“They just played great,” said West captain Kevin Marsh, who won the 2005 U.S. Mid-Amateur. “We got off to a good start in our first couple of matches and things got sideways toward the end of the front nine. Guys were apologizing to me but it’s sports. Somebody wins and somebody loses.”
With 13 wins and two ties in the singles matches, the East accumulated 14 out of 18 points in the session.
“We had a blast,” said East captain Nathaniel Crosby, the 1981 U.S. Amateur champion, who won two Walker Cup Matches as the USA captain. “It’s a lot of camaraderie out here and the greatest thing is that it brings three different categories of ages together. So generational friendships are being developed. Win, lose or draw, everybody had a blast and you saw a lot of great golf.”
The East had two players each garner four points in their four sessions of golf: Jeromino Esteve of Windermere, Fla. and Evan Beck of Virginia Beach, Va.
“I actually started out a little shaky,” said Esteve, who has represented Puerto Rico four times in the World Amateur Team Championships. “I hadn’t made many bogeys this week, but I bogeyed three of the first four holes. And then things started going my way. I made four birdies in a short run that got me up. It was a tough loss last time and I’m glad we got it done this year.”
While the competition includes mid-amateur (age 25 and older), senior amateur (age 55 and older) and college players (under age 25) and brings the support of golf of Maridoe Golf Club owner Albert Huddleston into focus.
“Albert’s becoming a unicorn,” said West captain Marsh. “There are not that many people who get behind amateur golf like he does. You need a guy like that who owns the facility and is the boss out here and says, ‘This is what we are going to do.’ We are really lucky to have that relationship. He is such a genuine person.”
In the inaugural Matches in 2020, the East held a 16-11 lead before the Day 3 singles matches but the West stormed back and won 23-22.
The members of the East’s winning team each receive a silver commemorative belt buckle.
The third East West Matches in 2024 will return to Maridoe Golf Club with dates still to be determined.
