Posted online: September 25, 2004 10:11 PM
Print publication date: September 26, 2004

Illinois hanging tough in Hasley Cup

By Tom Johnston, tjohnston@qconline.com

There were so many stories out of the first day of action of the annual Hasley Cup golf competition that Team Illinois being within two points of Team Iowa was almost un-noticed.

Almost.

``I told you it was going to be close,'' said Greg Rios, captain of Team Iowa, after watching his squad get pushed on a gorgeous day for golf at Oakwood Country Club before finishing with a 9-7 lead.

Team Iowa is trying for its seventh straight victory in the Ryder Cup-style matches pitting Illinois vs. Iowa golfers on the National City Bank Tour. This weekend's event is sponsored by The Dispatch/The Rock Island Argus/The Leader.

The furious action started early. Team Illinois needed to call alternate Bruce Allison 30-minutes after play started to fill in for Scott Nelson, a no-show because his grandmother suffered a heart attack.

All 32 golfers in the field had their hearts tugged on a bit with a special treat when Tyler Swanson, 2003 Player of the Year who was seriously injured in a May car crash, made it to Oakwood to catch some of the action.

Swanson and the rest of those involved were treated to an intriguing day of golf action. The most eye-catching fact was that what appeared to be an out-manned Illinois team was within striking distance. That had most of those on hand forgetting that Illinois led 8.5-7.5 after the first day last year. The teams went on to forge a 16-all tie as Iowa retained the cup, named in honor of long-time Q-C teaching pro Jim Hasley.

``Being two down, that's definitely realistic to come back from,'' said Brian Soucinek, Team Illinois captain who split his two Saturday matches.

And there were plenty of people contributing to Illinois' Saturday success, Allison notwithstanding. Allison, who won one match and halved another, got a wakeup call from Illinois teammate Dave Holmes at 8:35, drove to Short Hills Country Club to pick up his clubs but didn't make it to Oakwood until after he and teammate Dan Senatra had forfeited the first hole to Mike Long and Dave Waugh. But the Illinois duo went on to a 3 and 2 victory. He and Joe Irwin then teamed to halve their match vs. Pieter Hanson and Mark Drenth.

``I really wanted to play; I've played every other one but one,'' said Allison, who only played four events on the tour this summer because of conflicts and was not among the top 12 point-winners. ``You hate to get to play because somebody's grandmother had a heart attack or whatever happens, but I'm glad I got the opportunity.''

Illinois' Dan Fisher also won 1.5 points.

There were a number of strong individual Iowa efforts, too. Kirk Trede, Dean Cavanaugh and Chris Wilkins all were in on two victories.

Maybe the most impressive day of those three belonged to Trede. Not only did he win twice, but did so in convincing fashion as neither of his matches got past the 13th hole. He teamed with Hanson for a 6 and 5 alternate-shot victory over Jim Mowen and Duane Stelly, then hooked up with Cavanaugh for an afternoon 7 and 6 best-ball victory over Senatra and Dave Johnson.

Hanson and Drenth each picked up 1.5 points for Iowa.

Illinois's seniors held their own, picking up two of the four points available to the guys in the plus-50 set. Bill Brewster and Darrell Reynolds halved both of their matches.

Iowa seniors Dan Dalziel and Randy Trine won 1.5 points.

Which means it comes down to today's singles matches to determine who takes home the cup.

``As a coach, you're not comfortable with any lead until it's in the bag,'' said Rios, who is the Davenport West boys' golf coach. ``You always assume the worst, especially in match play where anything can happen. I'm just going to tell them to go out, play and have fun.''

And see if Team Iowa can come up with lucky title No. 7.