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Breton Bay Golf & Country Club Shocked the Maryland golf community earlier this month when the relatively tiny club won the 2006 Maryland State Team Matches, downing several esteemed clubs that have dominated the competition since its start in 1926.
The Breton Bay Club has never reached the final rounds of this top tournament, but this year the 12-man team figuratively came out of nowhere and shocked the tournament, downing one major club after another.
The Maryland State Golf Association, which puts on the tournament and chronicles its progress on their Web site (msga.org) described the club as “Unheralded” and the “Giant-Killer from Breton Bay.”
The tournament started in April with 70 teams, and is played in a bracket-style competition. During each round the teams are split into two 6-man games, with one played on each club’s home turf.
“We were by far the underdogs, we’re a small club down here,” team member Phillip Garbrous told The Bay Net. “Everybody on our team played well … our home games we had here, we just destroyed everybody.”
To get to the state championship against Baltimore Country Club, the Breton Bay club “stunned” Congressional Country Club with a victory in the preceding round. Congressional CC has won 10 State Team Matches competitions.
Another shocker was in store for Baltimore Country Club during the final. While some of the Baltimore players have played at the Breton Bay course in preparation, none of the Breton Players ever set foot on Baltimore’s home turf, Five Farms course.
Nonetheless, Breton Bay CC took home the state title in their most narrow victory of the tournament and solidified themselves as the “Giant-Killers From Breton Bay.”
Breton Bay’s team members included: Capt. Mark Cusic, Pete Detemple, Tracy Vallandingham, Greg Roberts, Bill Jenner, Tommy Jameson, Ross Tuck, Mike Boyd, Rusty Hall, Joe Fenlon, Jim Hicks, Mike Ruck, Dale Able, John Pennell, Dick Sterns, Bobby Stark, and club professionals Bob Arnold and Phillip Garbrous.