Over the last decade, no Washington area club has produced more junior standouts than Argyle. As they graduate to adulthood, they’re helping lift the fortunes of the men’s team at the Silver Spring club.
In Kyle Stough (Virginia), Joe Alvarez (Towson), Ryan McCarthy (Loyola), and Jack Bonifant (James Madison), Argyle has four players who will compete for Division I colleges this fall. They may not be old enough to enjoy a post-round drink in the grill, but when they turned 18 they were eligible for A-Team competition.
Saturday when it takes on powerhouse Columbia for the Washington Metropolitan Golf Association A-Team championship, Argyle will count on a rotation sprinkled with youth. It also includes Brit Musser, 28, Zack Lese, 25, Brian Hicks, 25, and Matt Bonifant, 23.
“It’s neat watching these kids grow up and now they’re able to compete with the old guys,” said Club President and A-Team player Jim Bonifant, 52.
In his first year of eligibility, Bonifant’s son, Jack, earned the right to captain the A-Team by winning the club championship. After years of junior and high school competition, Bonifant was anxious to join the men’s ranks.
“I’ve watched my dad play in these things for years,” said Bonifant, 18. “It’s a different experience — the competition, the club camaraderie. Now to be part of it as a player is a lot of fun.”
Argyle took a rugged path to the finals, surviving division competition with wins over perennial powers Congressional and Bethesda. Last weekend, Argyle defeated Piedmont in the quarterfinals, 10-8, and Kenwood in the semis, 11-7.
Another from the Bonifant brood, Matt, played well last week at Kenwood, combining with former Good Counsel teammate Hicks. The duo won the last two holes on both nines to earn three clutch road points.
At Argyle, Jim Bonifant combined with Musser, a former Maryland public school state champion at Wootton, to notch three points, while Jack Bonifant and another of Argyle’s young standouts, former club champion Ronnie Renner, earned 2.5 points.
Argyle, which won WMGA titles in 1990 and 2001, and made it to the finals last year, falling to Crofton in a playoff, will need its best stuff against Columbia.
The Chevy Chase club, which defeated Army Navy in the semifinals, has a formidable mix of veterans in Rich Holland, Marty West, and Henri deLozier, and youth in Billy Peel (Eastern Kentucky) and former University of Virginia players Mike Mitchell and Greg Carlin.
Columbia’s pro is Bob Dolan. Argyle’s is Mike Barillo.
