Quintessentially Quincy, Sobbe Cup Champions
St. Peters, MO - The final match of the Thomas O. Sobbe Cup has come to a close. After a summer long member club competition two teams claimed their spots in the final. Quincy Country Club and Spring Lake Country Club found themselves in a hometown showdown after defeating their competition to this point. The two sides met at a neutral site, Old Hickory Golf Club, to determine who would walk away with the trophy.
Each team consists of a four-ball handicap pair, a senior four-ball handicap pair, a singles handicap golfer, two singles scratch golfers, and a singles professional, leaving a total of 6 points up for grabs in each faceoff. The season began with 51 teams from Metropolitan member clubs. They were divided into 17 divisions of three, where they played round robin with those in their group. The top team from each division at the end of this group stage, moved on to the knockouts. The teams were seeded based on the points earned during group play. Then the teams played until we were down to two.
Quincy Country Club entered the final undefeated. This team from Quincy, Illinois won all four of their group play matches and collected 18 points. Quincy was awarded the top seeded spot for having the most points. Quincy took on the lowest ranked team of St. Clair Country Club in the Round of 16. Making a statement for all future competition, they won 6 to 0 to move on. Then in the quarterfinals, they were set to face the number 8 seed, Algonquin Golf Club. Due to some complication, Algonquin ended up forfeiting the match and sending Quincy on to the semis. Quincy took on the fourth seeded team, Whitmoor North, in the semifinals. With a 4 to 2 win, Quincy Country Club secured their spot in the final.
Spring Lake Country Club also entered the final undefeated. Coming from Quincy, Illinois as well, this team earned 16.5 points during their four group play wins. With fewer points, Spring Lake settled for the second seeded position. Spring Lake faced Lake Forest CC 2, the second lowest ranked team in the round of 16. Winning 4.5 to 1.5, they moved into the quarterfinals, where they took on the number 7 seed, Crystal Highlands Golf Club. This proved to be a tough battle with each team collecting 3 points. After a playoff, Spring Lake came out on top to move on. In the quarterfinals, Spring Lake battled the sixth ranked team, Waterloo Country Club. Spring Lake would take the last spot in the final with a 4 to 2 win.
These two neighbors from Quincy, Illinois made the trip to Old Hickory Golf Club to determine who would be the best team not just in Quincy, but in the Metropolitan this year. In the first match of the day, Spring Lake saw some hope with the senior four-ball handicap match. The side of Gary Boots and Eric Stratman for Spring Lake showed no mercy against Dennis Boudreau and Hal Axelrod of Quincy. Boots and Stratman won the match 6 & 5 to put up a point for Spring Lake on the board. Luckily for Quincy, the following matches were going much better. The four-ball handicap match was a tussle with both sides being up at some point. Tim Hickman and Tom Mitchell of Quincy took on Noi Sonethongkham and Carl Kruthoff of Spring Lake. Picking up steam on the back nine, Hickman and Mitchell earned a point for Quincy with a 3 & 2 win.
The singles scratch matches were the third set of golfers to hit the course. Ryan Schuenke of Quincy faced Adam Pfeiffer of Spring Lake, while Andrew Boudreau of Quincy faced Jamie Blaesing of Spring Lake. Schuenke got off to a fiery start, gaining a 5 up lead through 7. Pfeiffer tried to fight back but would ultimately fall to Schuenke 3 & 2, giving Quincy a second point. Meanwhile, Boudreau took a slower route, but maintained the lead the entire day. Boudreau would win his match 5 & 3 to put another point on the board for Quincy.
In the final group of the day, the singles handicap and professional matches were played. The handicapped match saw Brad Keller of Quincy take on Luke Niederhauser of Spring Lake. Once again, Quincy took an early lead and Spring Lake struggled to fight back. Keller kept his hold on the match to win Quincy a point 2 & 1. Gideon Smith of Quincy battled Braden Bennett of Spring Lake in the professionals match. After two holes, Smith had a 2 up lead. Then by Hole 8, he was 4 up. Despite Bennett winning one hole, Smith sailed into a point for Quincy with a 6 & 5 win.
At the conclusion of play, Quincy Country Club had earned 5 of the 6 points to prove they were the best team in the Metropolitan this year. This team completed a perfect, undefeated run to be the 32nd Thomas O. Sobbe Cup Champions. This is Quincy’s second win, having won in 2022. Quincy Country Club ends the season victorious, hoisting the trophy and taking it back with them to Illinois.