A little over three years after playing his first official tournament, Danny Huneycutt (Lexington, NC) has won his first USCA national title. Huneycutt won the singles at the 2005 USCA International Rules National Championships, played May 3—June 5 at the Puget Sound Croquet Club in Kirkland, WA. In the final match he beat Paul Scott (Raleigh, NC), -26tp, +17, +25tp.

Five NC players entered the tournament. Other than the victorious Huneycutt, each of these players was eliminated by one of the others: Scott knocked out Andy Short (Chapel Hill) and Jeff Soo (Chapel Hill), while Huneycutt beat defending champion Bob Cherry (Pinehurst) and three-time defending doubles champion Scott.

Both players faced tough paths to the final. Scott’s quarterfinal opponent was top seed Jerry Stark, the 2000 singles champion (and his partner in winning the 2004 doubles title). Scott won the match -26tp, +26tp, +26tp. Then he played Curtis Drake, last year’s runner up and the current Golf Croquet national champion. Scott won this match +26tp, +3.

Huneycutt beat Cherry in the quarters, +18, +22tp. He then naturally expected to meet #2 seed Leo McBride, a three-time winner of this tournament, consistently one of the best players in North America. But McBride suffered a shocking loss to the unseeded Carl Uhlman, a Puget Sound local taking full advantage of a remarkable patch of single-ball form. Uhlman’s uncanny shooting continued through much of the semi-finals, but cracks in the armor finally appeared in game 3, allowing Huneycutt to advance +5, -16, +25.

The final was a high-quality match. Scott won the first game +26tp without allowing Huneycutt on the lawn. Huneycutt found his roquet again in game 2, allowing him to overcome his one breakdown of the match to win +17. Scott made an error of his own early in game 3, then missed the lift shot to allow Huneycutt to close out the match +25tp.

Last modified on 23 November 2005