It's hard to imagine a better way to spend a weekend in late September than at Pine Valley playing in the George A. Crump Memorial Tournament, which is widely known as the Crump Cup.
The Crump Cup is the preeminent amateur event and one of the most sought-after invites in all of golf. No points systems or rankings are used to decide the field. It's strictly an invitational. Play well on the national stage for a couple of years, and you'll be on the radar. Then keep playing well, and maybe an invite will arrive in the mail.
The tournament's namesake, George Arthur Crump, was the visionary behind what many believe is the best and most ruthless course in the world.
The Format
There will be 36 holes of stroke play qualifying to determine match play brackets of 16 for the mid-amateurs and eight for the seniors. Only those in the championship bracket are eligible for the overall title.
Thursday, Sept. 12
Round 1 of stroke play qualifying
Friday, Sept. 13
Round 2 of stroke play qualifying
Field flighted according to 36-hole score, with the low 16 in the Championship Flight and low 8 in the Senior Championship
Playoff if necessary for the final spot(s) in the Championship bracket
Saturday, Sept. 14
Match Play Round of 16 (A.M.)
Match Play Quarterfinals (P.M.)
Sunday, Sept. 15
Match Play Semifinals (A.M.)
Match Play Final (P.M.)
Every player's goal is to crack the top 16 and secure a spot in the Championship Flight.
Related:
Top 10 things you didn't know about the Crump Cup
Photo Album: 97th Crump Cup Sunday Final Matches
Behind the Scenes at The Crump Cup
What happened last year?
Tropical Storm Ophelia had a large impact on last year's Crump Cup.
In qualifying, Evan Beck shot 68-68 to earn medalist honors. The one other player who played 36 holes at Pine Valley under par was Garrett Rank. Rank fired a 66, the lowest round of the event.
After clear skies during qualifying on Thursday and Friday, the club decided to shorten the event due to the impending storm which was slated to bring heavy rains. They scrapped the match play format and had the 16 Championship flight players and the eight Senior Flight players play 18 holes of stroke play on Saturday.
The 2023 championship Stephen Behr Jr. and Stewart Hagestad shot 73 on a tough day. Behr made an incredible eagle on the fourth hole to jump start his round. In the end, Hagestad capped off an incredible September with a playoff victory over Behr. In addition to the Crump Cup, Hagestad won the Walker Cup and U.S. Mid-Amateur last September.
In the senior flight, Matthew Sughrue shot an impressive 69 to beat Bob Royak by five shots.