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57th Annual Goldwater Cup to take place next week

PHOENIX – The Goldwater Cup takes to its 57th edition next week, pitting the top-24 amateur golfers in Arizona and the top-24 PGA Professionals from golf clubs across the state against each other.
For the fifth year in a row, the Goldwater Cup, named after the late Bob Goldwater, will be hosted by the Phoenix Country Club on Monday, Sept. 18.  The format includes four ball matches in the morning and single matches in the afternoon, with points awarded to the association of the winning teams.
Bob Goldwater passed away in 2006 at age 96, having lived an impactful life in the Arizona world of golf. A former state amateur champion himself and an Arizona Golf Hall of Famer, Goldwater is known as the “Father of the Waste Management Phoenix Open” as he saved the event from discontinuation in 1939 as a member of the Thunderbirds.
Although Mr. Goldwater is no longer personally making calls to invite players each year, the Arizona Golf Association and the Southwest PGA section is making sure the history and tradition of this event is remembered and continued each year.  
Representing the AGA open team this year will be Blaine Staggs, Grant Cesarek, Adam Walicki, Greg Cesarek, Michael Martin, Rob McIver, Bryan Hoops, Jackson Whisenhunt, Abe Candelaria III, Shankar Natarajan, Sean O’Donnell, and Ken Tanigawa. The senior team will feature David Galbraith, Bruce Pape, Brad Wayment, Ron Wood, Tom Sweigart, Ken Kellaney, Jeff New, Jeff Benton, Cyrus Whitney, Marc Apps, Lee Decof, and Tim Blau.
Representing the Southwest PGA open team will be Michael Hopper, Marty Jertson, Dennis Downs, Craig Hocknull, Chris Dompier, Matt VanCleave, David Engram, Mark Leibfried, Jeff Yurkiewicz, Philip Cardwell, and Jason Magee. The senior team includes Ralph West, Blayne Hobbs, Greg Avant, Randy Wittig, Larry Mackin, Bob Mann, Greg Harmon, Mike Wright, RW Eaks, Bob Blean, and Paul Trittler. 
Last year, the Southwest PGA teams beat the AGA, 10-8 and 12-6, in the open and senior division teams, respectively.