 The
Captain’s for the 2004 Blue and Gold Cup, to be played on Friday, July
30th at the beautiful Aptos Seascape Golf Club in Aptos, Ca. have been
announced. For the defending Champion Gold side, tournament veteran and
defending CBI champion Mike Mullarky has been given the difficult
task of following in Bill Schack’s footsteps in an attempt to make it
three victories in a row. This feat has never been accomplished in the
history of this event. Mike, shown at left, is a veteran of 9 consecutive
CBI’s and is a two-time champion (1998 – Poppy Ridge, 2003 – Pala
Mesa). Mike’s record in our match play event is not one to boast about
– 2 wins, 4 losses and 2 halves. However, Mike’s passion for the game,
and for this particular tournament, was the reason he was an easy pick for
this critical position. At the press conference in Los Angeles announcing
the pick’s, tournament organizer and Gold team member Charlie Clark
stated, "Mike is a very savvy golfer. He is no stranger to match play
competition and his gamesmanship is first rate – a Seve school
protégé. I have no doubt Mike will represent the Gold side with
appropriate vigor." Mike is also known to have a cigar at the ready
whenever he walks on anything green. Look for him to motivate his side to
walk (or maybe the better word is stomp) on the faces of anything blue at
Seascape. |
On
the Blue side, Greg Clark has announced the selection of popular CBI
veteran Lee Llevano to defend the home turf and bring the cup
back to northern California. Lee is no stranger to CBI competitions,
having played in 10 tournaments, and winning (coincidentally of course) with
Mike Mullarky at Poppy Ridge in 1998. Lee’s record in the Blue and
Gold is a respectable 3 wins and 3 losses. However he has not won a
match since 2001, and lost a heartbreaker last year to Dr. Steve Goodman
on the 18th hole. Lee is very well regarded by his Blue
teammates, not necessarily for his skills on the golf course however.
Greg Clark commented, "Lee is the kind of guy we need right now to
lead this side. With two Gold victories in the last two years, it is
time to show the world that the best golfers do not wear the puke yellow
shirts." When asked if he was surprised by his nomination, Lee
quipped, "Not at all. This team will be ready on July 30th.
By the way, did I mention that the California Golden Bear football team
is ranked highly this year?" Well no Lee you didn’t, but thanks
for the reminder. Now the only question that remains is will his Blue
side perform well under his leadership, or will they go the route of the
Bears under Tom Holmoe.