2020 KC Open: A Griffith Double

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KC Open Pro Finalists: Bryce Millican and Matt GriffithTOP SEEDS FALL EARLY

PARKVILLE, MO -- The shortened version of the Kansas City Open ran smooth this past Saturday at Kactus Creek Croquet Club and the event saw Matt Griffith and Ellie Griffith defend their home court.

The Pro and Gold Divisions started together in an open bracket with losers from round one moving into a Gold playoff. Winners in that round advanced in the Pro Playoff and faced off against the top four seeds -- all of whom had a bye in the first round. The quarterfinals produced a lot of excitment as two the top seeds were upset. 

PHOTOS | PRO PLAYOFF | GOLD PLAYOFF | SCORESHEET

Ron Millican came out of round one with a 24-11 win over Colton Lennard and to face #3 seed Greg Clouse. Millican was previously 1-5 versus Clouse, but he came through with a 15-12 upset and now has taken two-in-a row vs Clouse. The bigger surprise though occurred in the top half of the bracket where #9 seed Bryce Millican advanced to face #1 Matt Smith. This tournament represented the first Pro action for Millican, while Smith came in with a 22-2 record. Millican shocked the veteran with a 21-13 upset to advance to the semifinals.

I played Millican in that round and we had a nice long outgame, where I theoretically had the upper hand. Millican kept his composure though and stayed clean, while I picked up enough deadness to stall out. He was clever enough to avoid the clearing wicket as the clock wound down and took a 16-13 win to advance to the final.

Matt Griffith was the only top seed to perform his duty as he advanced in round one 27-11 over Jodi Adams and then got into a bit of tussle with Ron Millican in the semifinals, but advanced 18-14.

He was in top form in the final though and utilized an early two-ball break and out of bounds croquet shot error by Bryce to roll to a 32-2 perfect score pegout win. It was Griffith's fourth KC Open title and record 11th Nine Wicket Series Pro tournament win.

GOLD BRACKET

The Gold Playoff semifinals squared off on the north court and Jim Ratzlaff and Colton Lennard got into a high-scoring battle with newcomer Lennard. Lennard prevailed with an impressive 26-24 victory. The other semi had a similar matchup with newcomer Valerie Andruss taking on veteran Ellie Griffith -- two-time Gold 9WS champion. Griffith was on form and took a 24-9 win to advance to the final.

She continued the form there and defeated Lennard 25-15 to claim repeat as the KC Open Gold Division champion and secure the sweep for the Griffiths.

NOTES

  • Matt Griffith became the first player to reach 2,000 9WS Pro points -- reaching 2,016 in the title game.
  • Jodi Adams came into the 2020 KC Open with 664 career Pro Points and 10th on the all-time list. She scored 36 on Saturday to reach 700 career points and move ahead of Paul Miller for ninth on the all-time list.
  • Dylan Goodwin and Ron Millican kept active 9WS streaks alive are the only two players to have played in all 27 events.
  • The event had 12 entries which exceeded expectations considering the COVID-19 global pandemic. 15 total players showed interest.

 

Era of Domination Continues

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Matt Griffith put an exclamation point on his fourth straight MCA Pro Nine Wicket Series win as he took me down 26-24 in yesterday's final at the 2018 MCA Championship at Kactus Creek Croquet Club in Parkville, Missouri.

In reality, Griffith had pretty much claimed the 9WS Series by the time the final started as he held a 30-point lead at the start of the game. I did make a go of it with an out-game approach with blue, but it didn't take Griffith long to get in and wrap up the Cup chase by taking yellow through wicket #3.

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KC Open Pro Report: Swiss Battle Royale

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The 2018 Kansas City Open Pro Division offered a day designed for the croquet hardcore. Matt Griffith and I squared off in the final yesterday at about 5:30 p.m. at Kactus Creek Croquet Club in Parkville, Missouri, after playing five straight games. In total, we played eight hours of croquet with about 15 minutes for a quick lunch after round two.
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Clouse is the 2018 Pro 9WS Leader

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While Matt Griffith and Ron Millican took the glory at the 2018 Lee's Summit T-Bone MCA opener, it was Greg Clouse that slipped in to snag the early lead in the Nine Wicket Pro Series with 116 points. Clouse faired better in the conditions than any other player and averaged 23.20 wickets on the day.
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Griffith Gets Ninth Title

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Matt Griffith made his way through the MCA's most challenging event to claim his ninth MCA Pro title this past Saturday at the 2018 Lee's Summit T-Bone Croquet Tournament at Howard Park in Lee's Summit, Missouri. He finished with a tight 16-14 win over Ron Millican in the final, which was a re-match of their block game where Millican took a a 24-13* win. 
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2017 MCA Championship Finals Results

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BELTON, MO -- The MCA wrapped up the 2017 season yesterday at the Country Club of Loch Lloyd in Belton, Missouri. Championship game scores are below and links to the full knock brackets follow. Full report and photos to be posted later.

PRO FINAL: Matt Griffith 26, Dylan Goodwin 15
GOLD FINAL: Steve Jackson 23, Ellie Griffith 12
SILVER FINAL: Darin Watson 24, Cade Millican 15

PRO BRACKET: challonge.com/17mcaprochampionship
GOLD BRACKET: challonge.com/17goldchampionship
SILVER BRACKET: challonge.com/17silverchampionship

2017 MCA Championship at Loch Lloyd Line-ups

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All qualified players are checked in and the line-ups are set for the 2017 MCA Championship to be held this Saturday, September 16, 2017 at Loch Lloyd in Belton, Missouri. The Pro Division will start at 8:30 a.m. with a projected championship game start time of 11:00 a.m. The Gold Division will start at approximately 12:30 p.m. and will also incorporate the Silver Championship. Four players that fall from the Gold Playoff will move into the Silver Championship while the Gold Championship progresses. The Pro Division will have a court available if knocked out players after round one would like to have a plate.
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MCA Championship Headed to Loch Lloyd

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The MCA is pleased to announce that the 2017 MCA Championship will be held at Loch Lloyd in Belton, Missouri, on September 16, 2017. The Pro Division will have the morning start this year and will begin play at 8:30 a.m. The Gold Division start time will follow the Pro Championship, so the estimated start time is 12:20 p.m. The traditional all-white croquet apparel rule will be in effect for this event, which happens to be the fifth MCA Championship since the start of the Nine Wicket Series (9WS) in 2013. Loch Lloyd also has a dress code and details on that will be provided soon.
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2017 USCA 9 Wicket Nationals Set

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The 2017 USCA National 9 Wicket Championship hosted by Kactus Creek Croquet Club will be held at English Landing Park in downtown Parkville, Missouri, September 22-24, 2017. The event will have a Championship Flight and a First Flight Singles and Doubles. The maximum number of entries is 24. The tournament will use standard USCA 9 Wicket Rules with options 1,1b,2,3,4,5,6,8.
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2017 KC Open: Griffith Clinches Pro 9WS

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With the dust settling on a big weekend of action at the Kansas City Open held at the Kactus Creek Croquet Club in Parkville, Missouri, the numbers all add up to a three-peat for Matt Griffith in the MCA Nine Wicket Series as he now leads the overall race by more than the 96 points that will be available at the MCA Championship in September.
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2017 KC Open: Early Pro Report

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PARKVILLE, MO -- Matt Griffith took the 2017 Kansas City Open Pro Division title with a tight 19-17 win over Billy Bob Breeden at Kactus Creek Croquet Club in Parkville, Missouri. Griffith has now won three of the four Kansas City Open Pro titles and a record seven MCA Pro titles. Griffith advanced to the final after a 23-16 win over Dylan Goodwin. Breeden made it to the final after winning 24-22 thriller over Greg Adams in the semifinals.

Tomorrow the action resumes as the Gold players will hit the courts at 8:30 a.m. look to gain slots in the final eight for the MCA Gold Championship in September. 

Last Turns Action Hero

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After a day of battle at the 2017 Eagles' Landing Missouri Open, the MCA Pro Division title came down to a last turns run by Matt Smith as he claimed a tight 26-20 win over Matt Griffith on Saturday afternoon.

The event was held at Eagles's Landing Golf Course in Belton, Missouri and drew 17 of the MCA's best battling in Pro and Gold divisions half of the Gold players falling into a Silver Division playoff.

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Early Results: 2017 Missouri Open

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BELTON, MO -- The full report will be posted when available. Scores from the 2017 Missouri Open championship games follow: