Embarrassing.
That’s the word that immediately comes to mind.
The 41st Julius Boros Challenge Cup was played at the New Haven Country Club Thursday and everything about the event was first rate – except the scoring.
That, the Connecticut Section PGA committee messed up royally.
Yes, the CT Section pros held off the amateurs from the Connecticut State Golf Association 32½ to 30½ to win back the Cup after the CSGA held it for the last three years, but it took nearly two hours after the final match ended to figure out who had won, thanks to not one, not two, not three, but four scoring mix-ups by the CT Section PGA committee.
If I was executive director Tom Hantke, I would be ashamed of what happened.
First, it had been decided that the pros won, 32½ to 30½.
Then, it was determined that the amateurs won, 33½ to 29½.
Then, it was figured out that both sides tided, 31½ to 31½.
Then, finally, and only after the CSGA was asked to help sort out the mess, it was determined that the pro’s did in fact win, 32½ to 30½.
Watching the CT Section committee try to figure out this scoring disaster was almost laughable.
Almost.
There were three head-to-head matches going on – a front nine match, a back nine match and an overall match, along with a 4-ball match. Some groups started off the first tee. Some groups started off No. 10 tee. That was where the trouble started.
The computer used to input the scores programmed all the scores to be recorded from the first tee, instead of the 10th. That caused wrong scores to be recorded and wrong results to be finalized.
And it only got worse from there.
The CT Section committee eventually asked Ryan Hoffman, the CSGA’s Director of Operations, to help go over the scorecards of each player and his match and determine the winning team. While the pros and amateurs sides ate dinner – and the media waiting to record the scores fumed in disgust – Hoffman got it right. The CT Section pros had won.
And while Hoffman took the high road and declined to comment about the scoring disaster, it was clear that he was equally as frustrated as the media and everyone else over the CT Section committee’s scoring debacle.
Like I said, if I was executive director Tom Hantke, I would be ashamed of what happened.
And instead of taking responsibility for their error, Hantke went to the podium, announced the winner and just said that first, a “scoring mistake” had been made. And that when they decided to review the cards, that a “manual mistake” had been made.
He never said that the CT Section committee made the mistakes.
Thankfully, next year, the CSGA will be back in charge of the Boros Cup scoring — which they had been every year until this year when it was decided that both groups would start alternate running the tournament – so there won’t be any problems.
Everything about the Julius Boros Challenge Cup was first rate – except the scoring. That was embarrassing.
My Two Cents
Talking Connecticut sports with Chris Elsberry
