The 2020 Randy Beaver Cup was the final event of 2020 for the Arkansas State Golf Association. Team ASGA defeated Team PGA 19-13 at Hot Springs Country Club’s Arlington Course this past weekend.
Team ASGA got off to a quick start on Saturday morning’s Four-Ball winning the first five matches of the day. The story of the weekend for Team ASGA was Captain David Shirey stepping in to play. Shirey was a last minute replacement for ASGA Hall of Famer, Chris Jenkins, who missed the event for the first time in 26 years due to a medical issue.
“I always enjoy getting to play. I hate it for Chris that he didn’t get to play, but he is going to be fine, so no problems there. He will come back next year stronger than ever I'm sure.” Shirey said. Shirey, who is 62, earned his team 1.5 points over the course of the weekend despite difficult circumstances.
“For me, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to step into Chris’s shoes. It was certainly fun but man, I don’t wanna be back on these gold tees any time soon. With the cool weather, a little bit of wind, and the length of this course, I don’t have any business being back there.” Shirey said.
Team PGA picked up their only full point of the morning round in the final match. This resulted in a Team ASGA 6-2 lead after the morning matches.
Going into the Saturday afternoon’s Foursome matches, Team PGA decided to keep the same pairings and give it another go in the afternoon. Team ASGA got off to a perfect start picking up all three points from the first three afternoon matches. Missed opportunities was the name of the game for Team PGA in the final four matches on Saturday. Team PGA did pick up a full point in match five thanks to Henderson State Head Golf Coach, Forrest Schultz, and former Henderson State player, Brice Howard. However, in the final two matches of the afternoon, Team PGA would have the lead heading into the final hole and come away with half a point in both matches. In match seven, 2019 State Amateur Champion, Tyler Reynolds, and 2020 State Amateur Champion, Matt Cole, were two down heading into the par-3 17th. The two would birdie the 17th as well as the par-5 18th to halve the match. It was a similar story in the final match of the day when Team ASGA’s Wes McNulty and Ron Whittaker would birdie the 18th hole to steal half a point from Team PGA and bring the score to 11.5-4.5 heading into Sunday’s Singles matches.
Sunday’s singles matches were very even between the two teams. Team PGA picked up a win in the first match of the day when Diamante Country Club’s Sam Meredith defeated Team ASGA’s Cal Campbell 3 & 2. The teams would then trade points in matches two and three. It was in matches four, five, and six where Team ASGA would ultimately take home the cup. The trio of Bev Hargraves, Gordy McKeown, and Craig Hall would all three win their singles matches giving all of them 3-0 records for the weekend. Frederick Stamey also defeated Jerry Garrison earlier in the day to complete his perfect 3-0 weekend as well. Despite the outcome already being decided, Team PGA continued to battle and would finish strong taking 3.5 points from the final four matches.
Overall, it was another successful weekend at Hot Springs Country Club. The players battled cold temperatures and played some very competitive golf. Team PGA’s strong performance in Sunday’s singles matches made things interesting, but Team ASGA’s performance on Saturday was enough for them to reclaim their prize.
