Rick Wright, head pro at The Edison Club, could hardly control himself.

Named the honorary captain for the Northeastern New York PGA team, which played the top local amateurs in Wednesday's sixth annual Gazette Cup at Albany Country Club, Wright took his job more seriously than past captains. He kept on top of the scoring in all of the groups and rooted his fellow pros on. When he heard that his pros had taken a 17.5 to .5 lead after the first nine holes, he stopped host pro Glenn Davis and jokingly asked him why he lost that half of a point.

The pros went on to post a 44.5 to 9.5 victory. It was the most lopsided triumph in the series, which the pros now lead, 4-2. The pros only needed to record 27 points to retain the Gazette Cup, but they had the competition clinched already when the third foursome headed to the clubhouse.

Quite a performance by the club pros, especially when you consider that the Capital Region amateurs, including the likes of Dan Russo of Rolling Hills, John Vaccaro of Wolferts Roost Country Club, Dave Hayes of Schuyler Meadows, Aaron AuBuchon of Saratoga Golf & Polo Club and Jim Mueller of Orchard Creek, are outstanding players in their own right.

I guess there is always next year.