Carnoustie rallies to win Beau Pré Cup

Published 12:30 am Monday, September 26, 2011

ERIC SHELTON | THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT Jody Helbling hits a tee shot during the Beau Pré Cup Saturday morning the the Beau Pré golf course.

NATCHEZ — After winning five of the first nine matches and having two others, Team St. Andrews took a two-point lead over Team Carnoustie in Sunday afternoon’s individual matches at Beau Pré Country Club.

However, Chad Huber started Team Carnoustie’s amazing comeback with a stunning rally of his own. At the end of 13 holes, Huber was 4-down with five holes to play against Chuck Fields of Team St. Andrews

By the time the match was over, Huber and Fields ended up all square with a half a point for each team. Carnoustie wound up with four points in the final five matches to finish with 14 ½ points and the 2011 Beau Pré Cup while St. Andrews managed just one point in that same span and wound up with 13 ½ points.

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“I told Bill (Byrne) when we left 13 that you’re about the see the biggest comeback in Beau Pré Cup history. I didn’t know if it was going to happen,” Huber said. “I started playing better. Started becoming more focused.”

Had Fields won the match, it outcome would have been a tie with the Beau Pré Cup remaining in the hands of Team St. Andrews – last year’s winner.

Bill Byrne defeated Bubba Kaiser, Lee Jones got past Gary Farmer, and Jason Rooks tied his match with Hayden Kaiser.

“We went back and forth on the front nine. I went 1-up on 9. Made two birdies on the back to win 3 & 2,” Byrne said about his match against Kaiser.

That put St. Andrews at 7 points and Carnoustie at 6 points going into the last hole of the last match of the day – Stephen Hollingsworth versus Jordan Farmer. Hollingsworth had to win the match to give Carnoustie the Beau Pré Cup.

While Hollingsworth’s tee shot on the par-5 18th hole landing in the middle of the fairway, Jordan Farmer’s tee shot went way right. Hollingsworth ended up winning the match.

“It was a lot of back and forth early. We both had a little trouble getting started,” Hollingsworth said. “I eagled 5. That got me up 1. From there, I never gave up the lead. We both grinded it out there. Jordan’s a good friend of mine, so it was fun that it came down to the last hole.”

Hollingsworth said that on the 18 tee, he knew he had to hit a solid tee shot to have just an iron to the green. He said he was surprised how wayward Farmer’s tee shot went.

“Jordan’s so accurate. You hate for it to come down to a bad tee shot,” Hollingsworth said.

Carnoustie team captain Jerry Beauchamp couldn’t have happier about his team’s resolve and resiliency down the stretch after a tough start to the day.

“We were down by two points with five matches to play. Everybody kept charging. Great golf. Great players. Great play,” Beauchamp said.

“This is the most fun thing you can do. Play with some good friends. We knew it was going to come down to the end,” St. Andrews team captain Craig Bradford said. “Quite a few matches that were halved. There were some upsets. (Beau Pré golf pro) Tom Bryant could not have been more helpful,” said Bradford, who defeated Beauchamp in one of the early individual matches of the afternoon.

Two other early matches ended up all square – Woody Allen v. Bill Lambert and Al Guido v. Keith Rayborn.

“We went up and down all day long. Just went back and forth,” Allen said about his match with Lambert. “Somebody would win a hole and then lose it. We’ve been playing each other for a long time.”

“I was 1-down at the turn. I won 10 and 12. I was 2-up after 13,” Guido said about his match with Rayborn. “He won 14 and 15 to get it back to even. I won 16, he won 17 and we tied 18. It was a good match. We both played good. Course is in good shape. This is the best tournament of the year.”