Cedar Rapids enjoys an easy Ryder Cup win

CEDAR RAPIDS - The pressure was pretty much off the Cedar Rapids Ryder Cup golf team heading into Sunday's 12 singles matches against Iowa City.

After building a 10-2 lead Saturday by dominating the better ball and alternate shot matches, the C.R. team came out and finished the job in style at Ellis Golf Course.

Cedar Rapids won eight of the 12 matches played in rainy conditions at Ellis to easily retain the Cup, 18-6, in the 14th annual event.

"We just got off to a fantastic start yesterday," admitted first-time C.R. captain Kevin Dolan. "We didn't lose a match in the afternoon. We got terrific play from everybody."

The Cedar Rapids team had four former Cedar Rapids City Amateur champions (Chris James, Steve Koepke, J.D. Schlotterback and Bob Kollsmith) and the current Senior Am champ, Vern Boenish. But it was the play of city match-play champion Justin Pansegrau and Kirkwood golf coach Darin Pint that stood out.

"Justin won all three of his matches," Dolan said. "He was dominant today (winning 9 & 7 over Randy Larson).

Pint had the shot of the day Saturday, notching a hole-in-one on the 11th hole and came back Sunday to win the final match on the course, outlasting Jason Haddy with a par on 18 to win, 1 up.

"I felt good about (the hole-in-one), but what made it more impressive was the guy I was playing with," Pint said. "(Chad) McCarty hit his tee shot about a foot and a half from the cup. He's a heck of a player."

McCarty had the shot of the day Sunday, holing out from the fairway from about 130 yards on No. 15. That shot, combined with a miracle recovery shot from behind a tree on 16, helped the many-time Iowa City amateur champion rally for a 1-up victory over Koepke.

"This was a fun event to be a part of," Pint said. "The 12 guys we had playing for Cedar Rapids played real well and the conditions make for a lot of easy shots, but you still have to hit them."

With the win Sunday, Cedar Rapids' lead in the series increased to 9-3-2.

"This is a real fun competition," Dolan said. "We have a good group of guys and we enjoy playing with the guys from Iowa City.

"They host next year and I am sure they will be looking to get back at us," he added. "This is something I know the players from both sides really enjoy."