Rolling Road Golf Club mounted a comeback in the final to defeat Manor Country Club, 9.5 to 8.5, and claim their ninth State Title in the 91st Men’s Team Championship conducted by the Maryland State Golf Association.
To say the final match was a close one is an understatement. Manor was looking to become the first three-peat champions since the mid-to-late 90’s and Rolling Road was seeking their first Team Championship since 2014.
“The energy prior to the match was very relaxed,” said Rolling Road’s captain Andrew Sovero. “We were the underdogs in the semi-final [against BCC] and the final, so we were in a position to have some fun.”
With Manor leading 4-2 after the front nine, Rolling Road continued to press on and rallied in a match that will be remembered around the club for years to come. As the home team for the final, Manor swept all three points in the first matches at home while on the road they only secured one point to Rolling Road’s two.
As play continued on the back nine, Manor wrapped up their first home match to secure two additional points, bringing the score to 6-2. While seemingly in the driver’s seat the team from The Road did not let up. After winning two additional points in the first match at Rolling Road, the Catonsville club began to close the gap. In the third match, the tandem of Moose Brown & Kevin Grady carded Key birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 to close out their match and secure two more additional points. At this time the match stood at 6-4 in favor of Manor.
All eyes turned to the match between Rolling Road’s David Long & Rick Sovero and Manor’s Vincenzo Salina-Amorni & Jay Mulieri. Long’s birdie on the uphill par-4 No. 16 helped bring the pair to only 1-down going into No. 18.
“I said to my father [Rick], ‘we need to win the last hole to stay alive,’” the younger Sovero recalls.
A sizeable crowd of fellow members and teammates gathered at the 18th green to see if Rolling Road could continue with their comeback. The elder Sovero used his past team and competitive experiences to make the clutch birdie and secure 1.5 total points bringing his team to within one of Manor, 8.5 – 7.5.
With all matches complete at Rolling Road all eyes (and ears) were focused on the final match between Manor’s Ben Warnquist & Christian Elliott and Rolling Road’s Sean Boyle & Nick Yucha. After a quick phone call over to Manor, the half of the team at Rolling Road found out that Boyle & Yucha, who were 4-down after seven holes, birdied Nos. 15 & 17 to tie the match going into No. 18 and take a 2-up lead on the back nine.
“At that point we were getting the play-by-play on the phone. The 15 minutes or so that the hole took felt like an eternity,” said Sovero.
An untimely bogey from Manor meant that Rolling Road needed a par or better to capture the title. Once Boyle’s ball hit the bottom of the cup to capture the title, cheers could be heard in Rockville all the way from Catonsville.
“I’ve spent my entire life at Rolling Road and the one thing I have learned is how important the Team Championship is to not only the players, but to the membership,” said Sovero.
MSGA Men’s Team Championship History
The Men’s Team Championship was held April 3, 10-11, 17-18, and 24. Teams from 52 MSGA member clubs participated. Teams will consist of eleven male amateur members of the club designated and a professional employed by the same club as the eleven male amateur members. Scoring is Nassau System, three points on each match, best ball, no handicap. In case of a tie in points, 9 to 9, the number one teams, each of which must include the professional, will immediately play-off at sudden death at the course of the home team.
At Manor Country Club
Match #1
Manor 3
(A. Hoffman/M. Albus)
Rolling Road 0
(L. Arentz/B DeLuca)
Match #2
Manor 3
(B. Simpson/A. Taylor)
Rolling Road 0
(K. McKelvey/J. Marshall)
Match #3
Manor 1
(B. Warnquist/C. Elliott)
Rolling Road 2
(S. Boyle/N. Yucha)
At Rolling Road Golf Club
Match #1
Manor 0
(B. Mease/B. Leonard)
Rolling Road
(A. Sovero/J. Perkins) 3
Match #2
Manor 1.5
(J. Mulieri/Salina-Amorni)
Rolling Road 1.5
(D. Long/R. Sovero)
Match #3
Manor 0
(D. Falls/D. Tacchetti)
Rolling Road 3
(K. Grady/M. Brown)
