2026 Albemarle Croquet Club Fall GC Open
October 1-4, 2026
Albemarle Croquet Club, Belvidere NC
The 2026 Albemarle Fall GC Open was held at the beautiful Albemarle Croquet Club in Belvidere, North Carolina October 1-4. We had a large field of 36 players, including the #2 player in the US - Tom Balding, and two players from South Africa – Silvia Short and Peter Dreyer.
Tom won the Championship Singles but was given some able competition in the finals by Josh Lassiter. In Josh’s words “I played as well as I could, but was no match for Tom. It was a humbling experience. Like with anything else, there’s always room to get better … but it was fun to measure up against a pro.” Tom was in great form all weekend: “I had a lucky in-off at 8 against Josh. He was just in front of 8, and my clearance was from the north boundary behind 3, the in-off was pure luck but the clearance was good. Easily my best shot of the event was my jumpshot against Adam Lassiter. He had put black in the jaws of hoop 7, and my yellow was on the north boundary directly behind hoop 6, Dick Rendleman measured it at 26 feet long. I managed to do it in one bounce.” While the players at Albemarle are blessed to have some excellent Championship-flight players to model their games after, it always helps to be exposed to many different examples, and it was exceptional to have a player of Tom’s caliber to watch and learn from. Equally important was time he spent in the clubhouse between games answering questions and interacting with all the players. Many thanks to Tom for being so generous with his time and talent – this type of interchange is great for the game of croquet!
You know it is a strong field when Billie Ray is in First flight. He won First flight in a tight 19-point game against Charlie Stovall. Charlie had a great tournament, finishing at the top of First flight block play. Charlie: “My best shot was in my game against Lisa Maloney. Her yellow's initial lag to hoop 8 left it maybe an inch or two in front of the hoop, slightly off center. My blue is 3-4 feet on the wrong side of hoop 7, directly centered with the hoop. I jump blue over hoop 7 and it goes down to clear yellow. Had the yellow ball not been there, I'm 90% confident that blue would have scored.”
Tom Wolford won Second flight with finalist Mike Malpass. This was Mike’s first time playing at Albemarle. Jason Collins won the third flight knockout after going undefeated in block play. Finalist was Paul Kroening, also his first time playing at Albemarle.
A Swiss doubles format provided a chance each morning for the players to warm up for their singles games to follow. After three rounds, the two undefeated teams of Lee Robinson/Briggs Stahl and Jason Collins/Wayne Meade played a finals match, with Robinson/Stahl the winners. In order to get to the finals, they defeated Balding/Kroening 7-6 at the hook – giving Lee and Briggs memories and tales to share forever! Lynda Bjorklund and Adrienne Lucke then took fourth place in a 3/4 playoff against Balding/Kroening.
Silvia Short and Peter Dreyer from South Africa are relocating to the US and picked a spot just eight miles from the Albemarle lawns. “We researched the different possibilities and had heard so much about the Lassiter hospitality and family involvement in croquet – that’s what we were looking for!” It was great timing that they arrived just before the tournament, so of course we expanded the field to 36 to include them.
In all, 9 of the 36 players were playing at Albemarle for the first time – we’re sure it won’t be their last!
Championship Flight winner Tom Balding is congratulated by hosts Adam, Rodney, and Randy Lassiter
Championship finalist Josh Lassiter showing Tom Balding his appreciation
Players relaxing on the clubhouse porch between games
First Flight Winner Billie Ray (R) with TM Adam Lassiter (L)
First Flight Finalist Charlie Stovall (R) with TM Adam Lassiter (L)
Second Flight winner Tom Wolford (R) with TM Adam Lassiter (L)
Second Flight Finalist Mike Malpass (R) with TM Adam Lassiter (L)
Third Flight winner Jason Collins (R) with TM Adam Lassiter (L)
Third Flight Finalist Paul Kroening (L) with TD Elaine Smith (R)
Swiss Doubles Winners Briggs Stahl & Lee Robinson
Swiss Doubles Finalists Jason Collins & Wayne Meade
Photos (and amazing brownies) by Lynn Lassiter
CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT
| 01. |
Tom Balding |
| 02. |
Joshua Lassiter |
| 03. |
Jose Benjumea |
| 03. |
Peter Dreyer |
| 05. |
Bob Hamilton |
| 06. |
Brett Stovall |
| 07. |
Adam Lassiter |
| 08. |
Robb Turner |
| 09. |
Silvia Short |
FIRST FLIGHT
| 01. |
Billie Ray |
| 02. |
Charles Stovall |
| 03. |
Rodney Lassiter |
| 03. |
Randy Lassiter |
| 05. |
Lisa Maloney |
| 06. |
Adrienne Lucke |
| 07. |
Dick Rendleman |
| 08. |
Nancy Rendleman |
| 09. |
Lee Robinson |
SECOND FLIGHT
| 01. |
Thomas Wolford |
| 02. |
Mike Malpass |
| 03. |
Briggs Stahl |
| 03. |
Sarah Persons |
| 05. |
Bob Natole |
| 06. |
Rick Pratt |
| 07. |
Wayne Meade |
| 08. |
Lynda Bjorklund |
| 09. |
Rick Darnell |
THIRD FLIGHT
| 01. |
Jason Collins |
| 02. |
Paul Kroening |
| 03. |
Patti Malpass |
| 03. |
Wayne Maloney |
| 05. |
Mary Anne Hamilton |
| 06. |
Rocky Smith |
| 07. |
Gus Anderson |
| 08. |
Richard Delong |
| 09. |
Martha Delong |
DOUBLES (SWISS FORMAT)
| 01. |
Lee Robinson & Briggs Stahl |
| 02. |
Adrienne Lucke & Lynda Bjorklund |
| 03. |
Paul Kroening & Tom Balding |
| 04. |
Wayne Meade & Jason Collins |
| 05. |
Sarah Persons & Thomas Wolford |
| 05. |
Gus Anderson & Rick Pratt |
| 07. |
Brett Stovall & Charles Stovall |
| 07. |
Robb Turner & Rocky Smith |
| 09. |
Jose Benjumea & BillieRay |
| 10. |
Lisa Maloney & Wayne Maloney |
| 11. |
Martha Delong & Peter Dreyer |
| 12. |
Silvia Short & Richard Delong |
| 13. |
Bob Natole & Joshua Lassiter |
| 14. |
Patti Malpass & Mike Malpass |
| 15. |
Nancy Rendleman & Dick Rendleman |
| 16. |
Mary Anne Hamilton & Bob Hamilton |