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IBGA EVENTS ITEM

Results: 2017 ISPS Handa Vision Cup

ISPS Handa Vision Cup came to Creston, British Columbia in 2017

30th June 2016

Report by Garrett Slattery, IBGA Director

ISPS HANDA Vision Cup 2017

Creston, British Columbia

Exciting Finish as Cup Result Goes Down to the Final Play of the Day

Canada hosted the 3rd edition of the ISPS HANDA Vision Cup from 21-23 July 2017. The Vision Cup is the IBGA's version of the famous Ryder Cup featuring two 12-person teams representing North America (NA) and the Rest of the World (RoW). The first two days consist of 6 matches each played using the Pinehurst modified foursomes system, with the final day comprising 12 singles matches. With the first Vision Cup (held in the USA in 2013) resulting in a narrow win for the RoW side and the second event (held in Italy in 2015) producing a comfortable RoW win, this year's strong NA side was certainly hoping for a turnaround in fortunes.

The Course and Community

The Creston Golf Club is situated in the spectacular Creston Valley in British Columbia. The course is carved into the rolling hills, is well wooded and features really challenging undulating greens. The course was in excellent condition despite the recent lack of rain which left some hard and dry patches in the rough. While wayward shots were generally punished, good scores could be made by keeping the ball in the right position.

What was truly fantastic at this year's Vision Cup was the extent to which the local Creston community got involved. There were dozens of locals involved as volunteers for everything from catering, ball spotting, marking, transportation, etc. Nothing was too much trouble for someone to sort out. This produced a very welcoming feel to the event.

The Teams

The hosting NA team, captained by Creston local Darren Douma assisted by vice-captains Jeremy Poincenot and George Thirkill comprised:

Chad NeSmith (B1), USA - Darcy Furber (B2), Canada

Gerry Nelson (B1), Canada - Harry Hester (B2), USA

Mario Tobia (B1), USA - Tom Marks (B3), USA

Joe Furber (B1), Canada - Linda Port (B3), USA

Derek Kibblewhite (B2), Canada - Darren Douma (B3), Canada

Jeremy Poincenot (B2), USA - Doug Penner (B3), Canada

The RoW team (some of whom travelled from as far as 16,500 km to get to Creston), captained by Garrett Slattery assisted by vice-captain John Eakin comprised:

Andrea Calcaterra (B1), Italy - Garrett Slattery (B2), South Africa

Zohar Sharon (B1), Israel - Steve Mitchell (B2), Australia

Dong-Sig Im (B1), South Korea - John Eakin (B3), England

Jeong-Il Yoo (B1), South Korea - Pete Osborne (B3), England

In-Chan Cho (B2), South Korea - Cameron McDiarmid (B3), Scotland

Andy Gilford (B2), England - Ally Reid (B3), Scotland

The teams were probably as balanced as could have been possible, each having 4 rookies to the event, 3 or 4 players who have played in both of the two previous events, and very similar total handicaps. On paper at least, this was set up to be an extremely tight affair.

Players were assisted every step of the way by their guides, who form an integral part of blind golf. While not part of the guiding contingent this time round it was also great to see Kevin Lemmon and Dave (Smurf) Emberly travelling down to lend a hand where they could.

The Results

OPEN PDF PICTURE REPORT

COURTESY VIBE - BLIND GOLF CANADA

The first day's Pinehurst pairs left nothing to choose between the sides. RoW wins for McDiarmid and Sharon, Slattery and Calcaterra and Osborne and Mitchell, along with a halved match from Eakin and Cho against Kibblewhite and Penner gave the RoW side 3.5 points. NA wins from Nelson and Tobia and Poincenot and Hester meant that only one point separated the sides after the first day.

The second day was equally as tight. NA wins from Marks and Tobia, Furber, D and NeSmith, and Port and Hester along with a halved match from Douma and Poincenot against Eakin and Cho, gave the NA team 3.5 points. RoW wins for Reid and Gilford and McDiarmid and Sharon meant that the match was tied at 6 points each going into the final day.

The final day, as might have been expected from the first two days, was tight all the way with neither side every being more than one point ahead. From the first 10 matches completed NA wins for Tobia, Kibblewhite, Poincenot, Hester and Port and a halved match for Douma against McDiarmid left the NA team on 11.5 points and on the brink of their first win. RoW wins for Sharon, Slattery, Eakin and Osborne left the RoW team on 10.5 points and only 1 behind.

When Calcaterra won his match on the 18th hole against NeSmith the teams were tied on 11.5 points each with everything resting on match 24 between Canadian Joe Furber and South Korean Jeong-Il Yoo, which was all square with 4 holes to play. Yoo won the 15th hole, but a 3-put on the 16th saw Furber tie things up again with only two holes left. At this stage the pressure must have been immense on these two players who were being followed by a swarm of golf buggies, players and other spectators.

A well-played 17th hole by Furber saw him win this crucial hole meaning that the NA team was guaranteed at least a half point from the match and hence at least 12 (of the 24) points on offer. If Yoo did not manage to win the par 5 18th the NA side would win their first Vision Cup. Furber found himself in some trouble off the tee on the last hole while Yoo pushed his drive to the right. A good recovery from Yoo gave him the advantage coming up the fairway which he retained as the players made their way up to the green. Despite a good shot onto the green by Furber, he had to concede the hole to Yoo resulting in a halved match, and both sides finishing on totals of 12 points.

So after three days of tough play the Vision Cup was halved, and the RoW team retained the trophy.

There is no doubt that all participants went away feeling some sense of satisfaction. The determination shown by all of the players was truly inspiring. Matches such as this will also undoubtedly fuel the spirit of this great event, and whet the appetite for the next edition in two years' time.

Further Thanks

As usual, none of this would have been possible were it not for the fantastic team of guides who assisted the golfers every step of the way. On behalf of the players we would like to express our sincere thanks to these very dedicated people.

Thanks must also go to the IBGA which, through generous funding from Dr. Handa, was able to provide valuable financial support for the event. As is regularly the case at the large IBGA events it was great to have John White present all the way from Perth, Australia, as Dr. Handa's representative. John's enthusiasm and encouragement to the players was highly appreciated.

The sponsorship from numerous local individuals and enterprises in the Creston community were also of great value, and essential for the success of the event.

Result Details

Rest of the World Handicaps

Category	Player	Handicap
B1	Zohar Sharon	24.4
B1	Andrea Calcaterra	30.0
B1	DongSig Im	36.7
B1	Jeong-Il Yoo	40.3
B2	In-Chan Cho	17.7
B2	Andy Gilford	20.9
B2	Garrett Slattery	24.0
B2	Steve Mitchell	24.5
B3	John Eakin	11.1
B3	Cameron McDiarmid	14.2
B3	Ally Reid	18.5
B3	Peter Osborne	19.9

North America Handicaps

Category	Player	Handicap
B1	Chad Nesmith	27.7
B1	Mario Tobia	42.3
B1	Gerry Nelson	33.8
B1	Joe Furber	52.5
B2	Derek Kibblewhite	14.4
B2	Jeremy Poincenot	21.0
B2	Darcy Furber	21.6
B3	Tommy Marks	7.0
B3	Linda Port	16.5
B3	Darren Douma	15.1
B3	Doug Penner	17.7
B3	Harry Hester	18.7

Day One: Pairs

Match	Players RoW	Indiv. H/C	H/Cap		RESULT		Players NA	Indiv. H/C	H/Cap	H/C Diff.
2	McDiarmid	14.2	19	1	6&4	0	Douma	15.1	20	-1
	Sharon	24.4					Nesmith	27.7
4	Slattery	24.0	26	1	8&7	0	Furber, D	21.6	34	-8
	Calcaterra	30.0					Furber, J	52.5
1	Eakin	11.1	14	0.5	A/S	0.5	Kibblewhite	14.4	16	-2
	Cho	17.7					Penner	17.7
3	Reid	18.5	19	0	8&7	1	Poincenot	21.0	19	0
	Gilford	20.9					Hester	18.7
5	Osborne	19.9	22	1	2&1	0	Port	16.5	11	11
	Mitchell	24.5					Marks	7.0
6	Im	36.7	38	0	6&5	1	Nelson	33.8	37	1
	Yoo	40.3					Tobia	42.3

Day One Points: RoW - 3.5 / NA - 2.5

Day Two: Pairs

Match	Players RoW	Indiv. H/C	H/Cap		RESULT		Players NA	Indiv. H/C	H/Cap	H/C Diff.
7	Reid	18.5	19	1	1 up	0	Kibblewhite	14.4	16	3
	Gilford	20.9					Penner	17.7
8	Eakin	11.1	14	0.5	A/S	.5	Douma	15.1	17	-3
	Cho	17.7					Poincenot	21.0
9	Slattery	24.0	26	0	4&3	1	Furber, D	21.6	24	2
	Calcaterra	30.0					Nesmith	27.7
10	Osborne	19.9	22	0	1 up	1	Marks	7.0	21	1
	Mitchell	24.5					Tobia	42.3
11	Im	36.7	38	0	6&5	1	Port	16.5	17	21
	Yoo	40.3					Hester	18.7
12	McDiarmid	14.2	19	1	3&2	0	Nelson	33.8	41	-22
	Sharon	24.4					Furber, J	52.5

Day Two Points: RoW - 2.5 / NA - 3.5

Total Points after Day Two: RoW - 6 / NA - 6

Day Three: Singles

Match	Players RoW	Indiv. H/C		RESULT		Players NA	Indiv. H/C	H/C Diff.
13	McDiarmid	14	.05	A/S	0.5	Douma	15	-1
14	Eakin	11	1	6&5	0	Marks	7	4
15	Mitchell	25	0	2 up	1	Poincenot	21	4
16	Slattery	24	1	3&2	0	Furber, D	22	2
17	Reid	19	0	4&3	1	Port	17	2
18	Osborne	20	1	4&3	0	Penner	18	2
19	Gilford	21	0	4&2	1	Kibblewhite	14	7
20	Cho	18	0	6&5	1	Hester	19	-1
21	Calcaterra	30	1	2 up	0	Nesmith	28	2
22	Sharon	24	1	5&4	0	Nelson	34	-10
23	Im	37	0	5&4	1	Tobia	42	-5
24	Yoo	40	.05	A/S	0.5	Furber, J	53	-13

Day Three Points: RoW - 6 / NA - 6

Total Points after Day Three: RoW - 12 / NA - 12