Stage set for Sunday singles shootout

Team GB&I took five of eight points during Saturday's matches to set up a Sunday singles shootout against Team USA in the 24th PGA Cup. Clinging to a 9-7 lead, the Americans need to win four of 10 singles matches at The Carrick to retain the Llandudno International Golf Trophy.

By Bob Denney, The PGA of America

LOCH LOMOND, Scotland -- The United States expected a game when its 10-player team arrived in Scotland for the 24th PGA Cup, and got its fill from Great Britain & Ireland on Saturday, which came out firing on all cylinders to trim the deficit in its bid to topple the defending champions in the international showcase event for PGA Professionals.

Team USA scrambled to earn just three of eight possible points throughout a blustery, chilly day and take a 9-7 lead into Sunday's singles by the identical score it built two years ago in Georgia when it dueled to the wire to capture the Llandudno International Golf Trophy.

"I said on Thursday that I respect the talent and skill level of Great Britain & Ireland and they showed it this morning," said U.S. Captain Brian Whitcomb, the PGA honorary president from Bend, Ore. "Our guys played well this morning, but they played better. We split this afternoon [in four-balls], and it was what you would call keenly contested matches.

"We're happy where we're at. Of course, everybody always wishes that you had that extra point in your pocket, but we're ready tomorrow. Our guys will be ready, and I know they will, too.

Trailing 6-2 after Friday's impressive U.S. performance, Great Britain & Ireland rallied to win three of four morning four-balls -- closing two matches on the 18th green.

The Americans responded in the opening two matches of the afternoon foursomes, with a 7 and 6 rout by Steve Schneiter of Sandy, Utah and Craig Thomas of White Plains, N.Y., and a solid 2 and 1 triumph by Scott Hebert of Traverse City, Mich. and Sonny Skinner of Sylvester, Ga. -- who each have yet to lose a match at The Carrick on Loch Lomond.

The Hebert and Skinner win proved to a critical point in avoiding a draw.

"That was a huge point," said Hebert, a PGA head professional at Grand Traverse Resort & Spa in Acme, Mich.

"You win as many as you can," said Skinner, a PGA teaching professional at River Pointe Golf Club in Albany, Ga. "Scott and I have very similar games and we control our ball from tee to green. So, if you can do that, you are not going to be in too much trouble. I like being two up [9-7] rather than two down. Not taking anything away from them, I guarantee you that they are not giving up."

The Great Britain & Ireland rally was sparked under a light morning drizzle by 1-up triumphs by the duos of England's Paul Simpson and Jamie Harris over Craig Thomas of White Plains, N.Y. and Kyle Flinton of Edmond, Okla. and Wales' Andrew Barnett and James Lee edging Eric Lippert of Marina, Calif. and Mark Sheftic of Ambler, Pa.

Those victories changed the demeanor of Captain Gary Alliss of Sutton Coldfield, England, who had been in the same position two years ago when his team came up a point shy of an upset on American soil.

Now, Alliss and his team have an added incentive from Saturday's play and a piece of history behind it -- Great Britain & Ireland has yet to lose a PGA Cup in three previous outings in Scotland.

"I felt that we really had a chance of getting this back to being a game on Sunday and that is what we've got," said Alliss. "The PGA Cup means so much to them. They really want it back, but they also know that they are playing against really, really good players. The passion they have of taking a Yank's scalp!"

The United States needs 13 points to retain the Llandudno International Golf Trophy in an event that it owns a 15-5-3 record. The Americans have dropped two matches in Scotland -1983 and 1984, came away with a 13-13 draw in 1996.

In the afternoon's lone foursomes rout, Schneiter and Thomas were rolling along to a 5-up lead through seven holes against Barry Taylor of St. Helens, England and Craig Matheson of Falkirk, Scotland. The only glitch came on the par-5 eighth when both teams would have walked away halving with a bogey-6.

Schneiter, however, missed a par putt to win the hole and then back-handed the ball with his putter into the hole. He reported later that he had heard from Matheson on the green that the bogey putt was conceded. However, Matheson raised the question of the rule for concession with a referee, who then granted Great Britain & Ireland the hole determining that Schneiter played out of turn. The decision was later reversed in a meeting of officials, adjusting Schneiter and Thomas's match score to 7 and 6.

"I had back-handed it in, having heard him [Matheson] say to me 'it's good,'" said Schneiter. "It's all over, and we move on. I'm looking forward to Sunday."

"When you play enough golf you see a lot of things," said Whitcomb, "and I'm glad that type of situation didn't come down to making a difference in these entire matches let alone one match. At least nobody got hurt in the whole idea. It's certainly in the past on my side."

Whitcomb watched two of his team's pairings fail to close out Great Britain & Ireland, with the team of reigning PGA Professional National Champion Mike Small of Champaign, Ill. and Ryan Benzel of Bothell, Wash., falling 2 and 1 after poor drives on the 17th hole and the twosomes of Kyle Flinton of Edmond, Okla. and Craig Thomas of White Plains, N.Y., and Eric Lippert of Marina, Calif. and Mark Sheftic of Ambler, Pa., each defeated on the 18th green, 1-up.

Lippert drove into the middle of the 18th fairway, put his approach shot into the right-hand greenside bunker and failed to get out of the sand on his first attempt. Sheftic, the PGA assistant professional at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., hit his drive on 18 out of bounds.

"These last few holes are very good holes and they test even the greatest players as they did today," said Whitcomb. "Yesterday it seemed things went our way. Today, it kind of went their way. That's golf, and if it comes down to these finishing holes this afternoon, we intend to prevail."

Small, the men's golf coach at the University of Illinois, has been on the winning end of only one of his four matches. Benzel, who sat out Friday's four-balls, joined Small in mounting a comeback from a two-hole deficit to square their match against England's Paul Wesselingh and Jeremy Robinson.

Neither Small or Benzel could reach the green, while Wesselingh and Robinson two-putted for a winning par.

"We were even with two to go and lost 16 and 17, and kind of gave it away," said Small. "We need to do a better job of taking advantage of our opportunities. We need to do a better job as a team of finishing."

The bright light of the U.S. Team in the morning was the pairing of former PGA Professional National Champions Scott Hebert of Traverse City, Mich., and Steve Schneiter of Sandy, Utah. They built a 1-up lead after nine holes over Jon Bevan and Will Barnes, and closed out the match with a par on 13, and consecutive birdies on the 14th and 15 holes for a 4 and 3 decision.

"We just kept the ball in play, so we had two chances at the hole," said Schneiter, the 1995 PGA Professional National Champion. "It was tough, but we kept fighting. We got it going on 13, 14 and 15. We had no intention of dragging the match any further."

Flinton bemoaned his team's lost opportunities.

"Craig and I just gave them too many early holes," said Flinton, the PGA head professional at Quail Creek Golf & Country Club in Edmond, Okla. "Bad tee balls off of 1, then we bounced back with a birdie at 2, then they birdied three; we birdied 4 and 5, and we handed them 6 and 7. When we didn't birdie 11, a par-5, I thought that would be a sticking point. It seemed like Craig was really fighting his golf swing today. I didn't think our match would have come down to those last few holes. Craig and I didn't get it going in the early stretch.

SATURDAY MORNING FOURSOMES

Great Britain & Ireland 3, USA 1

Paul Wesselingh, Derby, England & Jeremy Robinson, Evensham, England def. Ryan Benzel, Bothell, Wash. & Mike Small, Champaign, Ill. (USA), 2 and 1

Paul Simpson, West Berkshire, England & Jamie Harris, Kent, England def. Craig Thomas, White Plains, N.Y. & Kyle Flinton, Edmond, Okla. (USA), 1-up

Andrew Barnett, Denbighshire, Wales & James Lee, South Wales def. Eric Lippert, Marina, Calif. & Mark Sheftic, Ambler, Pa. (USA), 1-up

Steve Schneiter, Sandy, Utah & Scott Hebert, Traverse City, Mich. (USA)  def. Jon Bevan, Weymouth, Dorset, England & Will Barnes, Lancashire, England, 4 and 3

SATURDAY MORNING FOUR-BALLS

USA 2    Great Britain & Ireland  2

Scott Hebert & Sonny Skinner (USA) def. Jamie Harris, Kent, England & Paul Simpson, 2 and 1

Steve Schneiter & Craig Thomas (USA) def. Barry Taylor, St. Helens, England & Craig Matheson, Falkirk, Scotland, 7 and 6

Paul Wesselingh & Jeremy Robinson (GB&I) def. Ryan Benzel & Eric Lippert, 5 and 4

Andrew Barnett & Jon Bevan (GB&) def. Mike Small & Lee Rinker, 2 and 1

Day 2 Total: Great Britain & Ireland 5, USA 3

TWO-DAY TOTAL: USA 9, Great Britain & Ireland 7