Loyal Cougars

Introducing the inaugural Loyal Cougars Cup

Join our bracketed match play golf tournament open to any interested reader.

At Loyal Cougars, we pride ourselves in providing you specialized coverage of all things pertaining to BYU athletics. However, we’re also a fairly social crew and enjoy opportunities to meet readers and fellow fans when we can. This summer, we thought it would be fun to host our own little golf tournament for local readers and twitter followers across the Wasatch Front, so this summer we bring you the Loyal Cougars Cup.

The event will be a Match Play bracketed contest, a format that tends to be the most forgiving in competition.

As many golfers have busy schedules, we’ve spread the event out over the entire summer in order to give players as much flexibility as possible.

RULES

Rule 1 – All players will have one month to coordinate with their opponent and play their respective match at the assigned course for that month.

The schedule is as follows:

May – Round of 32: 9-hole match @ Murray Parkway or Old Mill

June – Sweet 16: 9-hole match @ Bountiful Ridge or River Oaks

July – Elite 8:  18-hole match @ The Ranches (discounted rate)

August 1-15th – Final Four: 18-hole match @ South Mountain Golf Club (discounted rate)

August 16-31stChampionship: 18-hole match @ Alpine Country Club (FREE)

Rule 2 – Predetermined, centralized courses have been provided for use when players live further apart in the first two rounds. If a Davis County player and a Utah County player are paired, these are neutral sites. We’re trying to avoid anybody having a “home course advantage” in competition.

However, in the first two rounds, if two players mutually agree on an alternate location that is more convenient, that is fine. If two in Provo/Orem would rather play at Eastbay or Sleepy Ridge, go for it. Likewise, if Northern players would rather play a Davis County course, that works. Just report to me who won the match and will be advancing. We will try to pair players geographically in the first round if possible.

Rule 3 – We will be using MATCH PLAY scoring, not stroke play. That way having a terrible hole won’t eliminate you from the match. This type of scoring greatly evens the playing field. See scoring example below:

Hole 1:
Player 1 = 4       Player 2 = 7
Score:   Player 1 is 1-Up

Hole 2:
Player 1 = 4       Player 2 = 3
Score:   Match is all square

Rule 4 – If 9-hole matches are tied, play extra holes if possible. If extra holes aren’t available, break the tie with 10-foot putts on the practice green. Putt until one player makes and one player misses, alternating who picks location and putts first.

Rule 5 – The Elite Eight, Final Four and Championship matches will be 18-holes each.

The Elite Eight will be played at a discounted rate at The Ranches. The Final Four will be played at a discounted rate at South Mountain and the Championship will be a FREE round at Alpine Country Club.

REGISTRATION

Contact me (Presten Norton) if you’d like a spot in the field. The bracket will be limited to the first 32 entrants. If we don’t happen to get a full 32, the first 16 to claim spots will get in the shortened bracket.

Send me the following information to register:
1- Name
2- Handicap (or average score if you don’t have a handicap)
3- If you’re closest to Salt Lake, Utah, Davis or Weber county using one of the below methods:

Twitter: @P_Norton
Email: rbi27@hotmail.com

ENTRY FEE

The fee for the event will be $10 per player, plus any greens fees required. You can send your $10 via PayPal to the email address above or via Venmo. Contact Presten with any payment questions.

AWARDS

1st place: FREE round at Alpine Country Club + cash payout
2nd place: FREE round at Alpine County Club + cash payout
3rd place: Cash payout (if full field of 32 entrants)
4th place: Cash payout (if full field of 32 entrants)

PAYOUTS

32 entrants
Champ = 50%
Runner-Up = 30%
Other Semifinalists = 10% each

16 entrants
Champ = 70%
Runner-Up = 30%

Contact Presten with any questions.

One Comment

  1. Presten Norton

    April 15, 2014 at 10:56 am

    When you email/tweet/DM to register, please include your email/phone as well. I’ll email out a bracket contact list once complete so players can arrange their respective matches.