EMPORIA — Allen Community College’s Red Devils and Independence Community College Pirates staged a team sudden-death playoff at the 2012 Region VI Division II Golf Championship Tournament May 2-3.
“The sudden-death format is for all five players on each team to play in two groups of five,” said Mike Hayes, Red Devil golf coach. “So all the players are part of the action. It was a very exciting and dramatic two days.”
Allen and Independence are the only two community colleges in Kansas — Region VI — that play on the NJCAA Division II level. The Red Devils had a three-year reign as Region VI champions broken last year by the Pirates.
Hayes explained that in the groups of five there are three players from one team and two from the other. After playing a hole, the high score from each team is eliminated and the remaining four scores are added for a team total. If it is tied after a hole play continues to the next hole.
Regulation play is 54 holes of golf and both teams had a 940 team score. The four-hole playoff lasted two and a half hours, Hayes said, on the Emporia Municipal Golf Club course.
Hayes said the two days of play came on unusually warm, windy and humid conditions for Kansas in early May.
“The playoff was very exciting and pressure-packed. There was considerable pressure on each and every shot,” Hayes said. “We lost the playoff when our No. 1 player, freshman Clinton Moore, had to withdraw because of excessive cramping over his entire body.”
So the Pirates are the 2012 NJCAA Region VI, Division II champions again and qualified for the national tournament. Jeff Heptig of Independence was the top medalist with a 224. Only the top team and top medalist advance to the national tournament.
Moore of Allen finished second with a 231 and teammate Jacob Weber was third with a 234. Moore had rounds of 77-79-75 and Weber carded rounds of 80-82-72.
Allen’s Chad Schmidt finished with a 238 (78-84-76) for sixth, followed by Red Devil teammates Seth Walden at 242 (83-77-82) and Chase Tjelmeland at 249 (79-83-87).
“It was a bittersweet ending to a very well-played contest. There was outstanding shot making in a pressure packed atmosphere. It’s always nice to play your best in the most important tournament of the year,” Hayes said.
“I’m very proud of the players and their performances.”
