Mike Saperstein today defeated Eric Lowrey and Elise Loukas in one of the most dramatic finishes in State Title Match history to defend his newly-won Massachusetts State Title and recapture the #1 Player Ranking!
The Massachusetts matches came about only because Hurricane Francis caused a cancellation of the scheduled Florida Title matches; the last day then provided arguably the best-played match in State Title history.
Saperstein had just ended 8 years of winless frustration against Eric Lowrey in Massachusetts Title play 2 days earlier. First Saperstein raced out to a 6-0 lead after 3 holes and never looked back, cruising to a 9-hole match win over Lowrey at Pine Meadows Golf Club in Lexington, 12-5. Then, tied at Fresh Pond Golf Course in Cambridge after 7 holes in another 9-hole match, Saperstein surprisingly rolled in an 18-foot birdie 2 on "Ryan's Crossing" after watching Lowrey barely miss his 25-foot birdie try. Saperstein closed it out with a par 5 on the 9th hole for a 9.5 - 4.5 win and his first Massachusetts title.
The title win comes exactly 10 years to the day that Saperstein captured the Michigan State Title. That title is currently the longest-held of any State Title.
However those matches were nothing compared to the spectacular 3-way match played today between Saperstein, Lowrey, and Elise Loukas. Loukas, a longtime friend of ChampionshipCup.com, did a great job in her first appearance in State Title competition. However Lowrey and Saperstein both played some of the best golf seen in a title match, ruining her hopes of a title victory.
On a beautiful day on the Nicklaus Course of Pinehills Golf Club in Plymouth, the only downer was that the greens were being aerated. This would bite Lowrey and Loukas, neither of whom could find a consistent putting stroke.
Nonetheless Lowrey came out a house afire with a record-breaking front 9. He opened par 4, par 5, and par 3 on his way to 6 pars on the front 9, and 9 overall for the match. The 9 pars for 18 holes is a new State Title Record, breaking the record of 8 that Lowrey shared with Hal Zemel. The 6 pars for 9 holes ties another State Title Record; this has now been done 3 times, all by Lowrey.
The most amazing part about this run is that Lowrey had 4 three-putt greens! His shotmaking skills were absolutely deadly.
Meanwhile neither Saperstein nor Loukas allowed Lowrey to put them away. Saperstein fired in 4 pars of his own to stay within shouting distance after nine holes. Loukas meanwhile had a slow start, but came on strong, making an effective birdie 4 on the 8th hole to pull into second place. At the turn it was Lowrey 11, Loukas 6.5, and Saperstein 5.5.
Lowrey's putting woes continued on the back 9, but now it began to hurt him as Saperstein really found his game and began to charge. The frustration between Lowrey's magical ball-striking and horrible putting was epitomized on the dogleg par 5 11th hole. He cut the corner with a beautiful drive, fired his second shot onto the green, yet 3-putted for "only" a par. On the same hole, Saperstein's 3rd shot was a 150-yard 7-Iron but it was a great one that landed 3 feet away and led to a birdie 4!
In one stretch Lowrey -- normally a consistent putter -- three putted seven out of eight holes! In the same 8-hole stretch, Saperstein took only 10 putts which got him back into the match. After 11 holes it was Lowrey 12, Saperstein 9.5, and Loukas 6.5.
Saperstein parred the 12th to pull within a half a point of the lead, and would make no worse than a bogey the rest of the way. Yet he could not pass Lowrey!! On #15 Lowrey made a par 3 to regain a little bit of breathing room. Loukas meanwhile made an effective par on the same hole to keep her faint hopes of victory alive. After 15 holes, Lowrey led Saperstein by 2, and Loukas by 6.
The 16th, a par 5, was Loukas' chance to make a real move. On the par 5 green in effective 2, she was staring at a chance at an eagle. However a complete putting breakdown on this green put a big dent in her title hopes and gave the hole to Saperstein. This let him pull back within 1 point of Lowrey.
On #17 Loukas sunk a tough 6 foot putt for a clutch par that prevented Saperstein from tying the match. Though Loukas had hit the ball solidly overall, she also struggled on the greens. Given the great play of Lowrey and the strong charge of Saperstein, this would not be enough for her to be a major factor going to the final hole. Still, it was a fine performance for a first-time competitor; on another day her effort would have been good enough to win, and she has a promising future in State Title competition. However her glory would have to wait for another day.
On the dramatic 18th -- the #2 handicap hole -- Lowrey hit a long, straight drive. Saperstein hit a good drive as well, but it was a bit shorter and found the rough. Saperstein needing to win the hole to tie or win the match, responded to the situation with a tremendous 5-wood shot that flew straight and true, avoiding the water and landing on the green, 15 feet from the hole. Then it was Lowrey's turn, and he came through as he had all day with a fine 8-iron that also landed about 15 feet from the hole.
It was now a putting contest. Lowrey faced a 16 footer for a birdie and the win. He hit arguably his best putt of the day. It broke subtly and tracked the hole. However it finished one inch short of the cup and refused to fall. He tapped it in for a great par 4, ending one of the greatest rounds in the history of State Title play. Without question, had he been able to better-comprehend the aerated greens, he would have shattered the 18-hole Title Play record of 84 strokes.
Nonetheless, he had still left the door open just a crack for Saperstein. Saperstein faced a 15-footer that was all-or-nothing -- he would either make it for the win, or miss it for the loss.
Saperstein hit it hard, but it was on-line all the way. The only issue was whether it was too hard. It stayed true to the center of the cup and went in cleanly for the birdie and a dramatic 1 point victory!
Putting was clearly the key to Saperstein's win. Of his 40 strokes on the back 9, he had only 13 putts -- while Lowrey had 22 and Loukas had 24. The final score was Saperstein 16.33, Lowrey 15.33, and Loukas 10.33.
This is believed to be the first time in the history of State Title Play that the match leader made a par on the 18th hole and yet was defeated by a decisive birdie. It was a great display of clutch shotmaking down the stretch, particularly on the final hole.
With the win, Saperstein recaptures the #1 Player Ranking. That honor has seen 7 consecutive short reigns that have ping-ponged between Lowrey and Saperstein, since Lowrey's title reign of 16 months ended in early 2002. With Championship Cup play the next scheduled event, we can only hope that the calibre of play approaches what we saw in Plymouth today.
