Last year when Breton Bay won its first Maryland State Golf Association A-Team championship, the small Leonardtown club did it by frustrating opponents on its rudimentary, wide-open, 7,053-yard layout.
Sunday in the MSGA semifinals, Breton Bay used its familiar formula to pull off another impressive victory. Sweeping all three of its home matches against 11-time champion Columbia Country Club, Breton Bay earned a berth in the championship round with a 13-5 victory.
Next Saturday Breton Bay will face Mountain Branch of Joppa for the A-Team title. Mountain Branch, which advanced to the finals for the first time, defeated Hayfields, 11.5-6.5. The seven-year-old club also thrived at home, earning 8.5 of a possible 9 points.
“That’s the strategy we use,” said Mountain Branch pro Scot Forbis. “Dominate and home and scratch out what you can on the road.”
“Domination” is a relative term in two-man best ball. Although Breton Bay went 9-0 at home Sunday, the matches were tight. Mark Cusic and Pete DeTemple defeated Marty West III and Eric Mitchell one-up on both nines. Breton Bay professionals Roger Welch and Greg Roberts won by the same margin over Columbia pro Bob Dolan and his partner Chris Coccaro.
“We’re talking about ‘domination,’ but really, those are matches that are decided by one or two putts,” said Breton Bay’s Phillip Garbrous. “None of those points were decided until the final hole. It was great competition.”
Breton Bay is worthy of another state title. Only one of its matches in the tournament’s five rounds have been close. That was Saturday in the quarterfinals when Breton Bay eeked out a 9.5-8.5 victory over Beaver Creek.
The key man was Cusic, who drained “two huge putts,” according to Garbrous. Cusic’s 10-footer for birdie on No. 15 squared the match. Two holes later, when a player from Beaver Creek made a 20-footer for birdie, Cusic matched it to halve the hole.
Cusic and Pete DeTemple, playing in the final group at Breton Bay, halved the final nine, clinching by the thinnest possible margin a second straight trip to the championship round.
At Mountain Branch, Serge Hogg and teaching pro Damon Klepczynski won their match 3-0, the same margin enjoyed by club champion Stefan Buitron and Mike Wettig. Chris Baloga and Rusty McCready won their match 2.5-0.5.
“Beating us at home is tough,” said Forbis. “We have a lot of undulation in our greens. Knowing where to go and where not to go, gives us an even bigger advantage at home than most teams have.”
