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Home > What's New > The Montecristo Cup
The Montecristo Cup
Posted: Monday, December 09, 2002
By Gordon Mott
It's that time of year again. I have to be careful what I tell people about my last seven days. Now mind you, there's nothing criminal or unethical about those days. It's just that I am privileged every year to represent Cigar Aficionado magazine at the Montecristo Cup, a Champions Tour Pro-Am that we co-sponsor in Puerto Rico at the Hyatt Dorado Beach.
How dicey was it this year? Well, I left my house last Wednesday, December 4, before dawn, and the temperature was 16 degrees. Just more than 24 hours later, as I was lounging on the beach in my swimsuit, watching the waves roll in off the Atlantic, a cigar and a piña colada in hand, there were seven inches of snow on my driveway. Yeah, right, nobody was, or will ever, feel sorry for me.
Nor should you. The Montecristo Cup is simply one of the best four days of golf, cigars, food and wine, and camaraderie that you will ever find anywhere on the planet. As Dana Quigley, a top Champions Tour pro, said at one night's dinner: "You know, we do this for a living. And this is by far the best pro-am event that we do. I had a great time today, and I'm not just saying that, like I usually do. It was a great time today."
Let's get one thing out of the way -- it's not cheap. Every year, there are people for whom it is a major extravagance who attend the event. They plan for several years, and they look at the $5,000 entry fee as a once-in-a-decade kind of experience. I've never heard anyone complain about it afterward. Why? Because everything is done first-class. The meals are great. The pros on the Champions Tour (formerly the Senior PGA Tour) are totally relaxed, and while they're out playing for charity money and bragging rights, they also want their amateurs to do well and to win the amateur tournament.
Plus, there are more cigars than you'd ever want. There are cigars in your goody bag when you arrive. There are cigars every morning in your golf cart. There are cigars at lunch. There are cigars at the cocktail party and at the dinners. And, we're talking about the best cigars made by Altadis, the other co-sponsor of the event. Romeo y Julietas. Trinidads. Onyx. Montecristo Serie Vs and the new Montecristo Platinums, H. Upmanns and Flor de Copans. On top of that every year, the tournament's participants receive a unique humidor filled with cigars; this year, it will be a Montecristo pyramid humidor filled with the Platinum Series cigars.
The tournament began last Thursday with a practice round. That's a good thing, because it takes some time getting used to the Bermuda grass greens and the steady trade winds that blow off the Atlantic Ocean. There are two 18-hole scramble-format rounds on Friday and Saturday. Each foursome is paired with a pro, and the group can use their pro's drive and his score. But there are always lots of birdies to be had by everyone. Allan Doyle, last year's Charles Schwab cup winner on the Champions Tour, won the professional tournament, with the defending champion Jim Thorpe in second place.
I must be getting old. Last year, I played another 18 holes every afternoon, trying to pack in as many holes of golf as seemed humanly possible before my winter layoff. After 108 holes at last year's event, I decided to take it easy this year, and I ended up only playing about 63 holes of golf. But don't get too worried about my health; one afternoon was totally rained out by a tropical downpour.
I'm already dreaming about next year. I finally broke my jinx on one of my nemesis holes there, and I discovered how much I like Romeo y Julietas. [Every cigar aficionado should seriously think about taking the plunge, and start planning for next year's tournament.] I guarantee that if you're a golfer who likes to have fun and smoke cigars, you won't have a better time anywhere else.
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