BRADENTON, Fla. (Feb. 24, 2014) -- The two
eight-man teams that will do battle at the
inaugural Concession Cup were announced this
past weekend.
Modeled after The Walker Cup, the event goes
to celebrate the game's top mid-amateurs and
seniors with selected players from the U.S.
doing battle against the Great Britain &
Ireland.
The Concession Golf Club was founded to
commemorate the extraordinary gesture of
sportsmanship that Jack Nicklaus made at the
1969 Ryder Cup at Royal Birkdale when he
conceded a two-foot putt to Britain's Tony
Jacklin to halve their match, which resulted in
the first-ever tie in the history of the matches.
The moment became known as "the
concession."
Representing the U.S. at the inaugural event
May 1-3 at The Concession Golf Club in
Bradenton, Fla. will be:
Mid-Amateurs:
Gene
Elliot:
From Des Moines, Iowa, Elliot won
last year's Crump Cup and placed second at
the Crane Cup. A regular in USGA events, he
last reached match play at the 2011 U.S. Mid-
Amateur.
Scott
Harvey: The Greensboro, NC native
has been quite busy the last few years. He
logged Top 20s at last year's Porter Cup and
Coleman Invitational. In 2012, Harvey was
second at the Cardinal Amateur and Rice
Planters.
Tim Jackson:
Jackson, from Tennessee, was second at the
Coleman Invitational in 2013 and won it in
2012. He reached the final 32 of the U.S. Mid-
Amateur and remains one of the nation's most
consistent mid-amateurs.
Trip Kuehne:
Infamous
for his decision to not follow his peers into the
highest level of golf, the former Oklahoma
State University All-American is remembered
for his battle with Tiger Woods in the 1994
U.S. Amateur. His event schedule is limited
these days, but can still play at the level that
brought him to three Walker Cups, four U.S.
Opens and the 2007 U.S. Mid-Amateur title.
Mike
McCoy: The reigning U.S. Mid-
Amateur champion, McCoy most recently has
a
tie for fourth at the Jones Cup Invitational.
Last year, he also won the George C. Thomas
and Coleman invitationals.
Gary Nicklaus: A former PGA Tour
professional, Nicklaus will represent his father
and family at the event that goes to honor is
memorable act in the 1969 Ryder Cup.
Nicklaus
turned professional in 1991 after winning the
Porter Cup but returned to the amateur ranks
in 2007. In 2012, he qualified for the U.S.
Amateur.
Nathan Smith:
The four-time U.S. Mid-Amateur
champion and two-time Walker Cup player is
coming off another great year. Smith placed
18th at the Jones Cup, tied for 18th at the
Sunnehanna and tied for 35th at the Northeast
Amateur. He also won the clinching point in
the
United State's Walker Cup victory in
September.
Todd White:
The South Carolina school teacher
earned one of the two mid-amateur slots on
the 2013 U.S. Walker Cup squad and did so
with great play throughout the year. He had
Top 10s at the Northeast Amateur and Jones
Cup a year after reaching the semifinals of the
U.S. Mid-Amateur.
Super Seniors:
Jim Holtgrieve: A two-time Walker Cup
captain, the St. Louis native also played in
three from 1979-1983. Holtgrieve wn the first
U.S. Mid-Amateur in 1981 and finished as the
runner-up at the 1983 British Amateur.
Robert Lewis: One of the game's
most
decorated amateurs, Lewis played on four
Walker Cup teams and served as captain
twice. He's won the Ohio Amateur, Northeast
Amateur and Ohio Open as an amateur.
The Great Britain and Ireland team will be
represented by: James Bunch (Scotland),
Robbie Cannon (Ireland), Matthew Clark
(Scotland), Harry Diamond (Ireland), Peter
Hedges (England), Ian Hutcheon (Scotland),
Eoghan O’Connell (Ireland), Edward
Richardson
(England), Ben Westgate (Wales) and Martin
Young (England).
ABOUT THE
Concession Cup
Created by supporters of amateur golf, The
Concession Cup is an event designed to celebrate
the
game through international competition while giving
back to worthy causes. The event is a biennial team
competition played between teams comprised of
leading male Mid-Amateurs, Senior Amateurs and
Super Senior Amateurs from the United States
and Europe.
The Concession Cup Committee will select the
participating players through the
following categories:
Six (6) Mid-Amateurs, age 25 to 54.
Six (6) Senior Amateurs, age 55 and older.
Two (2) Senior Amateurs, age 65 and older.
The competition is conducted over three
days through the traditional team match-play
formats of foursome, four-ball and singles.
In honor of two of the greatest amateur competitors
in the history of
the game, a trophy has been commissioned in
the names of United States amateur, Bill
Campbell and British Amateur, Sir Michael
Bonallack – the Campbell/Bonallack trophy will
be presented to the winning team at the
conclusion of the matches.
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