2026 Men’s Invitational
The Men’s Invitational, the Club’s annual member-guest, was held this past weekend, with the team of Dr. Andy Ambrister and Joe Nolan taking home the coveted Caddie Shack trophies as this year’s champions.
The field of 108 players began arriving on Wednesday for practice rounds and capped off the evening with a putting competition, closest to the hole and a dine-around at the Clubhouse.
Thursday and Friday featured two 9-hole matches each day, with dinner at the Party Barn on Thursday night and at the Pavilion on Friday night. The play also included some fireworks, as “Coach” Mike Smith aced the 6th hole on Thursday, while Jeff Brighton matched the hole-in-one with one of his own on the 12th hole on Friday.
During Thursday evening’s dinner, members also gathered for the unveiling of a painting honoring Founder Jim McGlothlin, marking one year since his passing.
Saturday morning was the final team match before the flight winners were determined and advanced to the Shootout. In addition to the nine flight winners, the Wild Card team advanced, which represented the team with the most points in Match 5 that did not win their flight.
Flight Winners:
- Jack Tickle & Chase Roswall (Pine Valley)
- Marcellus Osceola & Eddie Jones (Augusta National)
- Dr. Mark Chang & Jim Cooper (Cypress Point)
- Josh Harville & Mike DiPaolo (Shinnecock Hills)
- Dr. Andy Armbrister & Joe Nolan (Oakmont)
- Jackson Gayle & Will Crump (Merion)
- Ken Hayes & Dr. Chad Couch (Pebble Beach)
- Bill Osceola & Marco Salemi (Winged Foot)
- Don Shawl & Terrell Burkhart (Sand Hills)
- Gary Gilbert & John Spilman (Wild Card)
The alternate-shot Shootout started on #10 and continued on #11 and #12 with teams being eliminated along the way, until the final two teams of Armbrister-Nolan and Gilbert-Spilman made it to the 19th hole for the finale.
Armbrister hit first and executed a nice shot to about 20 feet just behind the hole to a diabolical hole location. Nolan lagged the birdie attempt to perfection, leaving just a tap-in for par for Armbrister to clinch the victory.
Congratulations to all the flight winners and to our 2026 champions. Thank you to all who participated, and I hope to see you at the Club soon.
