​Tons of talent in River Cup Men's Competition

By Steve Stein

There are former professional golfers. Former and current collegiate golfers. Veteran golfers who have dominated the local golf scene for years. Two sets of fathers and sons. That's the 10,000-foot view of the Team Peoria and Team Tazwood teams that will duke it out this weekend in the Men's competition of the 32nd annual River Cup tournament at Mt. Hawley Country Club in Peoria.

Team Tazwood leads Team Peoria 19-12 in the all-time series. But Team Peoria has beaten Team Tazwood twice in the past three years, including 10-8 last year at Coyote Creek Golf Club in Bartonville. A deep dive into this weekend's tournament pairings reveals some fascinating matches put together by first-year Captains Britt Bothast of Team Peoria and Austin Craig of Team Tazwood. Bothast and Craig agreed the best ball match Saturday between Team Peoria's Brien Davis and Steven Taylor and Team Tazwood's Brian Draher and Jason Woll could set the tone for the tournament.

Those teams are arguably Team Peoria's and Team Tazwood's top best ball duos. Unless the match is a draw, either Team Peoria or Team Tazwood will gain a huge victory and the other team will absorb a tough loss. Davis/Taylor vs. Draher/Woll will tee off at 11:10 a.m., the second group to hit the course. "That's a crucial early match." Craig said.

Team Tazwood's two father/son combinations -- Tim and Ryan Saurs and Curt and Mason Minkel -- will team up in best ball matches. Curt Minkel will be playing in the River Cup for the 28th time. Mason Minkel will be playing for the fifth time. For Tim and Ryan Saurs, it will be appearance No. 21. The Saurs will face Team Peoria's Andrew Wuethrich and Jeremy Ott. The Minkels will take on Team Peoria's John Ehrgott and Quinn Cox. Tee-off times are 11:20 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., respectively. Tim Saurs is returning to the River Cup Men's competition after playing in the senior competition for a few years. It's a logical move.

"Tim has been playing a lot of golf since he retired a couple years ago, and he's really playing well," Craig said. "Plus, I know he likes playing Mt. Hawley and it's a short course, so it fits his game."

There are some big-time individual matches Sunday, too. If the championship comes down to the final two individual matches, each team will be confident about emerging victorious. Taylor will oppose Curt Minkel and Scott Phegley will face Mason Minkel. They'll tee off at 11:50 a.m.

"That's quite a powerhouse foursome," Craig said.

Earlier Sunday, each captain will have an important individual match. Craig will face Wuethrich at 11 a.m. in one of the kickoff individual matches and Bothast will take on Carter Stevenson at 11:10 a.m.

"Hopefully, I'll get the point (for winning the match) and spend the rest of the day cheering on my team," Craig said. "I'm sure Britt feels the same way about his match."

Indeed he does. Bothast said he's thrilled and honored to be a team captain.

"After watching the River Cup several times when I was a kid, I really wanted to play in it," he said. I never dreamed I'd be a team captain."

Three collegiate golfers who will be playing at Mt. Hawley this weekend recently played in national championships. Another collegiate golfer had a breakout freshman season. Mason Minkel helped West Florida reach the match play quarterfinals in the NCAA Division II tournament. West Florida lost to West Texas A&M, but Minkel shot 73 and won his match by one stroke. Team Peoria's DJ Norman and Cox were on the Illinois Central College team that placed ninth of 22 teams at the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II tournament. Stevenson was Bradley's top golfer as a freshman. He tied for eighth place In the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.

Here are the Men's River Cup matchups this weekend:

SATURDAY'S MATCHES June 8, 2024 Mt. Hawley CC
BEST BALL STROKE PLAY
11:00 a.m. -- Scott Phegley/Jake Schneider (Peoria) vs. Carter Stevenson/DJ Norman (Tazwood)
11:10 a.m. -- Brien Davis/Steven Taylor (Peoria) vs. Brian Draher/Jason Woll (Tazwood)
11:20 a.m. -- Andrew Wuethrich/Jeremy Ott (Peoria) vs. Tim Saurs/Ryan Saurs (Tazwood)
11:30 a.m. -- John Ehrgott/Quinn Cox (Peoria) vs. Curt Minkel/Mason Minkel (Tazwood)
11:40 a.m. -- Britt Bothast/Ryan Brown (Peoria) vs. Tim Sheppard/Austin Craig (Tazwood)
11:50 a.m. -- Scott Frankenreider/Doug Middendorf (Peoria) vs. Jason Boeker/Ryan Cusack (Tazwood)

SUNDAY'S MATCHES June 9, 2024 Mt. Hawley CC
INDIVIDUAL MATCH PLAY

11:00 a.m. -- Andrew Wuethrich vs. Austin Craig; Brien Davis vs. Jason Boeker
11:10 a.m. -- Britt Bothast vs. Carter Stevenson; John Ehrgott vs. Ryan Saurs
11:20 a.m. -- Scott Frankenreider vs. DJ Norman; Quinn Cox vs. Tim Saurs
11:30 a.m. -- Doug Middendorf vs. Jason Woll; Jake Schneider vs. Ryan Cusack
11:40 a.m. -- Jeremy Ott vs. Brian Draher; Ryan Brown vs. Tim Sheppard
11:50 a.m. -- Steven Taylor vs. Curt Minkel; Scott Phegley vs. Mason Minkel