The Military Bowl Foundation recently held its annual Wimps vs. Warriors golf tournament at two of the top golf courses on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The Warriors, a group of active-duty and veteran service members and first responders, took care of business, retaining their championship trophy in the Ryder Cup-style event. But as fun as it was to hit the links and beat the “Wimps” – a group of patriotic Americans who are successful in their personal and business lives and also recognize the importance of supporting the nation’s service members – it was even more satisfying to spend time together as a group.
“It was an absolutely amazing event,” said Matt Savage, a 21-year U.S. Army veteran who took up golf through the Adaptive Sports Program at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center while recovering from a traumatic brain injury. “I really like the intimate feel of it. It’s not blown out of proportion where, as a veteran, it’s a dog and pony show.
“It’s an intimate, immersive event, where we’re with the Wimps or donors and can build a relationship and talk about things and they can get a better understanding of what Patriot Point can do and how veterans can use Patriot Point.”
The group hit the courses at Talbot Country Club and the Links at Perry Cabin over two days for some heated competition.
“This event gives the Warriors the opportunity to be themselves and relax. The Wimps have the opportunity to appreciate that these are just good people, like any of our neighbors, but they did something most people haven’t done and served our country,” said Bill Slater, a longtime Patriot Point supporter and one of the event’s organizers. “They don’t want pity. They don’t want attention. They just want the opportunity to heal and get better – exactly what Patriot Point provides each and every one of its guests who pass through its gate. They beat us every year, but it’s a blast!”
Both the Warriors and Wimps said that the event’s opening night dinner at Patriot Point was extremely poignant.
“Those moments before the meal, the closeness of hanging out on the dock or the porch, those were the moments that really meant the most,” Savage said. “After golf, where we hung out with each other, we got to talk with each other and learn each other’s stories.”
“One hundred percent! Without a doubt, it is more about fellowship,” Slater said. “The golf is good – and we really want to thank Marc Kimminau at Talbot Country Club and Andrew Itterly at the Links at Perry Cabin and their staffs for their incredible hospitality – but the dinner is a game changer.”
The Warriors lineup included several golfers who have competed in the annual Simpson Cup tournament between teams of injured service members and veterans from the United States and their British counterparts. U.S. Army MSG (ret.) Eli Villanueva, a 22-year veteran who spent his last 11 years of service with a special missions unit within the Special Operations Command, tore up the course. He shot a 2-under par 70 at the Links at Perry Cabin to lead the Warriors to their victory.
Other members of the Warriors team were:
- Darren Barber: Served as an Army Ranger and Infantry Drill Sergeant, as well as a Ranger instructor at the U.S. Army Ranger School. Served in Special Operations and earned Green Beret. Career culminated with leading the 1st Informational Operations Command.
- Kyle Brodwater: Began his military career in 2011 and served multiple deployments aboard the USS Springfield as an electronics technician and scuba diver. Now serves as the Electronic Warfare Fleet Support Manager at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Newport.
- Justin Castellanos: U.S. Army veteran served five years in the 1st Ranger Battalion and served four combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Has been a Boston firefighter for 12 years.
- Cole Paulk: Served in the U.S. Navy from 2007 to 2016. Works as an electronics engineer supporting the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. Simpson Cup player in 2023
- Jay Phinisey: Joined the U.S. Army in 2011 as a 19D Calvalry Scout and was deployed to Afghanistan as part of a Tactical Explosive Detection Dog team. Following seven years as an enlisted soldier, attended Army flight school and is currently assigned to the U.S. Army Priority Air Transport at Joint Base Andrews.
- Allen Richmond: The newly hired co-Retreat Director of Patriot Point, a position he shares with his wife, Robin, a 24-year Navy veteran. Originally from Williston, North Dakota, he enlisted in the Navy and rose to the rank of Chief Petty Officer before commissioning as a Navy Mustang. He served 32 years on multiple aircraft carriers and installations around the world before recently retiring as a commander.
- Scott Riddle: Served five years in the U.S. Army as a 19D scout then re-enlisted as a combat medic. He was injured in a rollover accident while serving in Iraq and spent two years recovering at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center followed by nine months in a brain injury center before medically retiring. Received the Meritorious Service Medal twice and the Army Commendation Medal.
- Logan Rippons: Has worked as a police officer for the city of Cambridge, Md., for nine years and is currently a sergeant on the Patrol Division running the K9 program and previously spent four years of his career on the SWAT team. In his off-duty hours, he serves at the hunting manager at Patriot Point.
- Matt Savage: Served 21 years in the U.S. Army before retiring in 2024, with multiple deployments to Afghanistan and one deployment to Iraq then worked in recruiting and retention for 16 years. Through the Walter Reed Adaptive Sports program, has become an avid golfer
- Jerome Taylor: Served more than two decades before retiring in 2005, including tenures in the Ranger Regiment (1st and 2nd Battalion) Special Forces and JSOC. Received the Combat Infantryman Badge for his service during Operation Iraqi Freedom and was further recognized with the Bronze Star Medal. Played in the 2023 Simpson Cup.
- Charles Young Jr.: Joined the Navy on Sept. 8, 2001 and served on four deployments on submarines the USS Newport News and USS Georgia. Then was assigned to a strategic communications detachment supporting nuclear command and control. Then served 11 months in Afghanistan in Naval Special Warfare. Medically retired in 2016 and now is a government employee at the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Castellanos, Taylor, Villanueva and Young all played on Team USA at the 2024 Simpson Cup and will play again for Team USA at the 2025 Simpson Cup beginning Sept. 28 at Royal St. George’s and Princes Golf Club in Kent, England.
Proceeds from the event benefit Patriot Point, the Military Bowl Foundation’s 294-acre retreat for recovering service members, their families and caregivers.