DAZZA501: Devon and I got our match done. It was quite close to start with but Devon found a few bad lies around the turn and let me in. Thanks for the game Devon.
I won 5up.
Congratulations Darren, and commiserations Devon. You'd started the tourney with such stunning play in our first match, so it's a pity to see you off-form at the end.
But with yet another singles match going to ROW (I agree, Eric, it's extraordinary how that happened) the first ever UEL Ryder Cup is now concluded, and drum roll, drum roll...
... ends with a 16-8 victory for the ROW team.
Congratulations to the entire ROW team on a comprehensive win in the end. The competition seemed so close through the team matches, and really looked like it would go to the wire... but then ROW found another gear!
Here are the final standings ((right-click to enlarge; also in the spreadsheet at this link):
I want to thank everyone on both teams (and all the alternates) for their participation, and their patience through the process of getting 24 matches (half of them 4 player matches!) scheduled and played over the last 3 weeks. That's a noteworthy achievement in itself, lol!
I know that Johnny (WigerToods) has been busy engraving the trophy... (just been waiting on the final score) so please check back for that soon. And ROW team members, feel free to blog that with pride!
We didn't quite get to formal prizes for the tourney, which in some ways is fitting anyway for the one competition in golf that's not about prize-money...
... that said, I did want to present one prize, to Luciano (Daskino) for Most Valuable Player; Luciano receives a sleeve of gb's for being the only player on either team to win all 3 of their matches. Here are the individual player stats for the tourney (right-click to enlarge):
I also wanted to acknowledge the invaluable support of the captains in making the tourney possible. Both SteveReilly and Russ (ColumbusStorm) devoted many additional hours to wrangling team pairings, and responding to urgent organizing issues. Please find sleeves on their way to you both, and I've sent one as well to WigerToods for his help in coming up with the fun graphics that really boost these community tourneys.
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Also, thank you everyone for your feedback on the tourney and suggestions for the future in response to this earlier post. I hope to absorb all of that very soon, and get thinking on what might be next. It feels really great to know there's a pool of such strong players out there who are up for this kind of competition and challenge.
Cheers, Corwyn