The 2009 Mitterling Cup was held on January 16, 2010 at Deer Brook GC in Shelby, NC. Fifty One players came and competed in the Ryder Cup event that has been named after Roger Mitterling. Roger who was one of the original tour directors for the eGolf Amateur Tour and a big part of what the tour has become today. He passed away last January after a long battle with cancer. One thousand dollars was raised and donated to Stand Up For Cancer in Roger’s memory. After being in a deep freeze for most of January, the weather cleared and warmed up to the 50’s. All the players were happy to be on a golf course since most have not even picked up a golf club in a while. Players came from as far as Columbus, OH to compete in the event. Special thanks to Howard Pavlofsky and Gary Andrews for making the long trip down from Columbus. There were lots of stories about Roger being told by just about every player which brought laughter and a few tears to this old director. Friendships and the competition are just some of the reasons why the eGolf Amateur Tour continues to grow and be a successful tour. Charlotte once again retained the Mitterling Cup for the third straight season. The first two events were very close and even needed a playoff win in 2008 to take the cup. The 2009 Cup however was more of a beat down as Charlotte whipped up on SC 14 ½ to 4 ½. All the 4 ball matches were won by Charlotte as coach McCormac seemed to put the right mix of players together. The only halved match of the day was between Steve Daniels and Bob Kelly. It happened to be right on the 18th green where everyone who had finished could watch. Daniels ran into trouble off the tee and had about a 10 yard chip from below the green go in the cup to save par. Kelly who was over the green in 2 made a good chip up to within 15 feet but his par putt hung on the edge of the cup to give Daniels the come from behind ½ point halve. Way to go Steve! In one the best ball matches Dennis McCormac played solo and used 13 pars to outlast the team of Joe Lee and Larry Lee (4 & 2). The other feature matches had the 2009 Championship Flight Tour Champion Joe Jaspers take down the Clemson Orange Warrior, Danny Garrison. Danny was one of the original members of the Upstate, SC Tour where Roger and Larry Lee started. When all the matches were completed the Charlotte/Pinehurst team had 14.5 points and Upstate Golf Services had 4.5 points. “We will get them next year, even if I have to hire some pros” said Larry Lee. A few Charlotte players also did well in the side skins game taking home some nice skins were Jim Aughtry, Dave Schmidt and Greg Ries. Thanks again to Greg and Lance Snacks for providing product for the event. FYI Greg the Ranch Bugle won the taste test from all players to be put into the Lance family forever. Mitterling Cup Match Results Single Matches: Jim Aughtry (Charlotte/Pinehurst) defeated Chris Hennon (Upstate Golf Services) Joe Jaspers (Charlotte/Pinehurst) defeated Danny Garrison (Upstate Golf Services) David Schmidt (Charlotte/Pinehurst) defeated Adam Shealy (Upstate Golf Services) Jacob Sigmon (Upstate Golf Services) defeated Jason Breedlove (Charlotte/Pinehurst) Eric Whitehead (Charlotte/Pinehurst) defeated Bill Daniel (Upstate Golf Services) Steven Clippard (Upstate Golf Services) defeated Henry Lister (Charlotte/Pinehurst) Karl Nagy (Upstate Golf Services) defeated Mike Hindmarsh (Charlotte/Pinehurst) Ruth Traver (Upstate Golf Services) defeated Michelle Staples (Charlotte/Pinehurst) Bob Kelly (Upstate Golf Services) Halved Steve Daniels (Charlotte/Pinehurst) Matthew Crates (Charlotte/Pinehurst) defeated Richard Verry (Upstate Golf Services) Best Ball Matches: Mike Nasekos/Rex Mills (Charlotte/Pinehurst) defeated Tony Capehart (Upstate Golf Services) Jim Morehead/Dean Hearn (Charlotte/Pinehurst) defeated Gary Andrews/Howard Pavlofsky (Upstate Golf Services) Greg McCoy/David Shakelford (Charlotte/Pinehurst) defeated Tim Brackett (Upstate Golf Services) Joe Lewis/Bill Maryman (Charlotte/Pinehurst) defeated Chris Voss/Brandon Hampton (Upstate Golf Services) Darren Green/Bob Sheahan (Charlotte/Pinehurst) defeated Jimmy Turner (Upstate Golf Services) Bruce Hallenbeck/Tom Kubla (Charlotte/Pinehurst) defeated John Cooney/Vince Thompson (Upstate Golf Services) Mike Germain/Greg Ries (Charlotte/Pinehurst) defeated Neil White/Tom Simpson (Upstate Golf Services) Joe Burgess/Phil Vangeersdaelen (Charlotte/Pinehurst) defeated Gary Bott/Tim Huffman (Upstate Golf Services) Dennis McCormac (Charlotte/Pinehurst) defeated Larry Lee/Joe Lee (Upstate Golf Services) Looking forward to seeing all of you at Charlotte National to kick off the 2010 season on February 6th.