The greatest Wedgewood Cup ever is now in the history books. This tourney was filled with drama, beauty, and sheer courage as 8 players challenged the elements and each other in the “War by The Shore” at Wedgewood Cup VIII
History had been made. Sean Kennedy wins Wedgewood Cup VIII in a thrilling victory that could only equal the beauty of America’s greatest golf resort, Bandon Dunes.
A brisk Friday morning with gray skies and intermittent showers were the settings for Day 1 teeing off at Bandon Trails. The 4 man krewe teams convened on the putting green before the round with the sounds of bagpipes playing from Starnes’ ipod. How appropriate. The starter provided all the necessities including a jar of “candies” so that some sugar might keep our energy level up. None of us knew what we were about to encounter.
The first round was an experience like no other. Unchartered waters on a course none of us had played. The Trails meandered through the forest, you never knew what to expect. Yardage guides, rangefinders, and any bit of knowledge for each turn we were looking for an edge. The men in black stayed steady, but for the blue boys the putts were not a falling. This could have been the highest scoring 4 man krewe event ever. A quick lunch in the Bandon Trails clubhouse and we were off to play the monster, the original Bandon Dunes for our 2 man best ball. The afternoon round came and so did the wind whipping off the pacific.
The round ended with us catching dinner in McKee’s pub and having found out we walked 15 miles day 1 we were a bit beat. The late tee time on Sat would give us time to rest and relax back at the O’brien house.
Day 2 arrived and so did the grand ole el sol. The beaming yellow gorse blooms were in full form on Saturday. This day began with 2 man best ball on what might have been the finest golf day, on the finest golf course any of us have ever experienced. The ocean holes might have been a 3-4 club wind. The mood was more serious on Day 2 with the competition heating up. Some holes felt a bit pressed as we wanted to finish the day with a round at Old MacDonald. After Pacific Dunes was done we were still basking in the one of the greatest courses in the U.S. We quickly made our way to Old Mac, hooked up with our fore caddies which told us many times “you guys should putt a few first”. We quickly teed off on one of the most unique courses in America. The greens were gigantic, and undulating, and super fast. It was like putting on a block of ice in a wind tunnel. It was Alt Shot at Old Mac, and there were lots of shots, and lots of putts. Snowmen even appeared as the sun started to set into the Pacific. We finished the day with another 15 mile walk and Old Mac was really the Willy Wonka of golf courses. Shot making here was necessary and where exactly did the greens start and the fairway end?? Dinner and score tallying were again done at McKee’s. Two days of walking 36 and most of us were beat. It would be an early night we got back to the house.
Ahhhh, Sunday. The day a champion would be crowned. A bit of overcast and breezy was the setting for the final round. Bandon Dunes was the course. There were caddies in the final group which included Sean, Tim, Starnes, and Lacy. I myself had Chicago Jack, a weathered soul from my past life and played with Dougie Fresh, Bootsie, and Jay. Jack had been there since January, and had given us a couple of reading errors on Saturday, but he was solid in the final round. We congregated in the clubhouse t o power up the Starnzie64. Soon we found out it was a tie in the final round for first. A tie between the twins Tim and Sean. After a short deliberation there would be a play off on the first hole of Bandon Dunes. The first ever in the history of the cup. The cup was decided on this one and only hole and congrats to Sean Kennedy for winning Wedgewood Cup VIII.
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