News

Round of 16 

St. Louis, MO - It was a wet morning for the Old Warson Cup Round of 16. The day began with the weather sirens ringing through the course just one minute before the first match was set to begin. Start times for all matches were subsequently pushed back by an hour and twenty minutes. Once play went off, golfers were met with wet conditions as rain continued to sputter down throughout the morning. 

The first match of the day saw the top seeded and lowest seeded players face off. Ryan Sullivan of Tapawingo National Golf Club took on Alex Ciaramitaro of the Metropolitan eClub. Sullivan took the early lead by winning the first hole. He then won five more holes on the front nine to make the turn 5 Up. Ciaramitaro was only able to break into Sullivan’s lead twice, winning holes 4 and 11. Sullivan put the match to rest by winning holes 13 and 14 to claim his place in the quarterfinals, 6 & 4.  

The second match was between Jason White of Tapawingo National Golf Club, the number 8 seed and Joe Migdal of Old Hickory Golf Club, the number 9 seed. Migdal was the first leader of the match, taking holes 2 and 5 to go 2 Up through five. That was when White turned a corner. Winning the next three holes, White brought the match back to all square. Migdal took Hole 9, but with White taking holes 11 through 13, he couldn’t regain the momentum. White moved on to the quarterfinals with a 3 & 2 win.  

Number 4 seed, Corey Choate of The Legends Country Club faced number 13 seed, Thomas Wuennenberg of Tapawingo National Golf Club in the third match of the day. The pair went back and forth on winning holes throughout the round. Wuennenberg made the first punch and was 2 Up through three holes. Choate continued to fight back, but was unable to bring the match back to even until hole 14. Wuennenberg regained a 2 Up lead through 16. Choate made a last ditch effort, winning hole 17 and taking the match to the 18th. It was there on the 18th green that Wuennenberg closed it out to take the match 1 Up and move on.  

Finishing the first half of the matches was Sam Migdal of St. Louis Country Club versus Ryan Shuenke of Quincy Country Club. The number 5 seed, Migdal, came out early and quickly. Migdal was 3 Up through 4 and 4 Up through 7, while not conceding a hole on the front nine. Number 12, Schuenke, finally got a hole on the 10th. Migdal then won holes 11 and 12. Schuenke claimed the 13th, but Migdal wrapped up the match on Hole 15 to move on with a 4 & 3 win.  

Kicking off the last half of the Round of 16 matches was number 2, Justin Bryant of St. Louis Country Club against number 15, Blake Skornia of Algonquin Golf Club. This proved to be a tightly contested match as the pair tied holes 1 through 5. Skornia was the first to break free and won holes 6 and 7. Bryant responded by winning the next two holes. The next two - Hole 10 and Hole 11 - belonged to Skornia. Bryant took Hole 12, but Skornia was able to win holes 13 and 15. Bryant tried to keep the match alive by taking Hole 16. Skornia finished it out on the 17th to win 2 & 1, defeating the defending champion in the first round.  

The sixth match was between Ryan Eckelkamp of Franklin County Country Club and Chris Kovach of Old Hickory Golf Club. This match up between the number 7 and number 10 seed was a fight to the finish. Neither side of this pairing ever saw more than a 1 Up lead. Eckelkamp was the first to take the lead, but Kovach was not going to take that sitting down. Back and forth they went, with Eckelkamp leading the way on the back nine. Kovach tied the match up on Hole 17 and held his competitor through the last. The pair were tied after 18 holes, meaning they were to play extra holes to determine a winner. On the first extra hole, Kovach closed the match out to win in 19 holes and take a place in the quarterfinals.  

Starting as the eighth match of the day, Chad Niezing of Meadowbrook Country Club took on Drew Pranger of Glen Echo Country Club. Niezing, the 3rd seeded player, took the first lead of the match on the third hole. He held that until the seventh, when Pranger came back to tie and take over the match. After winning Hole 8, the number 14 seed, Pranger, grabbed hold of the lead and never let go. Despite Niezing winning two holes on the back, Pranger won the match 2 Up to claim his place in the quarterfinals.  

The final match of the Round of 16 saw number 6 seed, Brad Carpenter versus number 11 seed, Bubba Chapman. Carpenter held control of this match from start to finish. After taking the lead on Hole 2, Carpenter was 3 Up through 6 and 4 Up through 11. Chapman got one hole back on the 12th, but this was not enough to stop his competitor. Carpenter won the next two holes to close out the match 5 & 4 and move his name into the quarterfinals.  

The quarterfinal matches were set with Ryan Sullivan, Jason White, Thomas Wuennenberg, Sam Migdal, Blake Skornia, Chris Kovach, Drew Pranger, and Brad Carpenter. 

 

Senior Semifinal 

The senior division of the Old Warson Cup featured four of the top senior golfers from 2025. Today, the quad arrived at Old Warson Country Club for their first head-to-head battles. The weather was starting to break up, but some lingering showers remained present at the beginning of their rounds. With just four players, the seniors head straight into their semifinal matches beginning at 12:30pm. 

The first senior semifinal match was between the number 1 seed, David Strickland of Tapawingo National Golf Club, and the number 4 seed, Buddy Allen of Sugar Creek Golf Club. Strickland seemed to have control of the match for most of the day. On the fifth hole, Strickland found his stride and was 3 Up through 8. Then, the pair made the turn where Allen shifted gears. Winning holes 11, 12, 14, and 15, Allen snatched the lead from Strickland. Not willing to give up, Strickland tied the match up again on the 17th. They turned to the 18th hole and Allen nailed the final blow to win the hole and the match 1 Up.  

The second senior semifinal match saw David Pfeil of The Legends Country Club face off with John Moore of Spring Lake Country Club. Pfeil, the 2nd seed, grabbed the lead on the second hole. It wasn’t until the sixth that Moore, the 3rd seed, tied the match up. Two holes later, Pfeil regained a 1 Up lead. Pfeil brought the match to 2 Up through 14, but Moore cut into the lead by one on the 17th. After playing Hole 18, Pfeil claimed his place in the final with a 1 Up match win. 

 

Quarterfinals 

The quarterfinals kicked off shortly following the Round of 16. As players finished their first match, they quickly grabbed food to refuel and then were headed back out for their scheduled match times beginning at 1:00pm.  

The first quarterfinal match saw Ryan Sullivan (No. 1) versus Jason White (No. 8). The front nine was a back and forth battle between the pair. Sullivan led after 2, then White recovered on 3. White took the lead on Hole 5, but Sullivan recovered on 6. White held a lead for 2 holes starting on the 8th and would make the turn in the lead. Sullivan turned up the heat after the turn by winning holes 10 through 12. White would win the 13th hole, but Sullivan shut the match down by winning holes 15 and 16. Sullivan claimed his place in the semifinals with a 3 & 2 win. 

Thomas Wuennenberg (No. 13) faced Sam Migdal (No. 5) in the second quarterfinal match. Wuennenberg took the first lead on the second hole, but it was short lived as Migdal tied that match on the third hole. Migdal finally got a lead on Hole 7, but Wuennenberg returned to gesture with a win on the 8th. The pair remained in a stalemate through Hole 12. On Hole 13, Migdal claimed the lead once more and held off his competition. With a par on Hole 17, Migdal put the match to rest in a 2 & 1 victory to stick his name on the semifinal tee sheet.  

The third match of the day was to see Blake Skornia (No. 15) take on Chris Kovach (No. 10). After taking down the defending champion and with Kovach’s first match going to extra holes, Skornia had to wait to begin his next match. During that time, Skornia was struck with illness and unable to continue in the competition. He was devastated, but was forced to withdraw from the cup. Kovach was suddenly off to the semifinals through a match concession.  

The final match of the quarterfinals and the day was between Drew Pranger (No. 14) and Brad Carpenter (No. 6). This was another tough fight around the course. Pranger took the first lead, but not for long as Carpenter won holes 3 and 5 to take the lead. Fighting for it, Pranger won three holes and was 2 Up through 10. Carpenter won back-to-back holes to tie the match by Hole 13, but couldn’t find another. Pranger claimed holes 14, 16, and 17 to take match win, 3 & 2 to be the final player admitted into the semifinal. 

 

Play will resume tomorrow with the semifinals at 7:00am, followed by the senior final at 11:45am, and then the final following the conclusion of the semifinal matches.