Saturday, August 11, 2012

Egan Cup Moves to Ontario!

Hi Gang,

The 2012 Egan Cup is now history.  After being in New Brunswick, and around the globe, for the last two years it is back in Ontario where it belongs.  And the Winner is:


The proud winner of the Egan Cup is Shawn McGuire with daughter Megan cheering him on.  He was so happy to be the 6th Champion he was speechless.  More about this later.

What a weekend we had weather wise.  The weather was so hot and sunny that it was too hot to drink beer on the deck until the sun went down.  The outdoor pool was the hit for the weekend.  And yes, it was accident free as no one let Judy drive a cart and Sybil came home without scars.  Gaye was guarded 24/7 so that she wouldn't fall this weekend and she made it back to London without visiting any hospitals.

Betty and Pat had been in Toronto for this hot weather for a week and when everyone met Betty she kept telling everyone she couldn't live here because of the heat.  Of course you have to put this into perspective after living years in the Bay of Fundy Fog.

Most of us arrived on Friday night and the happy hour started really early.  The rest of the gang arrived on Saturday in time for the Junior Golf tournament.  Tim and Liam played with Sean and Ty for the first foursome.  Brad and Shamus teamed up with Leo and Brayden for the second foursome.  It was a hot one but the kids all enjoyed there 9 holes of golf.  There was no one winner as they were all winners.

Saturday night saw the gang going to Alliston for supper where Doug's porsche was a hit with the kids. Check it out in the parking lot with Liam driving and Ty holding on.


And there is even room for two sets of golf clubs.  Doug was just back from fighting crime in China, but we won't go there with that story.

Sunday was the big day with the Egan Cup on the line.  We had 24 golfers playing for the top prize and everyone wanted to take it home and show their friends and neighbours.  The four brothers lead off the golf and played together for the first time.  It was a historical moment.  Here are the photos of the 24 golfers in the 2012 Egan Cup.  You can double click on the photos to get a closer view.







Notice the first photo where Tim stuck it to the par 3 18th and won the closest to the pin.  He also won the long drive of the day but his 81 couldn't beat Pat with a 76 or me with a 79.  He cried in his beer the rest of the day.  Pat and I were riding in the same cart and at times I had his shaking in his golf shoes as he thought I was going to beat him.

As you can see the weather was great, the best we have had for golf at Nottawasaga Resort.  It was then time for the putting contest and just like last year Dave, Juilet and Ainsley showed up to party with the gang. Great that you could make it again this year and to see Ainsley playing with her cousins was special.

The putting contest ended with a tie and Liam and Shamus had to putt off.  Shamus was great but he has only been playing golf for a year or so and was no match for Liam the Pro who won the playoff.  He received the new Putting Trophy that he keeps for a year and travels all over the world with it and brings it back for the competition next year. Liam was given the new putting champ trophy and I heard after that Alx wants to put a plaque on it stating 'The Egan Putt'.  Great idea.

The meal was at 6 PM so it was a rush to get to the meal on time.  He was a great meal and then everyone retired to the booked room in the basement for the presentations.  Everyone wanted to win the Egan Cup but we all know their is only one winner and many would go home disappointed.

I wish I had the words to express what a great job Steve and Anne Marie did for the Egan Cup this year. Their presentation was out of this world.  They had a slid show of all the old photos and some I had never seen before.  They even travelled to McAdam and interviewed the Mayor - Frank Carroll.  Frank was interviewed by Steve about the McGuire Gang.  The best part was when he said that Gaye was his favourite teacher and it was because of him that he went into teaching for the next 40 years.  Steve with your shots at George you are now a true member of the McGuire Gang.

Now for a little sidebar.  Cooper was sitting by me when he saw the photo of  Mom and her photo on the screen.  He asked me who she was and the 3 year old also wanted to know if she died.  Then a few seconds later he said:  "Papa, when I get home I am going to draw you a picture of your Mom so you won't forget her."  Amazing.

Then after the many prizes given out by Steve and Anne Marie for the kids and the long and shot drives it was time to find out who was the winner for 2012.  Pat had the computer set up and all the kids were around to push the button to find out who won.  It came out as a tie.  Doug and Shawn were tied after Doug shot 81 and Shawn 105 but the Callaway Scoring Systems had them equal at 70.

Everyone was watching Doug and Shawn for the final push of the button to see who won.  You could tell they were both nervous and wanted the fame.  When Shawn was declared the winner he was speechless. After hearing the roars of the crowd he slowly made his way and accepted the Egan Cup.  I suspect that he will have it when he runs the Boston Marathon next year.

It was now time for the Entertainment portion of the evening.  Cooper led off this portion with a joke as it was time for him to go to bed.  He stood on a chair and all his cousins gathered around him.  Then in a clear voice he said:  "Do you know why the M and M went to school?"  All his cousins said NO and then he said:  "Because he wanted to be a Smartie."  The place went up and Cooper loved it.  In fact I think he thought every kid at the hotel was his cousin as he said hello to every kid he saw.

Then Alex played the piano and did an amazing job.  Not to be out done, Ty showed his talent on the keyboard for all to hear.  Morgan and Baily also played a tune and took bows for their performance.  Little Joey was not there this year but it is hoped he can make it next year.  Then Deb and Dave pulled out the guitars for the final sing song.  Great job everyone.

Then things got a bit foggy as we had our own booze in the room.  Someone else will have to take over now.

The Original 2007 Egan Cup Champ.