Players of the Fourth annual Kummel Cup, a Midwestern hickory classic.
Wisconsin Hickory Kummel Cup at Lawsonia Links
Aug. 16-18 brought beautiful weather to the Green Lake, Wisc. area. Of course. These were the dates of the Fourth annual Kummel Cup Wisconsin Hickory Challenge. The weather is figured in.
The wonderful Lawsonia Links is the venue for the event, one that suits Roger Andrews (Jenks, Okla.) well. He proved too much for the field, winning his second Kummel Cup event in four years. A field of 30 golfers attended this year’s event, which included a Two-Man Best-Ball event on Friday’s practice round. The Wisconsin team of Jim “Doc” Eike and Ray DeRoche fired a 12-under 160 that no one else could top.
On Saturday, Bill Geisler (Orlando, Fla.), playing in the Open division, posted the best score of the day with a 76. Two strokes back was Mr. Andrews. In the Senior Division, Ed Ronco (Wyandotte, Mich.) and Chuck McMullin (Williamsburg, Va.) led day one with a fine score of 83, followed by Ken Holtz (Sun City West, Ariz.) at 84.
Day two also began with brilliant sunshine and temperatures in the low 60’s. The greens were as challenging as ever, one of the fine trademarks of Lawsonia, and proved to be a challenge for all players. In the Open division, Mr. Andrews finished the day with a tournament low 75 and a two-day total of 153 to win the Gross and overall championship. Eric Hjortness (Neenah, Wisc.) was second with a score of 160 and Ernie Ernst (Neenah, Wisc.) was third with a 164. In the Net division, Mr. Geisler won top honors with a net score of 143, which was won in a score card playoff over Steve Simer (Madison, Wisc.) who finished second. In third place was Jeff Guerard (Wauwatosa, Wisc.) with 147.
In the Senior division, Mr. Ronco posted another round of 83 on day two (for a two day total of 166) to edge Dave Brown (Omaha, Neb.), who had a two day total of 169, for the Senior title. Placing third was Mr. Holtz with a score of 170. In the Net division, new player Jim Koss (Green Bay, Wisc.) posted a two-day net total 147 to win the Net division, followed by Bill Reed (Des Moines, Iowa) with a 151 and followed by Joe Guerard (Winneconne, Wisc.) with a 153.
The scores don’t begin to tell the whole story, which included casual social events, adult beverages, good food and lots of good fun. The Kummel Cup is fast becoming one of the Upper Midwest’s favorite hickory events. Put it on your calendar for next year. The dates for 2014 are Aug. 22-24.