Alaska News

Alaska golfers best beware of Jedi mind tricks in match play

Anchorage's Benji Sumulong is excited for the start of the Alaska Golf Association's state match play tournament today at Eagleglen Golf Course. He loves match play because of the rare head-to-head nature of the competition.

"It's like a boxing match or a tennis match. It can be a mind game between two individuals," said Sumulong, the 2008 state match play champion.

Unlike the more common stroke play format that awards the golfer with the lowest total score, match play awards the golfer who wins the most holes.

"Definitely, match play is a lot better," Sumulong said. "You can gamble."

If a risky shot backfires in match play and results in a high score on a hole, only that hole is lost. In stroke play, it could take a golfer several holes to make up for a big mistake, but in match play, it only takes one good hole.

The state match play tournament begins with today's 36-hole, stroke-play qualifier to determine seeding for the weekend matches. A field of 60 men will be trimmed to 16, who then go into a single-elimination bracket. The eventual champion must win two matches Saturday and two more Sunday, playing a total of six rounds in three days.

It may sound like a grueling schedule, but Sumulong, 54, said fatigue wasn't a factor when he won.

ADVERTISEMENT

"Adrenaline kicks in, and I don't think you feel it. I never felt tired, not until I got home after winning," he said. "It's now or never, there's no time to catch up. It's almost like a life and death situation."

Despite the potential for excitement, the state match play title doesn't carry the prestige of the state stroke play title, which will be determined in a four-day, 72-hole event that starts in two weeks.

Greg Sanders -- a three-time stroke play champion and two-time match play champion -- thinks the stroke play championship gets more attention because more people participate each day, so there are more hanging around when the tournament ends.

"It just has a bigger feel to it," he said.

More than 140 players participated in last year's stroke play state tournament and each played on the final day. At the end of this weekend's match play tournament, only four men will still be playing going into Sunday's play.

Sanders, Alaska's representative for the U.S. Golf Association, said 11 of the 15 USGA national championships use match play to determine winners. While it's common for states to hold championships in each format, if a state only holds one championship, it almost always uses match play, Sanders said.

"That's really the format that decides it at the highest level," he said. "The stroke play is probably considered the premier event, but I think (match play) really should be up there alongside (it)."

"A four-day stroke play event is big, but I'll tell you what, winning four matches in a row is just as big."

Sumulong is the last player not named Casey Cusack to win the match play championship, beating Hal Willardson in 20 holes in 2008. Sumulong drained a long birdie putt to win the match.

"I won't forget that putt. I made it from 30 feet away. He had eight feet to tie me. That's the beauty of match play," Sumulong said.

The last two state titles went to Cusack, who turned professional over the winter and is no longer eligible for the event. He beat Sanders 2 and 1 in the final match last year, meaning Cusack was up two holes with one to play.

Participation in the match play tournament is up since Jeff Barnhart became executive director of the AGA in 2009. That year, 42 layers entered the tournament; today, 107 will tee off. Barnhart said the increase is primarily because of last year's addition of a net division, allowing golfers with double-digit handicaps to enjoy the tournament without having to compete against the state's best golfers.

Of the 60 men under the age of 55, the top 16 from today's play will make up this weekend's championship bracket. The next 16 make up a net bracket. The men's senior division will work the same way but use an 18-hole qualifier to rank the 35 entrants. The 14 female entrants will all play matches on the weekend, using an 18-hole qualifier today to seed a gross and net division.

Barnhart said match play has intermittently been a part of Alaska's golf scene since the 1960s, but the tournament didn't take on the current structure until 2006.

"It's meant to be a grind," Barnhart said. "I'm excited with how it has transpired."

Pick it up, it's good

Perhaps the biggest difference between match play and stroke play is the conceded putt. In stroke play, golfers must hole out every putt, but in match play golfers can concede putts to their opponent. It's a rule that provides a great opportunity for sportsmanship or gamesmanship.

ADVERTISEMENT

Anchorage's Kevin Daniels, who lost to Cusack in a semifinal match last year, admits to using a little gamesmanship. The 21-year-old senior on the American International College golf team will often concede putts early in a match, but isn't so generous as the match goes nears the end.

"At the end of the match I like to make them putt them out," he said.

Daniels doesn't get too stingy, though. He would never make his opponent putt out from three inches.

"It's a gentleman's game," he said. "We're not trying to be jerks out there."

One of the most famous conceded putts came from Jack Nicklaus at the 1969 Ryder Cup. After making his par putt on the final hole of the final singles match, Nicklaus conceded a three-foot putt to Tony Jacklin, creating the first tie in Ryder Cup history.

Callaway golf fitting

Anyone who ever dreamed of getting professionally fit for a new driver at midnight will get his chance this weekend at the Anchorage Golf Course.

Callaway Golf will visit Alaska for the first time, putting on a "24 hours of fitting" event starting Friday at 6 p.m. Technically it won't be 24 hours, because a sleep break is scheduled from 2-6 a.m., Saturday.

ADVERTISEMENT

It isn't all about club fitting, either. There will also be some clinics and competition, including a horse race and a long-drive contest.

The horse race is a shootout event played on holes 1 through 6. Twenty teams of two will tee off on the first hole, with the team with the worst score on each hole getting eliminated from competition until one team remains. Entry for the event is $50 per player, with half the fee going to help fund junior golf programs.

The driving range will be equipped with lights, just in case the midnight sun isn't bright enough.

Head golf pro Cody Long said Callaway is AGC's top vendor and the idea of bringing a representative from the company to Alaska started more than a year ago. Once Callaway decided to make the trip, it became a full production.

"We kind of initiated it and things kind of escalated from there," Long said. "It should be a fun couple of days."

By JEREMY PETERS

jpeters@adn.com

ADVERTISEMENT