Columbia Country Club Summer Team (L-R): Will Mullally; Brad Whitaker; Steve Delmar, PGA; Colin St. Maxens; Owen Fry; Jason Campbell; Stephen Patterson (sitting); Brendan Peel; Sam Spikell; Ralph Blasey; Pat McCarthy; Jimmy Spallone
Lutherville, Md. – Columbia Country Club defeated Bethesda Country Club, 12.5-5.5, to win the 2026 Maryland Summer State Team Championship and secure a record-extending 11th title. The championship marked the first meeting between the clubs in the final since 1982 and the fourth overall. With the victory, Columbia evened the all-time championship-match series at 2-2.
Columbia claimed five of the six front-nine points and five of the six overall match points, building an early advantage it never relinquished en route to its second Maryland Summer State Team Championship in the past four years.
Bethesda Country Club | Columbia Country Club | ||
Bengtson, PGA/Lynn | 1.0 | 2.0 | Delmar, PGA/Campbell |
Milam/Walter | 0.5 | 2.5 | Whitaker/McCarthy |
Boone/McCabe | 0.5 | 2.5 | Br. Peel/Spikell |
Chalfant/Stanford | 0 | 3 | St. Maxens/Spallone |
Lippman/Marvin | 2.5 | 0.5 | Mullally/Patterson |
Cohn/Hathway | 1.0 | 2.0 | Blasey/Fry |
Final Scores & Match Highlights:
Match #1
Columbia CC: Steve Delmar, PGA / Jason Campbell (2.0)
Bethesda CC: Daniel Bengtson, PGA / Charlie Lynn (1.0)
The battle of the head golf professional groups was tightly contested. Steve Delmar, PGA, and Jason Campbell broke through on the 5th to go 1-up. The Columbia duo added to their lead on the 7th and claimed the front-nine point by a score of 2&1.
Daniel Bengtson, PGA, and Charlie Lynn answered on the opening hole of the second nine to cut the Columbia lead to 1-up. Delmar and Campbell restored their two-hole advantage on the 14th before Bengtson and Lynn responded again two holes later. Bethesda captured the second-nine point by 1-up, but Delmar and Campbell held on for the overall match point with a 1-up victory.
Match #2
Columbia CC: Brad Whitaker / Pat McCarthy (2.5)
Bethesda CC: James Milam / Thomas Walter (0.5)
Brad Whitaker and Pat McCarthy took the opening hole before consecutive wins on the 4th and 5th built a 3-up lead. James Milam and Thomas Walter finally responded on the 5th, but the Columbia duo was quick to strike back with wins on the 7th and 8th to push the lead 4-up. With their win on the 7th, Whitaker and McCarthy secured the front-nine point for Columbia at 3&2.
Whitaker and McCarthy added to their overall lead on the 12th to push the match to 5-up, but Milam and Walter responded on the 13th to bring the match score back to 4-up. The two sides halved the remaining holes, splitting the second-nine point, while Whitaker and McCarthy secured the overall match point with a 4&3 victory.
Match #3
Columbia CC: Brendan Peel / Sam Spikell (2.5)
Bethesda CC: Keegan Boone / Dugan McCabe (0.5)
Brendan Peel and Sam Spikell jumped on Keegan Boone and Dugan McCabe on the 3rd, winning three consecutive to go 3-up. Boone and McCabe responded with back-to-back wins on the 6th and 7th, but Peel and Spikell added another win on the 8th. The Columbia duo secured the front-nine point with a 2&1 victory.
At the turn, Boone and McCabe looked to be the aggressors, taking the opening hole of the second nine. Peel and Spikell answered on the 13th to square the second-nine match before Bethesda regained the edge on the 15th. Columbia closed with a win on the 18th to split the second-nine point while securing the overall match at 2-up.
Match #4
Columbia CC: Colin St. Maxens / Jimmy Spallone (3.0)
Bethesda CC: Thomas Chalfant / David Stanford (0.0)
Thomas Chalfant and David Stanford jumped out to an early 2-up lead after winning the 1st and 3rd to open the match. Colin St. Maxens and Jimmy Spallone responded with a flurry of wins, taking four consecutive holes starting on the 5th to secure the front-nine point with a 2&1 victory. Chalfant and Stanford closed the front nine with a win on the 9th, trimming Columbia’s overall lead to 1-up heading to the back nine.
St. Maxens and Spallone opened the second nine with a win on the 10th. The two sides exchanged wins from the 13th to the 16th, leading Columbia to take both the second-nine and overall match points with a 1-up victory in the second-nine match and a 2&1 victory overall.
Match #5
Columbia CC: Will Mullally / Stephen Patterson (0.5)
Bethesda CC: Kenny Lippman / Joe Marvin (2.5)
The fifth match featured plenty of early swings in momentum. Will Mullally and Stephen Patterson opened with a win on the 1st before Kenny Lippman and Joe Marvin responded with victories on the next two holes. Columbia evened the match on the 4th, but Bethesda seized control with wins on the 5th, 6th, and 8th to earn the front-nine point, 3&1, and take a 3-up lead into the back nine.
Lippman and Marvin added to their overall lead on the 10th, but consecutive wins by the Columbia duo on the 12th and 13th cut their overall lead to 2-up. Lippman and Marvin rebuilt their lead to 4-up with consecutive wins on the 16th and 17th, giving them the overall match victory at 3&2. However, Mullally and Patterson secured a half point by winning the 18th, allowing the two sides to finish the second nine in a tie.
Match #6
Columbia CC: Ralph Blasey / Owen Fry (2.0)
Bethesda CC: Myke Cohn / Danny Hathway (1.0)
The final match of the championship was decided by two very different nines. Ralph Blasey and Owen Fry won the 3rd before reeling off three consecutive holes beginning on the 6th to secure the front-nine point, 3&2, and carry a 4-up lead into the turn.
Myke Cohn and Danny Hathway mounted a comeback with victories on the 11th, 14th, and 16th to capture the second-nine point, 3&2. Despite the rally, Blasey and Fry held on for a 1-up overall victory and the match point.
Columbia’s victory adds another chapter to one of Maryland golf’s most successful club traditions, extending its record with a 11th Maryland Summer State Team Championship. The MSGA thanks all participating clubs for another outstanding edition of the Maryland Summer State Team Championship.
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To serve, grow, and advance the game of golf in Maryland and the District of Columbia
