CLUB NEWS
8.16.2010
ALWAYS BET ON BLACK: CAPTAIN LAWRENCE AND TEAM BLACK WIN INAUGURAL WEEKENDER
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. - The Dragons Golf Club hosted its inaugural 36-hole medal play championship and intra-club match play at the spectacular Half Moon Bay Golf Links this past weekend, and what an auspicious occasion it was. Against the back drop of the stately Ritz-Carlton and the Pacific Ocean, 28 members on sides of 14 each battled over two days on two dramatically different courses. In the end, Team Black, led by club president Lawrence Ma, defeated club captain Wes Chong's Team Red, 11 1/2 to 9 1/2.
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The tournament got under way on Saturday morning with a club breakfast at Mullin's Bar & Grill, and the Net Four Ball competition on the Ocean Course. The fog clung stubbornly over the Ocean Course, but there was no wind and the course played firm and fast, as a links course should.
Seven points were up for grabs on Day 1 in seven four-ball matches, with 14 more on the final day in singles -- 11 points are needed for an outright win. Team Red got off to a stunning start, winning the first four matches of the day. Paul Lee (86/net 71) and Tim Lohse (99/net 80), members of the club's NCGA Associate Club Championship-bound 4-man team, defeated Angie Wong (94/net 77) and Chris Chong (87/net 79), 3 & 2, to draw first blood for the Red team.
Carol Lee (109/net 79) and Cathy Cheung (109/net 65) then crushed Martin Chang (109/net 77) and Jens Jaeger (83/net 75), 7 & 5, for another point for Team Red. Paul Loui (74/net 72) and Aaron Wainscoat (99/net 79) defeated Larry Inouye (86/net 76) and Jon Chong (89/net 76), 3 & 2, and Tommy Chong (79/net 67) and Fuzzy Pourahmadi (93/net 67) beat Eric Mosbrooker (95/net 81) and Karen Fong (95/net 62) by the same score.
But the best-dressed duo in the golfing world, Jim Hwang and Bobby Chang, turned things around for Team Black, as the dapper gentlemen defeated the ladies in red, Tammy Lee and Maiko Masuda, 2 & 1, to put up Team Black's first point. Jim's 82 was also the low gross for the day in the B Flight, and Bobby, who hasn't touched his clubs much this year, shot 81/net 77.
Steve Tsang (85/net 74) and Rob Dang (109/net 85) had Ken Lum (82/net 69) and A.T. (104/net 77) on the ropes most of the day, then fought off a furious come back, and put up another point for the Black side with a 1 up win. A Big League "Outta Babe" from both captains to Rob for shaking off a nightmarish 18 on the Par 3 ninth (caught on video, by the way, by Jonathan, from the tee), staying in the match, and making a huge putt down the stretch to help secure the Black team win.
 Wes Chong, Judy Wu, and Lawrence on HMB Ocean #16. |
In the seventh and final match on Saturday, Lawrence Ma and new member Judy Wu went up against Wes Chong and Jonathan Wong in an epic battle that saw neither side gaining more than a 1-up advantage, and "All Square" running down the scorecard most of the day. Wes fired a 5-under 67 (with a double bogey), which forced Lawrence to play out of his mind (and rear end) just to keep (74/net 66), but it was Judy's great play down the stretch that saved the day for Team Black. One down with three to play, Lawrence tied the match on the 16th with a par/net birdie against Wes and Jonathan's par. Judy then stuffed her approach on 17th to 12 feet and two putted for another net birdie to give the Black team a 1-up lead. On the long Par-5 18th, with Judy in perfect position to reach the green in two, Wes hit an unbelievable 3-wood from 250 yards onto a concrete-hard green sitting on a table top and leaving the ball just 14 feet away from the pin. As Lawrence chopped up the hole with a double, Judy (96/net 71) calmly got up and down for a 5/net birdie, and Wes narrowly missed the eagle putt that would have tied the match.
 Martin Chang, Jon Chong, and Carol Lee stand over #18. |
Thus, after Day 1, Team Red led the Weekender Team Matches with a narrow 4-3 advantage. 20 or so members and their friends and family headed over to Sam's Chowder House for dinner, and lingered fairly late into the evening. Such is the advantage of having civilized tee times on weekends.
The wind picked up on Sunday, as the singles and the final round of the medal play championship got under way on the Old Course. The parkland-style Old Course provided a totally different challenge on Sunday, with its tree-lined and hilly fairways, water hazards, barrancas, deep greenside bunkers and firm greens that were difficult to hold. Consequently the scores were higher across the board.
 Judy Wu tees off on Ocean #16. |
The Black team built on the momentum of the last-minute heroics on Saturday, and jumped all over the Red team early. Lawrence the plinker (84/net 76) built up an early lead on Tommy the bomber (93/net 81) and put up a black point with a 3 & 2 win, equalizing the team matches at 4 to 4. Karen (118/net 89) then defeated Fuzzy on the 18th hole for another point, giving Team Black the lead for the first time all weekend, 5 to 4.
Carol (109/net 79), however, continued her dominance over her nemesis, Martin (118/net 86), and tied the matches with a 3 & 1 win. But Team Black would start to build its lead, with three decisive wins in a row. The battle of the Jonathans went to Black Jon of Tucson (86/net 73), who defeated Red Jon of Foster City (89/net 76), 4 & 2. Jim (96/net 80) and Tim (106/net 87) were all square through 13, at which point Jim started to pull away and won, 3 & 1. Steve (89/net 78) had Aaron (109/net 89) down two at the turn, fought off Aaron's comeback at the 13th and cruised to a 4 & 3 victory.
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In the mini-skirt showdown, Maiko (104/net 79) took control of her match against Angie (99/net 85) after five holes and moved on to win, 3 & 2. That stopped the bleeding for Team Red, but in the same group, Judy (98/net 76) defeated Cathy (129/net 92), 2 up, to give Team Black a 9 to 6 advantage.
Inspired perhaps by his countryman Martin Kaymer at the PGA, Jens (83/net 75) built his 2-up lead at the turn into a 4 & 3 win over Steady Eddie P-Lee (97/net 82). Hampered by back pains, Eric (92/net 78) was no match for P-Loui (76/net 74) of the Red Team, dropping his match 3 & 2. But by this point, Team Black had won 7 out of the first 10 matches, and needed just 1 point from the remaining four matches to win the inaugural Weekender outright.
 Wes Chong wins Field Low Gross with a spectacular 1-over 145 total. |
Thus it came down to the penultimate foursome, wherein Bobby (97/net 94), the last pick at the Weekender draft playing with a 3-handicap, took on A.T. and his 24 pops. A.T. closed the front nine with a 2 up lead, but Bobby brought the match back to even by the 15th. A.T. (116/net 89) took a 1-up lead on the Par-3 17th, but made a 10 to Bobby's bogey on the last hole, yielding the only draw of the weekend. Bobby's halved match with A.T. clinched at least a tie for Team Black, now with 10 1/2 points.
And so it was up to Rob to win it for Team Black, and Tammy to keep Team Red alive. Rob was 3-up on Tammy after nine holes, and after losing No. 10, he stretched the lead back up to 3-up on the 11th and went to 4-up on No. 12. On the 14th, Rob (108/net 84) was dormie with four to play, clinching the half-point needed for a Team Black outright Weekender win. Tammy (95/net 82) charged back to win 15th, 16th and 17th, but the matched ended 1-up in Rob's favor with a halved 18th hole.
The Red Team swept the last two matches of the day, as Wes (78/net 77) beat big brother Chris (96/net 88), 4 & 3. By the same score, Ken (87/net 74) took out Larry (87/net 77). By the time the Red Team captain came to the awards reception at Mullin's, Team Black's celebration was on, with 11 1/2 points already on the board.
However, Wes is the field low gross winner and medal play champion of the inaugural Weekender, with a 1-over 145 total. Paul Loui finished five shots behind (150) for 2nd low gross, and Jens Jaeger placed third (166). In the A Flight Net Division, Lawrence, finished at 2-under 142 net to take first place, with Ken Lum (143 net) finishing 2nd and Tommy Chong (148 net) third.
 1st Low Gross in Flight B goes to Paul Lee. |
In the B Flight, the net division was swept by Team Black members. Jim Hwang took first low net honors (146 net), with Judy Wu just one stroke behind at 147 and Karen Fong at third with 151. Jim and Judy won all of their Weekender matches, while Karen went 1-1-0. Paul Lee won the B Flight low gross (183), and Angie Wong took home her first golf trophy with a 193 total, good for 2nd low gross. Tim Lohse finished third low gross at 205.
At the awards reception, members were treated to a buffet of appetizers and we saw the drama (or the travesty) that unfolded live at The PGA Championship for Dustin Johnson and the subsequent playoff won by Kaymer of Germany. Our medalists from each flight were awarded with trophies, as were the high gross members, Martin Chang and Cathy Cheung, to whom we give our encouragement for sticking with this crazy game. Each member of the Black team also received a keepsake to commemorate the team win.
 Lawrence Ma plinks his way to Flight A 1st Low Net. |
Double Dragon Cup points will be awarded to the Weekender competitors. In addition, members of the Black team will receive a 100 points each for the team victory, while 25 points will be given to each member of the Red Team. Wes and P-Lee will likely maintain their lead positions in the Dragon Cup race, but Lawrence is closing in, and going after more points up in Victoria over Labor Day Weekend with a small contingent of Dragons. The updated Dragon Cup points list will be released by the Guru, Jonathan, this week.
The Board would like to thank Weekender co-chairs Fuzzy Pourahmadi, Jonathan Wong and Martin Chang for a great time at Half Moon Bay. It takes a lot of hard work and hours to stage a tournament like the Weekender, and we appreciate it very much. We would also like to thank Joe Kwok for staging the Weekender draft and dinner at his home following the Presidio tournament, and Alex Chong, who is recovering from foot surgery, but manned the BBQ at Joe's and did all of the handicaps for both days of The Weekender.
 Jim Hwang wins 1st Low Net in Flight B. |
The Dragons' next tournament will be at Hiddenbrooke GC, September 18. A week after the club tournament, the club will send an 8-member squad drawn from the the BOB team back to Hiddenbrooke to compete in the NorCal Cup, which will feature the Dragons as BOB runner-up, the BOB champion Oakland CGC, the Valley Cup champion Santa Clara GCC/Foon Hay, and the Challenge Cup winner from Sacramento (Weekender Driver or Sacramento CGC).
