Bellaire, MI--The James E. Vos Memorial Invitational tournament committee confirmed today Kyle VanderWal will, in fact, return in 2011 to defend his 2010 "Stroke Saver" MVP title. The announcement comes on the heels of disappointing news that rookie, Sam Vos, has withdrawn from this year's tournament.
The junior VanderWal stunned the tournament last year with stellar play, dropping just one early match and going on to a 5-1 record ending with a "single-double" in Saturday singles--a feat never before accomplished.
Kyle's first round loss seems so unlikely now. The seemingly perfect pairing with the always dangerous, highly competitive, Ken Terpstra got off to a fast start against opponents Bob Warners and Dave Tanis, going 1-up on the first hole. But the match was on after that with Warners either birdieing or net birdieing five consecutive holes on the front nine for a 42 and a 3-up lead. Terpstra and VanderWal would never recover with Kyle shooting his highest round of the weekend: an 83.
It was all-Kyle-all-the-time after that.
Paired with John Topliff in Thursday afternoon stroke play they defeated Jim Warners and his dad, "Gimpy" VanderWal +2--a win that surely put a smile on the younger VanderWal's face. Friday morning the young VanderWal, paired with Jon Vos, took his revenge on Bob Warners, defeating Bob and partner John Mulder 4&3. Friday afternoon's scramble match, paired with Chris Grek and against Jim Warners and John Mulder, was nothing short of a pummeling. Warners and Mulder played admirably but were simply overmatched on this day losing by a whopping 9 strokes, a match they would likely just as soon forget.
But it was Saturday's play that cemented the MVP trophy. While the two Fairway Finders and Recovery Shots teams were evenly matched 8 on 8 heading into the tournament, John Topliff had to unexpectedly leave Friday night due to a family emergency leaving the Fairway Finders one man down going into Saturday singles. Tournament rules allow the team which is down one player to send a player of their choosing out in singles match play to face two opposing team members, effectively playing two separate singles matches. The likely choice was Kyle who willingly accepted the challenge and drew Jim Warners and Brian VanHall as his two singles opponents.
It's a heavy load to bear and tournament history has shown the likely outcome is a split. The tournament has seen this awkward three-way singles pairing on three previous occasions and every time it has ended in a split with each team winning one and losing one.
But this was no ordinary tournament and no ordinary rookie. Perhaps playing his steadiest round of the tournament Kyle fired an 8-over score of 80, defeating both Warners and VanHall 5&4. Dormie by hole 13, he closed them out with par on the 14th hole. Though no birdies on the card, it was his stellar play, especially on the return nine (and perhaps the erratic play of VanHall and Warners) that earned him the rare "single-double" and the coveted Stroke Saver MVP.
Kyle is surely a marked man as he enters the 2011 tournament. He is not only the reigning MVP but has the unfortunate distinction of being yet another VanderWal to win the Stroke Saver trophy. The VanderWal family has owned the MVP distinction two year's running, the senior VanderWal winning in 2009. While other father-son combos have held the MVP honor, it has never happened in consecutive years until last year.
In related news, Kyle replaces Sam Vos who unexpectedly withdrew from the 2011 tournament due to other golf commitments. Vos, who plays on the West Michigan Christian High School golf team, will likely be playing with his team in Michigan high school regionals at that time.
While saddened by Vos' withdrawal, the committee wishes Sam well and anticipates his entry into the 25th anniversary tournament in 2012.
