The Montecristo Cup

Gordon Mott
Posted: December 15, 2005

The seventh annual Montecristo Cup, sponsored by Altadis U.S.A. Inc., was held last week at the Hyatt Dorado Beach in Puerto Rico. About 100 golfers and Champions Tour professionals teed it up for three and a half days of golf and sun in a pro-am tournament. The event, and the silent auctions held during the weekend, raised more than $175,000 after expenses for the Cup's primary charity, a hurricane relief fund.

The Champions Tour attendees included Jim Thorpe and Dana Quigley, who tied for the low score in the professional's competition. Others included Peter Oakley, the Senior British Open champion, Lonnie Nielsen, Jim Albus, Larry Ziegler, Larry Laoretti, Jerry McGee and Gibby Gilbert, among the nearly 20 pros who took part. The format included a practice round on Thursday at the Hyatt's famed East Course, designed by Robert Trent Jones, with each foursome playing nine holes with a different professional golfer. During the 18-hole rounds on Friday and Saturday, each foursome played with a different pro each day. The competition was a modified scramble both Thursday and Friday, with the foursome using the best drive -- including the pro's -- and then playing their own ball to the hole. Saturday was a full scramble, using the best-ball score between the pro and the four amateurs. Points were awarded for the top finishers each day. Pros were selected for the foursome by spinning a roulette wheel with 20 numbers for the players.

Two amateur foursomes tied for the overall win. One group comprised Altadis senior vice president Jim Colucci, Devon Quigley, Paul Del Rossi and Abdiel Ortiz. The other winning group was John Manning, Gary Scott, Tim Morris and John Gleber. Daily winners were Henry Longacre, Cory Longacre, Bob Longacre and Tom Bergy on Thursday; Joe Martiriano, Joe Arrigo, Arthur Malaussena and Tom Fiocchi on Friday; and Craig Cass, José Seijas, Lew Rothman and Steve Norell on Saturday.

There were dinners Wednesday and Thursday nights, with wines provided by Beringer, one of the Cup's co-sponsors. The awards were presented at the closing banquet, which was held at the Hyatt's Surf Room on Saturday night. Other event sponsors included Cigar Aficionado magazine, NetJets, Cadillac and Hyatt Hotels.

Photos by Mitchell Gam