The Professionals make it 5 straight Carter Cups!
Early signs of winter at RedHawk Golf Course in Nampa, Idaho, kept the amateurs on ice for yet another year as the Rocky Mountain Section PGA’s Snake River Chapter retained the Carter Cup in its 49th playing on October 23-24, 2024. The pros lead team IGA 36-13 all time.
Top Left: Team PGA – Travis Hofland – Tad Holloway – Mike Hamblin – Zach Abels – Ben Bryson – Zayne Slotten – Brady Nelson – Tyson Bowen
Lance Rieber – Justin Snelling – Michael Kastner (Captain) – Brett Kleinkopf (Vice-Captain)
Bottom Left: Team IGA – Scott Masingill – Darren Kuhn – Gilbert Livas – Ty Travis – Joe Panzeri – Dan Potter – Burke Spensky – Jesse Hibler
Jason Azzarito – Keynan Fanslow – Joe Malay (Captain)
Returning Captains Michael Kastner (RMSPGA) and Joe Malay (IGA), rolled out teams stacked with familiar faces for this historic match-play event conducted every other year. Scott Masingill, Ty Travis, Joe Panzeri and reigning mid-amateur champion Burke Spensky headlined a team of amateurs looking for their first victory since 2014. Ty Travis and Darren Kuhn are the only two players who returned from that team a decade ago. The pros arrived with a team loaded with experience, featuring players like Justin Snelling, Mike Hamblin, Ben Bryson and Tad Holloway, all with countless cup appearances under their belts.
The Carter Cup is contested over two days with three sessions of match play: Morning Four-Ball, Afternoon Foursomes and second-day Singles. Each match employs a Nassau format with three points up for grabs (front nine, back nine, and overall).
A cool, crisp morning set the tone on the first day for the Four-Ball session. With a group photo captured, players hit the course for Four-Ball matches and the Professionals made quick work of getting the PGA logo on the leaderboard. None of the first four IGA pairings collected more than a half point in the morning, with the IGA’s Dan Potter and Joe Panzeri taking 2.5 in the final match to offer some hope. The RMSPGA left the session with an 11-4 lead.
The afternoon Foursomes got off to a marginally better start for the IGA, as Scott Masingill and Gilbert Livas locked irons with the PGA’s Mike Hamblin and Travis Hofland to win the back nine and tie the overall match, walking away with a point and a half. The next three matches featured dominant performances for the PGA squad as they captured 8.5 of a possible 9 points. The lone bright spot for the IGA team in the afternoon was a fantastic performance from Joe Panzeri and Jesse Hibbler as they shut out Ben Bryson and Lance Rieber salvaging 3 points at the end of the session.
Rolling into singles with a 21-9 lead, team PGA found themselves on cruise control for the second day singles matches. Scott Masingill and Tad Holloway traded blows for 18 holes, including an albatross from Holloway on the 9th hole as he dropped a 3-wood from 251 yards away. The excitement inspired the wily Masingill as he went on to win the next 4 holes forcing Holloway to make a great birdie at the last to tie the match for a point and a half each. The pros went on to win five of the remaining nine matches, earning plenty of points to retain the cup. Kudos to each team’s top performer, Tyson Bowen from the PGA and Joe Panzeri from the IGA, as they cancelled each other out capturing 8.5 points of a possible 9 for their teams.
The Rocky Mountain Section PGA wishes to thank host PGA Professional Ben Bryson and his RedHawk Golf Course staff for their kind hospitality, the Idaho Golf Association staff for putting on a first-class experience for everyone, and most importantly the players for their collective spirit of competition, camaraderie, and willingness to make this a truly special event.
Session Totals: Leading Point Earners:
Four-Ball: 11 – 4, PGA PGA: Tyson Bowen – 8.5 of 9
Foursomes: 10 – 5, PGA IGA: Joe Panzeri – 8.5 of 9
Singles: 15.5 – 14.5, IGA
Total: 35.5 – 24.5, PGA
By: Shane René, Administrator of Media and Communications – IGA
Edits: Michael Kastner, PGA – Programs Administrator – RMSPGA