Allen was suddenly 4 Up through 13. Pfeil cut into that score with a Hole 14 win, but three more holes down was a tough hill to climb. The pair made their way down the 16th hole. On his third shot and approach into the green, Allen pitched one into the hole from the fairway. Disbelief and excitement from those watching, including competitor Pfeil. With Pfeil unable to match that stroke, Allen shut down the match, 4 & 2, to claim his second Senior Old Warson Cup title.

 

Final

The final match of the Old Warson Cup began at 12:00pm.This battle royale saw Ryan Sullivan versus Drew Pranger. These two competitors fought to the finish and continually matched one another’s stride. Sullivan, however, held control for much of the match. Sullivan grabbed the reins on holes 2 and 3 to go 2 Up. Pranger then came back to claim holes 5, 7, and 8. At 1 Up through 8, this was the only time Pranger held a lead in the match. A wayward tee shot and a lost ball on 9 for Pranger helped Sullivan capture another hole win just before the turn. The pair moved on to Hole 10 tied up.  

The back nine is where these two golfers went shot for shot and blow for blow. Still tied through 11, Sullivan regained a lead on the 12th. Pranger stuck one in close on 13 to tie the score again. Sullivan then responded on Hole 14 to once again go 1 Up. Getting through the last 4 holes was not necessarily pretty, but showed skill in recoverability and perseverance for the pair. On Hole 17 during this stretch, Pranger was able to dash Sullivan’s hopes of finishing the match by winning the hole and bringing the match back to all square. As they made their way up 18, Pranger’s approach shot was left short of the green. Sullivan was on the green, but would still need a good putt to try to close it. Pranger hit his chip and in dramatic fashion, it rolled just shy of the hole, putting the pressure on Sullivan. Sullivan then stepped up to his ball and trying to will it in, watched as it rolled by the cup. The pair each conceded the other’s next shot and were off to extra holes.  

They made their way back to Hole 1 to continue the extended match. Both players faced long putts on the first green and both missed by a small margin. Marking down par, they turned to Hole 2. Pranger’s tee shot started blocking to the right with fear of out of bounds looming, but he caught a break as the ball landed in bounds in the grass just between the right bunkers. Sullivan was in the fairway, but his second shot landed short of the green. Pranger’s second was on the green. Sullivan chipped up, but still had some room left. Pranger’s putt just didn’t want to fall in, which gave Sullivan an opening to tie the hole. Sullivan stepped up and did just that by sinking his putt.  

So, they were on to Hole 3. Neither player was able to get the ball in close with their tee shot, leaving lengthy putts to try to settle it. Both Sullivan and Pranger hit great putts, but with neither going in, they were forced onto a fourth extra hole. Sullivan placed his drive in the fairway, while Pranger was caught behind a few trees. Pranger’s second shot smacked into a tree and dropped into the fairway not far in front of where Sullivan’s ball laid. Sullivan hit his second in the green and it started tracking slightly left. He got a lucky landing with his ball finding the grass patch in the middle of the left greenside bunker. Pranger’s third shot and approach into the green was a beauty that had the potential to set him up for a successful finish. Sullivan chipped his ball onto the green, leaving just a few feet. Pranger then stepped up to putt his ball and watched as it rolled past the right edge of the cup. Sullivan had one job left to do. Stepping up, Sullivan rolled his ball into the hole to finally put the match to bed.  

In 22 holes, Ryan Sullivan became the 28th Old Warson Cup Champion, marking the longest final match in cup history. Twice the final match has gone to 21 holes, but a new match length record is officially in the books. In total this weekend, Sullivan played 68 holes to knock out the competition and finish on top. Sullivan started this cup as the number one seeded player after earning it with a successful 2025 campaign and now walks away triumphant as the Old Warson Cup Champion.