2024 – Mulligans Muscle Through for Back-to-Back BRRC Wins.
October 12, 2024 – The Fighting Mulligans made a big move on Day 2 and, well into the day-ending Dead Possum Point, threatened to match the same 6-point lead they had the prior year heading into Saturday’s final round. But a holed birdie pitch by Redmen Neil Ryan on No. 14 helped cut that lead back to 4 points by day’s end. The Mulligans resumed their strong play in Saturday’s singles matches, however, closing out the 31st Blue Ridge Ryder Cup with a 24-1/2 to 16-1/2 victory.
On the tournament’s eve, Mulligan Logan Sharpe presciently observed “We have a very strong lineup at the very top, but it drops off sharply from there.” The question of whether that “very top” included C Player Elliot Patton was answered emphatically by his MVP performance, as he won five of seven matches. Joined by Colin St. Maxens and Lee Sandlin, the three players at the top of the Mulligan lineup earned half of all team points. Tim Saint-Maxens was the Redmen’s leading point-getter, finishing with a 4-2-1 record.
The Fighting Mulligans will be gunning for their first-ever three-peat in next year’s BRRC (Oct. 8-11, 2025). In contrast, the Redmen already have two three-peats and even a four-peat. The Redmen lead the historical series at 16-13-2.
2023 – Mulligans Break Through in BRRC’s 30-Year Anniversary Contest
October 7, 2023 – The Fighting Mulligans made a big move early in the afternoon on Day 2 and built a 6-point lead by the end of the Dead Possum Point. They never looked back during Saturday’s final round, winning the 30th playing of the Blue Ridge Ryder Cup by a convincing 28-1/2 to 14-1/2 margin.
Perhaps most noteworthy was the pervasiveness of goodwill and high spirits during the milestone tourney. Team meetings held on Wednesday’s tournament eve helped set the tone, ranging from the Mulligan’s monastic toasts and presentations of honor set to Gregorian Chants and Scottish battlefield scores, to the Redmen’s off-site confab held in nearby Emmitsburg. It was a grand reunion as, even with the infusion of skilled young players, players in this year’s lineups averaged nearly 17 years of BRRC experience.
The tournament began with tight matches prevailing throughout the day Thursday as the Mulligans scratched out a narrow 1 Up lead. In Friday morning’s rounds, the Mulligans pushed the margin up to two. It was the first round that afternoon that proved pivotal, however, as the Redmen were able to muster only a half point out of the four matches. The day ended with the Mulligans prevailing 2&1 in a superbly played Dead Possum Point that featured pars or birdies on five of the eight holes in the team alternating shot format.
Top individual honors were claimed by Colin St. Maxens who, after six years as a Redmen, was competing for the first time in Mulligan garb. Winning all seven of his matches, he was named tourney MVP as its top point-getter.
2022 – Redmen Nip Mulligans Again on Final Day
October 8, 2022 – Good weather prevailed in Pennsylvania’s Carroll Valley throughout the 29 th running of the Blue Ridge Ryder Cup, and in the end the Redmen prevailed over the Fighting Mulligans by a 23-1/2 to 19-1/2 margin. Nothing unusual there as the Redmen now have won 5 of the last 6 tournaments and 9 of the last 12.
What was unusual was the first hole-in-one in BRRC history, struck by Redmen captain Tim Saint- Maxens on Carroll Valley’s No. 3 in Round 7. That first ace arrived on the 2,505 th hole played since the tournament began in 1993.
The three-day competition, which featured the largest field ever with 8-man teams including first-year players Matt Sandlin and Chris and Gene Kim, was not without drama. No team led by more than two points at any time during the first two days, and a Redmen win during Friday’s Dead Possum Point brought the tournament to dead even.
In Saturday’s final 18-hole round, three matches closed early with the Redmen winning two of them, meaning the Mulligan squad needed to win the final match for a draw. However, a major comeback by the Redmen’s Saint-Maxens-Gene Kim pairing, including a win on No. 18 as players looked on, brought that match to a tie and the Cup once again fell to the Redmen.
The Loveable Mulligans did claim a pair of individual honors, however. John Bryan earned tourney MVP honors with his inspired 6-0 start over the first two days and a 6-0-1 finish. Lee Sandlin, by virtue of his victory with son Matt in his final round match, overcame Bryan to be tourney’s top point-getter for the second year in a row.
Other facts:
- The Redmen scored a tournament record 7 Under in an opening 4-man 9-hole scramble
- Despite good weather and four additional players, there were 39% fewer birdies than in 2021
2021 – Redmen Prevail on Final Day
October 9, 2021 – Beginning the final day with a two-point deficit, the Redmen won four of six 18-hole singles matches (each worth two points) over the Fighting Mulligans to capture the 28th Blue Ridge Ryder Cup. It all came down to the final hole of the final match, with captain Tim Saint-Maxens outlasting John Bryan to eke out a 1 Up win and a narrow 17-1/2 to 15-1/2 victory for the Redmen.
Players were grateful to resume the tourney after the COVID-19 pandemic caused the matches to be shelved in 2020 for the first time since the BRRC’s inception in 1993.
The tournament’s first day was dedicated to the memory of long-time players Dennis Jones and John Kennedy, both of whom passed away earlier in the year, with both teams wearing black uniforms and a bagpiper piping in the day’s final holes.
The Fighting Mulligans broke on top with a three-point lead after the opening day on Thursday, outpointing their opponents in all three of the day’s partner rounds but with every match coming down to the final hole. Friday’s rounds went back and forth, and a 3&2 Mulligan win in the Dead Possum Point allowed them to sleep on the lead going into the final day’s all-important singles matches.
Joe Kefauver earned tourney MVP honors with his 5-2-0 record, tops for the Redmen. Lee Sandlin was the tourney’s overall top points-getter with a 5-1-1 record.
Players shattered the BRRC birdie’s record, registering 37 birdies and one eagle over the course of the three-day tournament. In the final round alone, A Players Colin St. Maxens and Lee Sandlin shot 11 birdies between them on their way to rounds of 67 and 68, respectively, with Sandlin coming a hair short (one stroke or two months, depending on how you look at it) of shooting his age.
The Redmen now lead the historical series by a 15-11-2 margin. They have won four of the last five tournaments and 8 of the last 11.
2019 – Fighting Mulligans Break Through
October 12, 2019 – The Fighting Mulligans finally broke through with their first Blue Ridge Ryder Cup win in four years, and just their third win in the last 10 tournaments. The 21-1/2 to 15 point victory was facilitated by some strong golf played by the Mulligan side on the tournament’s final day. The Redmen’s willingness to make some hefty pre-tournament handicap adjustments also was a major factor.
Early on, however, the tournament had a familiar “Redmen roll” feel to it. After the teams halved both scrambles in Thursday’s opening round (featuring a first-time handicap adjustment), the Redmen dominated Rounds 2 and 3 to take a 6-2 lead, an all-too-familiar position in the early going for the Mulligans. But the blue team fought back in the day’s final round with three 1 Up victories to close the deficit to 6-1/2 to 5.
Friday’s matches see-sawed back and forth, with a tied Dead Possum Point at day’s end signifying the closeness of this year’s tournament. Going into the final day, the Mulligans held a miniscule 11-1/2 to 11 point lead.
But, as luck would have it, the final day was to be a distinctly Mulligan day as the team won five of the seven 18-hole singles matches. Narrow leads secured by Mulligan players early in the round were somehow sustained, and the teammates enjoyed their first sips from the champagne-filled Cup in four years.
At the awards banquet that night back in Washington, DC, Charlie Williams, the tournament’s leading point getter, was named the MVP.
The Mulligans’ win narrowed their deficit in the historical series to 14-11-2.
2018 – Redmen Slug Through
October 6, 2018 – Coming into the tournament, the Fighting Mulligans felt they had their best opportunity in years to break the Redmen’s hold on the Blue Ridge Ryder Cup. Things began all too familiar, however, as the Redmen won both of the opening round scrambles and the next two rounds to stake out a 6-1/2 to 2-1/2 lead after Day 1. The Redmen never looked back on their way to a 21 to 12-3/4 victory for their third straight victory and their seventh win in the last nine years.
BRRC veterans had experienced monsoon-like weather at Carroll Valley before but, while it only rained during one round, they had never experienced a course so thoroughly soaked and borderline playable as this one. Months of record-breaking rainfall in the region had created unmowable wetlands throughout the course, traversing rough and fairways alike. For the first time, players were allowed to roll the ball anywhere and, with balls disappearing from sight left, right and middle, a liberal leaf rule was employed.
The quagmire did not dampen the group’s spirits, however, as evidenced by a rousing Dead Possum Point at the end of Friday. The tone was set on the first hole of this alternating shot event when both teams made hefty putts to halve with quadruple bogeys.
With a prohibitive 6-1/4 point lead entering Saturday’s final round, the Redmen offered to convert the format from singles matches worth 2 points each to best-ball matches worth 4 points each. The gracious offer made it possible for the Mulligans to see a path to victory and, indeed, there were points during that final 18-hole round when nothing but blue flags were flying and ‒ had the matches been stopped right there ‒ the Mulligans would have achieved a remarkable comeback win. But the Redmen were steadfast and played inspired golf down the stretch to seal the Cup.
Later that night Colin St. Maxens was named the tournament MVP, in part for birdieing the last two holes in the final round (his fourth and fifth of the round) to clinch the Cup for the Redmen. Altogether, five of the seven Redmen broke the .500 mark in points earned for their team.
The Redmen’s win stretched their lead in the historical series to 14-10-2.
2017 – Redmen Roll in 25th Running
October 7, 2017 – As was only fitting, the 25th Blue Ridge Ryder Cup was blessed with beautiful weather throughout the 3-day competition. The matches were hard fought, but the Redmen took home a solid 21-16 victory over the Fighting Mulligans for their fifth win in the last seven years.
The Redmen set the tone at the outset on Thursday morning as they won both opening scrambles. They pushed their lead to 4-1/2 points by the end of the day and to 7 points by the end of Friday. The Mulligans fought back on Saturday, winning four of seven singles matches, but a silver anniversary miracle was not to be.
The tourney saw several outstanding individual performances. Tim Saint-Maxens took home MVP for pacing the Redmen during the critical first two days with a 5-0 best-ball performance, while Matt Dodds and Tom Scanlan were their team’s top point getters. Mulligan John Bryan was the tournament’s overall top point winner, garnering 4.0 of a possible 5.0 points.
Rookie Logan Sharpe, a Vanderbilt classmate of Charlie and Saint’s, was a great addition to the Mulligans, as was his arranging for a van to shuttle all seven Mulligan spouses up to Carroll Valley for Friday’s Dead Possum Point and dinner. That, and a fabulous Saturday evening awards dinner coordinated by those ladies served as high points for the looking-for-the-silver-lining Mulligan squad.
The Redmen’s win stretched their lead in the historical series to 13-10-2.
2016 – Redmen Reclaim Top of the Hill
October 8, 2016 – The newly opened lodge at Carroll Valley was there to greet players as they arrived for the 24th Blue Ridge Ryder Cup competition. While the new accommodations were serene, the ensuing competition was not.
In what proved to be a fiercely fought tournament throughout, the Redmen eked out a one point lead after the first day. They nudged that lead to two points going into Friday afternoon’s Dead Possum Point, which a determined Mulligan team won to cut the lead back to one going into the final day. But the Redmen prevailed in the singles matches by a 3-2-1 margin to capture the Cup by a final margin of 17.5-14.5.
Two Redmen standouts earned co-MVP awards. Mike Amanuel was the leading point-getter with a 5-0-2 record, while first-timer Colin St. Maxens set a new BRRC record with 13 birdies.
The Redmen’s win pushed their lead in the historical series back up to 12-10-2 as the Blue Ridge Ryder Cup heads into its silver anniversary in the fall of 2017.
2015 – Fighting Mulligans Repeat as Champs
October 10, 2015 – If only they could remember what they had for lunch on Thursday. Right afterwards, the Fighting Mulligans went out for Round 3 on that first day of action and swept all four matches. It gave them a lead they would never relinquish as they marched on to a 22-14.5 win over the Redmen in the 23rd Blue Ridge Ryder Cup.
There was plenty of credit to go around among the blue-clad Mulligans, especially from their Texas contingent. Ace Lee Sandlin, the tourney’s leading point-getter, went a perfect 6-0 in his matches. Tournament MVP Charlie Williams played inspired golf as well, shepherding all five of his best-ball teammates to wins over the first two days before falling victim to Redman Ted Leasure in the final day’s singles match.
With a second straight win in their pocket, the Fighting Mulligans have now clawed back to within one win in the historical series, which the Redmen lead by a 11-10-2 margin.
2014 – Fighting Mulligans Break Through
October 4, 2014 – It had been five long years since the Fighting Mulligans won the Blue Ridge Ryder Cup, so their jubilation over a 24-10 drubbing of the Redmen was not to be contained. Led by Texan Lee Sandlin, fresh off a Round-of-16 showing at the U.S. Senior Amateur, and Tom Patton’s 5-0 performance, the Mulligans led from the start and never looked back in the three-day tourney held at Carroll Valley resort outside Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Aside from Sandlin and Patton, every other Mulligan finished the tournament with a winning record. The top scorer for the Redmen was Joe Kefauver, the only Redman to win his singles match.
Sandlin loaded up on hardware at the Saturday night awards banquet back in Washington. Aside from the pewter goblet awarded to each member of the winning team and the pewter plate each player receives upon completion of his second year of BRRC competition, Sandlin was awarded the MVP pewter cordial.
The Redmen now lead the series at 11-9-2.
2013 – Redmen Break New Ground with Three-Peat
October 5, 2013 – The Redmen never trailed on their way to a 17-1/2 to 13-1/2 victory over the Fighting Mulligans in the 21st Blue Ridge Ryder Cup held on Oct. 3-5 at Carroll Valley near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Captain Tim Saint-Maxens earned the MVP award for shepherding the Redmen to a BRRC-record third victory in a row.
The Redmen held leads of two points after Day 1 and four points after Day 2, meaning the Mulligans needed to win four of six individual matches on the final day to earn a tie. That fourth win seemed possible when Rich Kristobek won the 17th hole to square his match with Redman John Kennedy. But Kennedy’s clutch up and down from the rear bunker for par on the 18th sealed the Cup for his comrades.
The Mulligans’ cause was aided by a tournament-high point performance from Tom Patton and strong outings from Charlie Williams and Tom Yockey, a first-time BRRCer who threw together multiple par strings and much needed energy for the Mulligan cause. Ted Leasure once again was a leading point-earner for the Redmen, followed closely by Kennedy and Joe Kefauver, who earned the pewter plate for his second year of BRRC competition.
The awards banquet back in Washington, DC featured spirited companionship and a truly fabulous spread prepared by Mulligan spouses. A pleasant surprise came with the debut performance of the moving “Blue Ridge Ryder Cup,” a song composed and played for the group by Williams.
2012 – Redmen Roll in Milestone 20th BRRC
September 30, 2012 – The Redmen steamrolled the Fighting Mulligans for a second straight year, winning the highly prized 20th edition of the Blue Ridge Ryder Cup by a 20-11 margin. Building leads of two points after Thursday and seven points after Friday, the Redmen cruised in Saturday’s final round, winning three of six singles matches and halving another.
Redmen Bill Sauer, whose superb play on the first two days helped set the pace for his team, and Ernie LePire, the tourney’s leading point winner, earned co-MVP honors. Detailed results for the tournament can be found here.
The Saturday night festivities featured some truly special touches in honor of the BRRC’s 20-year mark. While players and spouses enjoyed cocktails in the sylvan setting of Tom and Elizabeth Patton’s back yard, a bagpiper emerged to lead the celebrants through the neighborhood ─ with Mulligan and Redmen flags flying ─ to Tom and Susan St. Maxens’ home for the banquet.
After the presentation of the players’ awards, Mulligan players surprised the captains with gifts: framed letters congratulating the Mulligans and Redmen on their 20th annual tournament, calling the Blue Ridge Ryder Cup “a great example of the traditions that make golf such a wonderful sport.” The letters were graciously signed by some of the world’s most revered golfers:
| Keegan Bradley | Greg Norman |
| Ben Crenshaw | Arnold Palmer |
| Ernie Els | Brandt Snedeker |
| Fred Funk | Colin St. Maxens |
| Davis Love | Lee Trevino |
| Phil Mickelson | Tom Watson |
| Jack Nicklaus |
The well wishes of such an august group for another 20 years of “great success” were humbling and appreciated. We will do our best