DI Club captures first-ever Carolinas Senior Interclub Championship

The Daniel Island Club 1 captured the seventh Carolinas Senior Interclub Championship by recently defeating Pinehurst Country Club MGA, 43.5-36.5.

 

But it wasn’t easy. The local team endured months of regular season round robin play, followed by seven single-elimination team matches, which required 2,000 miles of travel.

 

The tournament, for golfers 55-and-over, began with 139 teams kicking off the regular season. Eighty-eight teams qualified for the playoffs with a chance to win the seventh Carolinas Senior Interclub Championship, which was contested at Mid Pines Inn and Country Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina.

 

The Daniel Island Club will have its name engraved on the Thomas J. Thorpe trophy, named after the dedicated Interclub Coordinator, executive committee board member and longtime supporter and advocate of the Carolinas Golf Association.

 

“It was a tremendous experience, a tremendous win,” said Daniel Island captain Matt Walker. “It was great to hold that trophy. Some of us might not have lifted a trophy like that in like 30-40 years.”

 

In the semifinals, the Daniel Island Club 1 defeated the Country Club of Charleston, 46-34, while Pinehurst Country Club MGA defeated Sapona Club, 44-36 to set up the championship.

 

In the championship, Daniel Island Club 1 defeated Pinehurst Country Club MGA, 43.5-36.5. Daniel Island was tested by the strong competition from Pinehurst, but two key 3-2 wins helped secure the win for the first ever champions. 

 

In the first match, Bob Calhoun and Juan Acevedo of the Daniel Island Club team went back-and-forth in their match against Donovan Bachtell and Larry Cracraft of Pinehurst Country Club. After being two-down after 13 holes, the Pinehurst duo was able to fight their way back and finish the match tied, 10-10. 

 

The second match of the day saw Daniel Island’s Walker and Jeff Burton take on Kirk Adkins and Douglas Green of Pinehurst Country Club. The captain and his teammate were too fierce to take down. Walker and Burton were four-up after eight holes. With the hole too deep to dig out, the Daniel Island side secured 12 points for the team. 

 

The lone win for Pinehurst Country Club came from the third match. Frank Rutan and Jeff Abbott of Daniel Island were paired against Kevin Ennis and Reid Dawson of Pinehurst. Both teams went back and forth for the entirety of the front nine. A big par putt for Rutan and Abbott put the pair two-up after 10 holes. 

 

Ennis and Dawson immediately followed up with a clutch par and fist pump on No. 11 to change the momentum of the match. Ennis and Dawson went on to win three out of the seven remaining holes to finish one-up and secure 11.5 points for Pinehurst. 

 

In the anchor match, the Daniel Island team of Johnny Dangerfield and Tyler Hall squared off against Richard Goe and Bill Andrews of Pinehurst. Dangerfield and Hall were able to take the first hole and jump out to an early lead, as Hall slid in a knee-knocker for par. Goe and Andrews weren’t discouraged by the opening hole and would go on to win the next two holes. After being one-up through nine, Dangerfield and Hall took control of the match, winning hole No. 10 and 11. The pair didn’t turn back and went on to secure the final 13 points and the win for the Daniel Island Club.