Play date: August 15 – The finish line is drawing near as the Bouchillon Ambrose Cup competition heads toward its final round of the 2024 season. Team Deer Creek, going into the day still holding a solid lead in the annual contest, failed to advance in Singles Match Play against Team Marshwood. Meanwhile, a resurgent Team Palmetto bested rival Oakridge to narrow the gap between itself and the leader.
The summer doldrums conspired to limit the number of players that took to the fairways on another sizzling August morning. Team Marshwood, with just twelve members playing plus club pro Spencer Scheeler, won seven of its matches outright while halving another. At the final, Deer Creek lost to the Marshwood team by just a half-point margin, 7.0 to 7.5.
Team Oakridge, which has struggled throughout the season, fielded a relatively full roster at sixteen players, plus pro Chris Leake, and managed to win six of its matches with one split decision. But Team Palmetto, with thirteen players plus the help of pro Andrew Ward, squeezed out one extra win to top out at a final score of 7.5.
With just one more regular play date before the three-day October playoffs, Deer Creek holds onto its lead of 6.5 BA Cup points against second-place Team Palmetto with 4.5 points. Palmetto could still pull off an upset to sweep the overall competition. Team Marshwood, with a total of 3 points, faces longer odds but is still in the fight for either a first- or second-place finish, but if MW falls back and underdog Team Oakridge rallies the BA Cup competition finals could make for an exciting fall spectacle.