The year started with 14 teams but only 2 remained for the 2019 Past Presidents Cup Inter-Club Challenge, held at the Memramcook Valley Golf Club on September 14th & 15th. The Past Presidents’ Cup, Inter-club Challenge, now in its 20th year, is a competition run by Golf New Brunswick (Golf NB) where clubs enter a 16-player team (divided into five different handicap flights). Each round of the competition consists of a home and home series between the clubs with the winner advancing to the next round. This year the Nackawic Golf & Country Club and the Lakeside Golf & Country Club were the final two teams to face off for the title of 2019 Past Presidents’ Cup Champions.
The participants in the Past Presidents’ Cup Inter Club Challenge are divided into five handicap flights as follows;
| Handicap Flight | # of Players |
| A – 6.9 & Lower | 2 |
| B – 7.0 to 11.9 | 4 |
| C – 12.0 to 15.9 | 4 |
| D – 16.0 to 19.9 | 4 |
| E – 20.0 and + | 2 |
The event started play both days on the 10th hole so the nines were reversed from their usual play. Day one was met with cloudy skies and high winds making for tough and cool conditions. The first match of the day saw the A-Flight Lakeside Duo of Remi Comeau and Larry Strong take 11 points to jump to a 4-point lead over their Nackawic opponents of Harold Christie and Liam Crawford who gathered 7 points.
The second pairing of the day had B-flight players which saw Lakeside partners Donnie Maillet and Donovan Mallaley take a commanding lead on their front done (but the back nine on the golf course) taking 8 of the 9 available points. The Nackawic Team of Jamie Pollock and Jody Crawford got a few more points on their back nine but Lakeside took the match by 13.5 points to 4.5 points.
Match #3 (also B-flight), would see Lakeside continue to apply the pressure with Paul LeBlanc and Gary MacDonald take a 3 point lead on the first nine but the Nackawic partners, David Konefal and Brandon Bradley tied them on the second nine and held them to the 3 point win. This had the Lakeside Team leading 35 to 19 at this point in the day.
Match #4 was the start of the C-flight and Lakeside’s Todd Benoit and Rowan Garnett continued to put Lakeside ahead with a 4-point lead after nine holes. Matt Hinton and Jeremie Martin from Nackawic won 3 of those points back on their final nine to lose by 1 point with Lakeside winning 9.5 points to Nackawic’s 8.5 points.
The second C-flight group and Match #5 saw the first tie of the day when the Lakeside group of Roger Robinson and Brian Waite had an even match with Nackawic’s Tony Bradley and Dave McConaghy. The overall points now found Lakeside at 53.5 points over Nackawic’s 36.5 points.
That spurred the next Nackawic team and first D-flight group of Cody Price and Jeff Sharpe grabbed a 4-shot lead on their front nine but the Lakeside team of Rick Fury and Jeff Worton held them to a tie on the back for the first Nackawic win of the day. The # 7 match was a good one for Nackawic and their comeback attempt as the final D-flight match saw the largest upset of the day. Jonathon Goodine and Craig Briggs took 14 points to Lakeside’s Eddie Saulnier and Richard Russel’s 4 points closing the overall score to a lakeside lead of only 3 points (64.5 to 61.5).
The final match of the day found the E-flight players hit the course. Lakeside’s Ray Melanson and Brian Bell won 6 points on each nine to Nackawic’s Tim MacFarland and Ian Kitchen who managed 3 points a side finishing 12 points to 6 points. This allowed Lakeside to cushion their lead to 9 points.
All of this added up to 76.5 points for the Lakeside Golf & Country Club Team and 67.5 points for the Nackawic Golf & Country Club at the end of Day 1. Points can change hands quickly in this format so it will be interesting to see how the second round plays out. The first team to 145 points will win the Past Presidents’ Cup.
Day 2 brought no wind and a nice temperature in which to play the course. Match #1 had the A-flight start the day again and it was the team from Lakeside, Remi Comeau and Lanny Strong continued their strong play and grabbed a 5.5 to 3.5 points lead after their front nine but the Nackawic team of Harold Christie and Liam Crawford didn’t back down and won the inward nine by the same numbers by winning 4 holes in a row for a 9 to 9 point tie.
The B-flight started Match #2 where Lakeside’s own Donny Maillet and young Donovan Mallaley continued their winning ways by beating the team from Nackawic, Jamie Pollock and Jody Crawford, by a margin of 5 points.
Match #3 had the second group of the B-flight where Paul LeBlanc and Gary McDonald from Lakeside was ahead by 1 point on their outward nine but won by 3 points on the way in for a 4 point win over Nackawic’s Team Captain, David Konefal and his partner Brandon Bradley. After Match 3 Lakeside 31.5 points compared to Nackawic’s 22.5 for the overall 2-day total of 108 to 90 points.
C-flight players followed in Match #4 and Todd Benoit and Rowan Garnett who represent Lakeside faced off against Nackawic’s Matt Hinton and Jeremie Martin. Lakeside kept the accelerator to the floor by stealing 7 of the available 9 points on their opening nine. Nackawic played better on the their inward nine and only gave up 1 point for a 12 point to 6- point Lakeside win.
Match # 5 found Lakeside players Roger Robinson and Brian Waite play Nackawic’s Tony Bradley and Dave McConaghy and things were still going Lakeside’s way. Lakeside was ahead by 4 points on the first nine but Nackawic started to fight back to win 2 points on the way in for a 2-point Lakeside win. After the C-flights were finished the day total was Lakeside at 53.5 points to Nackawic’s 36.5 points and an overall total, at this point, of 130 to 90 points.
Match #6 and the start of the D-flight found Lakeside’s own Eddie Saulnier and Richard Russell were down after their first nine by a point over Nackawic members Cody Price and Jeff Sharpe but righted the ship coming in to win by two and an 1-point match win of 9.5 to 8.5 points.
Match # 7 ended up being the winning match as Lakeside’s Rick Fury and Jeff Worton and
Nackawic players Jonathon Goodine and Craig Briggs tied the match but the 9 points for the Lakeside team put them over the 145 total needed to win the cup as Lakeside now had 148.5 points.
The final match of the day in the E-flight concluded with Lakeside golfers Ray Melanson and Brian Bell and Nackawic players Tim MacFarland and Ian Kitchen. It was the only match that Nackawic won on the day as both teams were tied after the first nine with 4.5 points each but Nackawic gained 2 points on the last nine. The final score on Day 2 was Lakeside 80 and Nackawic 64 for a tournament total of 156.5 to 131.5 points. Lakeside’s Captain and Head Golf Professional, Mike Perry added this, “Thank you to the Memramcook Golf Club for hosting the finals this year and for Nackawic for being great competitors. This is our first win and these players have made it a special time, so this trophy is for you, boys! Thank you!”
It was another successful finish to the Past Presidents’ Cup. Memramcook Valley Golf Club was a wonderful host and the course was in magnificent condition. Well done to the two finalists for a tournament well-played and congratulations to the Lakeside Golf & Country Club for winning the Cup.
For more information on the Memramcook Valley Golf Club please CLICK HERE.
| 2019 Past Presidents` Cup | ||||
| Memramcook Valley Golf Club | ||||
| September 14-15, 2019 | ||||
| Saturday Matches | ||||
| Lakeside Golf & Country Club | Nackawic Golf & Country Club | |||
| Remi Comeau | 11 | VS | Harold Christie | 7 |
| Lanny Strong | Liam Crawford | |||
| Donnie Maillet | 13.5 | VS | Jamie Pollock | 4.5 |
| Donavan Mallaley | Jody Pollock | |||
| Paul LeBlanc | 10.5 | VS | David Konefal | 7.5 |
| Gary McDonald | Brandon Bradley | |||
| Todd Benoit | 9.5 | VS | Matt Hinton | 8.5 |
| Rowan Garnett | Jeremie Martin | |||
| Roger Robinson | 9 | VS | Tony Bradley | 9 |
| Brian Waite | Dave McConaghy | |||
| Rick Fury | 7 | VS | Cody Price | 11 |
| Jeff Worton | Jeff Sharpe | |||
| Eddie Saulnier | 4 | VS | Jonathan Goodine | 14 |
| Richard Russell | Craig Briggs | |||
| Ray Melanson | 12 | VS | Tim MacFarlane | 6 |
| Brian Bell | Ian Kitchen | |||
| Saturday Total | 76.5 | Saturday Total | 67.5 | |
| 2019 Past Presidents` Cup | ||||
| Memramcook Valley Golf Club | ||||
| September 14-15, 2019 | ||||
| Sunday Matches | ||||
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Golf New Brunswick (Golf NB), a not for profit organization founded in 1934, is the official governing body for amateur golf in New Brunswick. In January of 2006, the New Brunswick Golf Association (NBGA) officially merged with the New Brunswick Ladies Golf Association (NBLGA), resulting in one united governing body for amateur golf in the province. Programs offered by Golf NB to its 10,000 members include: 12 provincial events, rules of golf education, course rating and handicap services, junior golf development programs and member club marketing initiatives.