Atchinson Cup open to all in Otsego County

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August 4, 2012

Atchinson Cup open to all in Otsego County

Oneonta Country Club will host both days of amateur golf tournament this month

By Dean Russin Sports Editor The Daily Star Sat Aug 04, 2012, 03:30 AM EDT

ONEONTA _ The Oneonta Country Club will celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Atchinson Cup on Aug. 25-26, and everybody in Otsego County is invited.

Previously open only to the county's elite golfers, anyone with an Otsego County address and $60 may enter the Otsego County Amateur Golf Tournament this summer. Non-residents who own memberships at Otsego County golf courses are also eligible to compete.

"We used to get 25-30 people in the Atchinson Cup, even though it was really limited (to the best in the county)," said retired Daily Star managing editor Cary Brunswick, the head of the OCC's Men's Golf Association and the Amateur's tournament committee. "That started dropping off and we felt since we were starting to go public here (the OCC opened to the public this year), we thought we should open it up."

The tournament drew 21 entrants in 2011, when Oneonta resident Justin Harris beat Brad Badgley by four strokes to win his third Atchinson Cup in four years. Harris placed seventh in 2010, when Mike Schulte topped a field of 14 golfers.

"I think it will be good," Unatego graduate Harris said of the stroke-play tournament being open to everyone in Otsego County instead of only those county residents with a USGA-attested handicap index under 10. "Obviously the more people who play, the better the tournament. It will be more popular."

OCC pro Brad Hess said the tournament committee is hoping the Otsego County Amateur will become as big as the Delaware County Amateur, a three-day golf tournament held annually at the par-72 Delhi College Golf Course.

Delhi resident Brad Anderson won his 10th title at the Delaware County Amateur last month, when 135 players competed in five flights _ including 24 in the championship flight.

"I expect maybe the same turnout as last year, maybe a couple more," said Hess, who added the OCC received the Delaware County Amateur's guidelines from Delhi College GC pro Dave Arehart and will use them as a blueprint for the Otsego County Amateur. "Hopefully in a few years, it's as big as Delhi. But even if we get 15 more entries than normal ... this is another step in the right direction. If we can open it up, it gives the club more exposure and more money."

Brunswick said the 2012 Otsego County Amateur will feature several flights _ including a championship flight for scratch golfers _ as entrants will be grouped by handicap for the 36-hole tournament. The top three players in each flight will receive awards, he said, with the winner of the championship flight earning the Atchinson Cup.

Brunswick also said the OCC will host both days of the Otsego County Amateur this year, whereas the tournament started at the OCC and finished at the par-72 Leatherstocking Golf Course in Cooperstown the past 16 years.

"I didn't have a problem with that," said Leatherstocking GC pro Dan Spooner, who served the OCC as its pro from 1979-1997. "They wanted to expand it, but there was no way we could accommodate 40-50 players (on the second day of the Amateur). We can't close the course down on a weekend during August. That's big money to us. But I'm glad they're trying to make it bigger and better."

Harris said the change should result in lower Amateur scores for those who play regularly at the OCC.

"I'll miss playing at Leatherstocking because it's one of the most beautiful courses in the area," said Harris, who followed a 68 at the OCC with a 75 at Leatherstocking last year. "But I expect to do better. I expect everybody who's from Oneonta to do better."

Hess said the flights will be set after the Aug. 18 entry deadline passes.

"We don't know what the turnout will be, but we're still only going to have one championship flight," said Brunswick, who added that Harris and other former Atchinson Cup champions such as Nick Lambros, Bruce Miller, Harry Schulte, Kurt Schulte, Mike Schulte, Steve Torrey and Frank Vergari are expected to compete this year. "Like they say, it will be the usual suspects in the championship flight."

Brunswick also said the OCC, which had more than 50 paid public plays Friday, is "in pretty good shape."

"The greens are beautiful right now," said Brunswick, who added the $60 entry covers greens fees for both days. "Barring any floods or tornadoes by the end of the month, we should have a good Atchinson Cup."

Oneonta lawyer William K. Atchinson Jr., who died in 2006, created and sponsored the Atchinson Cup in the late 1970s. He named the tournament after his late father, William Sr., who owned Bill's Sports Shop in downtown Oneonta for more than 30 years.

Dean Russin can be reached at drussin@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 215.