August 14–17: Pinehurst Resort & Country Club

Mack Penwell won his third North Carolina state title at the sixteenth annual NC State Championship. Penwell is the second player to win this title at least three times, and the first to do so in three different decades (’88, ’99 and ’03). Danny Huneycutt was the runner-up; he also directed the tournament.

The twenty-four players enjoyed Pinehurst’s lawns, immaculate as usual. But they had to cope with brutal heat and humidity, plus thunderstorms most afternoons.

Dick Loew won the First Flight, thankful that the format was true double-elimination. Bob Minick had won the first game of the final, forcing the “if needed” game, which Loew won. Minick did manage to pick up an impressive 41 handicap tracking points for the tournament.

Andy Williamson and Conrad Haas didn’t care what the format was, as long as they got to play lots of games. They played two against each other on Sunday, Williamson winning both to take the Second Flight title.

The Third Flight final matched husband against wife, Casper Essick eking out a win against Becky Essick.

Penwell’s play during the tournament shows his determination to keep up with the times and stay competitive. Ten years ago, when Penwell won the national singles title, waiting for the opponent to make a mistake was still often the winning strategy, even at the top level of American Rules play. But standards have risen and certain plays once deemed reckless are now seen as smart aggressive tactics.

Penwell’s trademark has long been his knack for aggressive end-game play, and he now often uses the same approach at the start of the game. He did so in both games of the final against Huneycutt, taking control of each game with full-court take-off to attack a corner ball. Including the earlier semi-final against Andy Short, Penwell played three games of error-free croquet on Sunday to win the title.

Championship Flight

First Flight

Second Flight

Third Flight

Last modified on 12 December 2004 by Jeff Soo