The tournament originated from humble beginnings, born from the mind of a University of Montana Golf Course employee who aimed to use his position at the course to create an event that his collegiate friends would tell their kids stories about. 

Before the event would rise to the level that we now associate it with, there were three years and four events worth of Maida Cups played on those grounds. The short, nine-hole course would prove the perfect testing grounds for the Cup, and the University era would go on to provide some of the rowdiest tournaments in the event’s history. 

The inaugural Maida Cup was played in the summer of 2015, pulling together a large group of friends for nine holes of solo play and nine holes of two-man scramble. Jonny Nolan claimed the first individual title with an impressive round of near-par, doing it while playing with the creator of the event himself. 

Zach Funyak and Jacob Smyle would overcome their differences as Bears and Falcons and light up the two-man scramble to claim the first team crown. Funyak provided the shot of the day and one of the best in tournament history by holing out from 110-yards out for eagle on the first scramble hole of the day.

The lead group would hold on 18 and wait for the entire field to catch up, leading to a derby-style finish with all the teams closing out the day together. 

The 2016 Maida Cup was contested in the summer of 2016 at the University of Montana Golf Course. The tournament featured customized player introductions for everyone in the field over the PA system at the course. Jackson Wagner would win his first title. The results from the team game have been lost to history on what proved to be a very bad day to be a beer.

The 2017 Maida Cup (Spring) was suspended due to rain with winners of both the individual and team titles undetermined. 

The 2017 Maida Cup was played on August 23, 2017 at the University of Montana Golf Course. The event featured the first iteration of the “Maida Cup,” a glass chalice on a black base with gold script writing. 

Jackson Wagner won the individual competition. The team competition winner is unknown. The golfing was followed by the first official after-party at the Brooks house. Golfers and friends were invited to the party that featured multiple kegs, an award presentation, and drinking from the Cup.  The party would bring an end to the University Course Era. 

The post-college dark age refers to the period from 2018 to 2021. It was a difficult time for all those involved with the Maida Cup, as the tournament lost it’s home venue and the event organizer moved to Oregon and later Billings. 

While players may have been itching to get back to competition, Taylor Maida used the time to perfect the event and plan the eventual return. 

The 2021 Maida Cup was played on August 28 and was the first-ever Cup to be played at Canyon River Golf Club. The 36-player event featured the theme of the USA vs. the World with players selecting a state (USA) or country (World) to represent in the action. Team USA, captained by Taylor Maida, won by a score of 16-11. ^[a]

Team USA won the solo competition 10-8, jumping out to an early 5-0 lead and never looking back. They also won the team game 6-3 with four of the matches coming down to the final hole to provide some late drama. 

Tommy Tirrell (37, +1) won a scorecard tiebreaker over Jackson Wagner for his first individual title. Brady Henthorn finished in third while former champion Jonny Nolan tied with Kyle Harrington to round out the top five. Nolan provided the lone eagle of the day on hole nine to make a significant jump up the leaderboard.

This was the first Maida Cup to feature a women’s competition with Audrey Ebelt becoming the first-ever female winner. 

Brady Henthorn (3 in solos) and Aidan Osterdyk (33) put on their glass slippers and wrote a Cinderella story in the team game, winning the two-man scramble with a -1 score. Henthorn did the heavy lifting but Osterdyk, who finished last in the men’s solo competition, pulled some impressive shots together to lead to the title.

Erik Willis nearly aced hole No. 3 to win the closest to the pin. Zac Allen put a shot in tight to win the Closest in 2 competition on No. 4. Sammie Garton won the women’s long drive and Brady Henthorn the men’s long drive. Sam Rivey claimed the KP on No. 7 and Jake Tabish holed the longest putt of the day on No. 8.

The award ceremony was held in Clinton at the Maida residence. The festivities included jello shots delivered by Tony Maida and an unforgettable wine bottle chug from Lenny.

The 2022 Maida Cup was played on August 13 at Canyon River Golf Club. The record-field of 44 golfers, including 20 first-timers, faced off in a Gamblers vs. Casino team game. The Gamblers, captained by Taylor Maida, won 17-16 in the closest cup in event history.

The teams split the duos competition 5.5-5.5, meaning the solo competition would decide the Cup. The Gamblers won the solos competition 11.5-10.5 after Sammie Garton claimed a 5-4 victory on No. 9, winning her individual match and in turn the cup for her team.

Austin Berg obliterated the field and the beers in his debut, firing a record round of -4 that featured four birdies and five pars before passing out in the backyard of the party. Michael Dobbins holed out for eagle on No. 9 to finish tied with two-time champion Tommy Tirrell for second at -1. Grant Franjevic was solo fourth with four players tying for fifth place. 

Rookie Kelsey Martin (+5) ran away with the women’s title and cracked the top 10 overall in the event. 

For the second straight year, there was a surprise in the duos competition as Pat Colberg (T5 in solos) and Ira Li (T32) combined to shoot -2 and take the title. Grant Franjevic and Gabe Kuntz finished in second. 

Jeremy Eisenmann (No. 3) and Grant Franjevic (No. 7) won the closest to the pin competitions. Travis Zander (No. 4) and Zach Funyak (No. 8) won the closest in 2 competitions. Nick Wrigg won the men’s long drive while Kelsey Martin won the women’s long drive. Zac Allen (No. 8) and Easton Packard (No. 9) won the long putt.

The after-party was again held in Clinton with the Gamblers celebrating their victory in the team game with a T-shirt party.

The 2023 Maida Cup was played on May 20 at Canyon River Golf Club. The 2023 version featured a PGA vs. LIV theme and introduced the new “6s” format, which featured six holes of individual play (solos) and six holes two-man scramble (duos) to determine the winner of the Cup. The final six holes were a four-person scramble (squad). 

Team PGA, captained by Taylor Maida, won a resounding victory to claim the Cup with a score of 16.5-7.5. They won 10-6 in the solos but dominated the duos, winning five matches and halving the other three for a 6.5-1.5 score.

The shortened event led to a tighter leaderboard, but Tommy Tirrell (-1) fought his way to a second title in three tries. The Berg brothers tied with Brady Henthorn for second with Easton Packard rounding out the top five. 

Audrey Ebelt picked up her second title in the women’s competition, which paired nicely with her hole prizes on No. 2 (long putt) and No. 5 (long drive). 

Kyle Shaw (T5 in solos) and Bryce Hawbaker (T17) won in blowout fashion in the duos competition, going -3 in the six-hole stretch. Easton Packard and Justin Barnes finished in second. The first squad competition saw one of the most lopsided groupings in Maida Cup history as Tirrell and Berg put their three individual titles together to work while Kevin Angland and Brett Dringman provided the good vibes behind an easy squad dub.

The hole prizes expanded in 2023 as well. Brady Henthorn joined Ebelt with two wins, claiming the closest in 2 on No. 1 and the long drive on No. 9. Travis Zander won a hole prize for the second straight year with his KP on No. 3. Jackson Wagner was closest in 2 on No. 4. Tommy Tirrell won men’s long drive on No. 6 and squadmate Austin Berg won KP on No. 7. Samantha ^[b]Garton won women’s long drive on No. 8, Bryce Hawbaker won closest in two on No. 10, and Sam Rivey won KP on No. 12. Not to be completely outdone by his wife, Casey Ebelt holed the longest putt on No. 11.

The after-party featured plenty of cornhole, games of fish, and the commissioner would like to stress that no drugs were consumed.