On an idyllic summer day amid the undulating beauty of the St. George’s Golf Course, Mike Schwenk ’04 swept away the memories of a stinging defeat from one year ago by claiming the St. George’s Club Championship with a resounding victory. On Saturday morning Schwenk and Rich Barnes teed off in a 36-hole match play championship to determine the champion golfer at the venerable Setauket course.

1st Round

7th Hole (Par 3 – 181 yds) | Schwenk up 1 | Through six holes Schwenk lead by one hole, but Barnes looked poised to even the match on the 7th, a 181-yard par 3. Schwenk drove over the green and found a precarious lie on a slope behind it while Barnes was on the green with a five-footer for birdie. Schwenk responded with one of his most beautiful shots of the day, hitting a gorgeous chip shot that rolled within inches of the cup. After both parred the hole Schwenk kept his one-hole edge.

8th Hole (Par 4 – 382 yds) | Tied | Schwenk’s drive landed in the fairway and, after Barnes landed in thick fescue, it looked as though Schwenk would have a great opportunity to go up two holes. However, after Barnes sunk a gorgeous 50-foot par putt, the pressure was squarely on Schwenk to hole his four-foot birdie putt just to halve the hole which he failed to do as the pair drew even.

9th Hole (Par 3 – 147 yds) | Tied | Barnes stroked his drive within 15 feet of the hole while Schwenk landed on the fringe of the green. A great putt by Schwenk put the pressure on Barnes to hit his putt in order to win the hole. He failed to convert and each tapped in for par.

10th Hole (Par 4 – 374 yds) | Tied | Barnes stayed consistent off the tee, finding the fairway while Schwenk’s drive landed in the rough 30 yards behind his opponent. Schwenk’s approach stuck on the green and did not catch the slope, leaving him with a tricky downhill putt. Barnes looked poised to take a one-hole lead as he stroked his ball within four feet. Schwenk made a great attempt, missing the birdie by inches and tapping in for par. Barnes, who had holed a 50-footer just two holes earlier, failed to convert his birdie and spun around in disbelief and disgust as his ball slid by the cup.

11th Hole (Par 3 – 194 yds) | Schwenk up 1 | Barnes landed in a trap to the right of the green and Schwenk appeared to have righted the ship after a few shaky holes by knocking it within eight feet. Barnes made an admirable attempt, but Schwenk holed his birdie putt to regain the lead.

12th Hole (Par 4 – 420 yds) | Schwenk up 1 | Barnes once again had a chance to win the hole, but for the third time in the previous four holes, his putter betrayed him. Both landed in the fairway off the tee but Barnes reached the green on his second shot while Schwenk’s landed in a slight depression in front of the green. Schwenk’s third shot was well placed but failed to fall and Barnes was left with a birdie chance to even the match, which he could not convert. Both tapped in for par.

13th Hole (Par 4 – 459 yds) | Schwenk up 2 | As the cliche goes, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, and Schwenk proved that off the 13th tee when his errant shot flew so far right that it landed in the middle of the 12th fairway, giving him a very favorable angle to the hole. Both landed just in front of the green on their second shots and missed their putts, but Barnes missed above the hole giving him a tricky downhill on his next attempt. Schwenk holed his putt for a par, but Barnes knew he mishit it the second the ball left his putter and the ball slid just past the cup, giving Schwenk a two-hole cushion.

14th Hole (Par 4 – 388 yds) | Schwenk up 3 | The 14th was the pivotal hole in the match and, even with 22 holes left to play, it spelled the beginning of the end for Barnes. Both found the fairway rough off the tee, but when Schwenk chipped to within 50 yards of the hole while Barnes knocked a great shot within 12 feet, it appeared Barnes would slice Schwenk’s lead in half. However, in a turning point that once again proved why golf is such an exciting game, Schwenk took his wedge out of his bag and coolly stroked a miraculous chip that found the bottom of the cup, prompting the growing gallery to let out a cheer. Barnes, who had just moments ago been in the driver’s seat, had to sink his putt just to halve the hole which he could not do as his inconsistent putting continued.

15th Hole (Par 3 – 164 yds) | Schwenk up 3 | Barnes hit a big par putt to stay within three and Schwenk tapped in for par.

16th Hole (Par 4 – 318 yds) | Schwenk up 4 | Both found the fairway off the tee, but Schwenk hit a brilliant second shot, placing it within four feet while Barnes was 10 feet above the hole. Schwenk converted his birdie while Barnes missed his as Schwenk’s advantage continued to grow.

17th Hole (Par 3 – 122 yds) | Schwenk up 5 | After both missed the green off the tee, Schwenk chipped within inches of the hole while Barnes left it short. Schwenk tapped in for par and Barnes missed his par chance to give Schwenk his second straight victory and his fourth over the previous five holes.

18th Hole (Par 5 – 535 yds) | Schwenk up 6 | Schwenk had a comfortable lead with just one hole remaining in the first round and hoped to retain all of the momentum going into the lunch break; however, things did not start well as Schwenk landed in the trap and Barnes found the fairway. The tables quickly turned when Schwenk stroked a great shot into the fairway on his second and Barnes landed in thick fescue, needing several minutes just to locate his ball. On their third shots, Barnes could only punch out of the thick vegetation while Schwenk landed on the top plateau of the two-tiered green, an extremely precarious position to be in. Barnes’ fourth shot left him below the pin but with a good chance to get up and down for par. Schwenk, staring down the barrel of a lightning fast putt, just touched the ball with the face of his putter and watched as his ball just caught the ridge and rolled to within a foot of the cup. Schwenk closed an senastional first 18 by tapping in for par, while Barnes missed his rebuttal to give Schwenk a six-hole edge. As the ball fell in Schwenk let out a, “Bang!” displaying his supreme confidence in his game that day, as he should have felt after winning five of the final six holes.

2nd Round

During the interim Schwenk went to the driving range to practice hitting his driver, which he only used twice during his entire first round. After some minor adjustments he felt more confident using it off the tee and hoped that the added distance and intelligent play would help him close out the championship.

1st Hole (Par 4 – 374 yds) | Schwenk up 5 | Schwenk’s hopes of picking up where he left off were derailed a bit when he gave a hole right back to Barnes. His tee shot found the rough after getting caught in the wind, then he hit a 7 iron on his second shot to the back of the green and left himself with a 45-footer for birdie. The attempt rolled past the hole and fell off the false front of the green into a valley 30 yards away from the cup. Barnes parred the hole.

2nd Hole (Par 5 – 574 yds) | Schwenk up 5 | Schwenk, with a renewed confidence in his driver, out-drove Barnes by 30 yards off the tee, but Barnes’ approach left him 10 feet below the hole while Schwenk was on the back of the green with a difficult downhill putt that he missed, tapping in for par. In what would become the story of the day for Barnes, his opportunity to gain a victory and breathe life back into his round was undone by his putter and he had to settle for a par.

3rd Hole (Par 4 – 408 yds) | Schwenk up 6 | The 3rd has always been one of the most difficult holes on the course for Schwenk. It is also the hole he lost last year’s Club Championship on in a sudden death playoff. Schwenk started by hooking his tee shot into the woods, leaving him with a very poor lie in the fescue. His next shot was one of his most important of the match, signaling he was not going to succumb to the pressure of playing with the lead. He crushed his 7 iron out of the woods and his ball landed on the green, coming to rest in the second cut of fringe. The growing gallery of 40 carts recognized the weight of the shot and cheered its approval. Schwenk was able to get up and down for par while Barnes missed his 12-foot rebuttal to give Schwenk his six-hole cushion back.

4th Hole (Par 4 – 360 yds) | Schwenk up 7 | The 4th green is surrounded by a deep moat of sand six feet below the green which Barnes found on his second shot. Schwenk, meanwhile, was on the green in two. After missing his 25-foot birdie chance, Schwenk sank his four-footer while Barnes could not get up and down from the bunker after missing his five-footer for par.

5th Hole (Par 4 – 356 yds) | Schwenk up 8 | Schwenk parred and Barnes bogeyed to give Schwenk a victory on three straight holes.

6th Hole (Par 5 – 465 yds) | Schwenk up 9 | Schwenk crushed his drive to within 220 yards of the hole but landed his approach in the greenside bunker. Barnes was in worse shape after finding the rough off the tee, punching out and hitting a tree. Schwenk got up and down for birdie while Barnes bogeyed the hole to give Schwenk a win on four straight holes.

7th Hole (Par 3 – 181 yds) | Schwenk up 9 | Each registered par.

8th Hole (Par 4 – 382 yds) | Schwenk up 10 | Schwenk earned an adventurous par after he pulled his second shot nearly against a tree and hit a great shot from the fescue. Barnes missed his par putt after having trouble with the hump in the middle of the green.

9th Hole (Par 3 – 147 yds) | Schwenk up 9 | Barnes chipped in from off the green for birdie to give him a nice highlight in front of the large gallery. After sinking it he jokingly looked at Schwenk, who at this point could not mathematically lose in regulation, and said, “Are you scared yet?”

10th Hole (Par 4 – 374 yds) | Schwenk up 10 | Schwenk showed great poise as he pulled out a 3 iron off the tee, suppressing the urge to wow the prodigious crowd with his driver. After their second shots, Barnes had a long uphill birdie putt while Schwenk was left with a 15-footer. Barnes missed his try and tapped in for par. Schwenk stepped up with a chance to win the match with eight holes to play and received a well-deserved roar from the gallery as he deftly maneuvered the four-foot break off his line and sank the winning putt.

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