CARMEL, Calif. (Oct. 14, 2007)— The final round of the 17th annual Stocker Cup Invitational Golf Tournament was back-and- forth affair between Virginian Pat Tallent and Canada’s Craig Doell in which the two competitors didn’t tie a hole until the 18th.

With Tallent bringing a one-stroke lead into the final day, and the rest of the competition well out of range, the regulation 18 holes wasn’t enough to decide the contest, so the pair headed back up to the 18th tee for a sudden-death playoff.

Doell split the fairway with his tee shot, but Tallent’s found the bunker. He arrived at his ball to find it in a rotten lie, and could do no more than punch it out of the sand ten yards into the rough.

From there it was a matter of Doell completing his two-putt par to win his second Stocker Cup with a final tally of 3-over-par 289. His first Cup came in 2004.

“It was kind of a pillow fight out there, we didn’t tie a hole until we both pared 18,” said Doell.

Leading by a stroke, Tallent left the door open on the 17th hole, a par-five that has yielded several birdies throughout the tourney. The reigning Virginia state champion couldn’t get over a tree with his approach shot, then had to punch under the same tree, eventually ending up with bogey.

“That really surprised me, when he didn’t get his third shot on the green,” said Doell. “But I didn’t capitalize as much as I would’ve liked, and he made a nice up-and-down for bogey.”

Both players two-putted the final hole, from similar positions as the playoff, to force extra holes.

Taking third at 293 was Cincinnati’s Billy Williamson, who had the day’s low round at 3- under 69. Rounding out the top five was two- time champ Randy Haag and Jeff Wilson of Fairfield, Calif.

Tallent was also awarded the Tatum Cup, given to the tournaments low senior.

See below for full results.

ELLIOT CUP RESULTS
Tallent and his partner Alan Hyman won the 54-hole best-ball team competition, which pits one of the scratch A-Players with a B-Player competing at their assigned handicap from the gold tees, by a stroke after a birdie try by team of Billy Williamson and Tom Graunke on the 18th hole slid just by the hole.

The day started with ten teams within three strokes of the lead, and ended with six within five strokes.
The award is named for former co-chairman Jack Elliot, who passed away in 2007.

Note: Top teams are shown below the individual scores. For complete team results, click here.

Final result from the Stocker Cup Invitational follow:

ABOUT THE STOCKER CUP:
The Stocker Cup, played in memory of Peter Stocker, is held each October at The Preserve Golf Club in Carmel. The field is comprised of 52 world-class mid-amateur invitees, who meet stringent eligibility requirements, and pay a minimal fee for their participation. Offering both NCGA and national Golfweek and amateurgolf.com Bridgestone Player Rankings points, the Stocker Cup also holds a one-day qualifying tournament for regional players who were not among the original invites. On September 28, eighteen competitors with a handicap index of 2.4 or lower vied for the final two A- list spots in the main tournament. (Brian Swenson and Harold Chuhlantseff both qualified at 76 at Stevinson Ranch.)

Those final A-list golfers are complimented by a matching number of qualified B-list competitors, with invitations extended to friends, relatives and associates of the late Peter Stocker, as well as to various sponsors and other supporters of the event. Every A-player is teamed with a B-player in a handicapped best-ball competition held simultaneously with the individual stroke-championship.