29 weeks ago I asked “Who will be the 2015 Winter Classic Champion”?

It has taken an extra week to get to that answer because we had a tie where 2 players had a score of 13 under.

A quick recap of the Classic:

After the first round, Chris and Rock were at 9 under, Joe was 4 under, Leon was 3 under, Matt was 1 under, Jake was 3 over, Dan was 4 over and Dave was 6 over.

After the 2nd round (just before dark), Matt comes out of nowhere to shoot 12 under, Dave was 5 under, Chris stays on pace with a 4 under, Jake and Joe are Even, Dan and Leon are 3 over and Rock brings up the rear with a 4 over.

Final score: Chris and Matt at 13 under, Rock at 5 under, Joe at 4 under, Leon was Even, Dave was 1 over, Jake was 3 over and Dan was 7 over.

With Chris and Matt tied (first tie in 4 years) we would need a playoff. It was decided that they would play the following weekend. While initially we thought it would be ok to wait the extra week to crown the new champion, it ended up feeling more like the 2 week delay before the Super Bowl. For the next 6 day Chris and Matt could talk smack about at least still having a shot at the Championship, the reality was that one of them was going to be the first loser, but a loser none the less, just like the rest of us.

We decided to have the playoff on Saturday. Originally the plan was to go back to Franconia, but they had a tournament so we had to go to Veterans. Vets had a 9am shotgun start but with only one round to play we should finish with the sun still in the sky. Only Chris, Matt and myself as the Commissioner would be there. Unlike Roger Goodell, I don’t mind giving my opinions about Golfers and then showing up at a Major golf event with those same golfers.

I arrived at Veterans around 8am only to find out that there was an hour frost delay. Chris and Matt show up around 8:30. Current temperature was 27 degrees.

What was going on in the rest of the world you ask? Rock was having a warm breakfast before work,

Jake, the mountain man, was out trying to feed his family

, and since it was Halloween, Dan was getting ready for a party.

Since golf was over for Leon, my guess is that like the hibernating bear, we won’t see or hear from him until spring.

I think Dave was sleeping in.

Vets finally opened the gate and we moved to the first tee box, thanks to Ryan. Matt has the honor and will tee off first. Finally after 29 weeks we will have a winner…

Matt tees off. The ball is a low roller going about 40 feet. Chris takes his place on the tee box and hits his drive left into the woods near the shed. Chris hits a nice second drive but he is still hitting 5 when he gets to it. Matt sneaks his way up to the green. After 1, Chris gets a 7 and Matt has a 6.

2nd Hole: Matt hit his tee shot to the right and on the side of the hill with the trees. Chris has a good drive. Matt plays it smart on his 2nd shot and just puts it back on the fairway. Chris pars the 2nd hole and Matt gets a 6.

3rd Hole: Chris has the honor. He hits the drive right and hits the tree 25 feet in front of us. The ball falls straight down. Matt is up next. His first tee shot looks like it hits the same tree but it bounces left and runs all the way across the course in front of us. Matt hits a 2nd ball off the tee; this one is straighter but low and to the left. There is a small opening at the bottom of the hill but it doesn’t look good. After looking for both balls, Matt is forced to take a drop. Matt starts playing cart golf, left to right and then right to left. Matt almost loses another ball but Chris somehow finds it in the leaves on the far left tree line. After some more poor iron shots and the worst putting I’ve seen since last week, Chris finishes with a 10 and Matt with an 11. I start to wonder if these are the same golfers who scored 13 under. I send a text to the Competition Committee to start an investigation.

4th Hole: Things continue to go bad. Chris shoots a 7 and Matt shoots a 6. After 4 holes they are tied with a 28 which equals 7 stokes per hole. If this goes on for 18 holes we could be looking at a 126 which is pretty close to Matt’s average score…

Holes 5 and 6: Chris finally gets on track and pars both holes. On the 6th hole, Matt hits a tee shot that goes low and hard left down the hill. On Matt’s second tee shot he drives the club into the ground and takes a massive divot and the ball moves, falling off the tee. Matt can take the drop after the 2nd tee shot but it would be on the tee box anyway. Matt tees up a 3rd ball and it is ok. Fortunately, Matt finds his first ball at the bottom left of the hill. It is not a pretty lie and after some gardening work by Matt, he hits it out about a foot. In the end, Matt gets a bogey on the 5th hole and a double bogey on the 6th. Chris is up by 5.

Hole 7 (Par3): Chris hits a tee shot that goes left by the sand. Matt has a nice drive just going over the green. Matt miss hits his chip and it goes downhill. In the end, Chris and Matt both get a Double Bogey.

Hole 8: Chris has a good drive. Matt hits a worm burner that goes about 20 feet. Matt sneaks up to the hole and finishes with a 7. Chris 3 putts for a 6. Chris is up by 6.

Hole 9: Chris’s tee shot is far but hard right (first hole fairway). Matt hits another low drive that ends up near the bottom of the hill. Matt almost lost another ball in the left trees but manages to find it. Chris has a nice shot to the front of the water. Matt goes for it on his next shot but the shot goes hard right…. At least it did not go in the water. Chris is 135 yards to the pin. He hits his shot but “splash” goes his ball. After all the damage is done Chris shoots an 8 and Matt has a 7. At the turn Chris is up by 5. While this sounds like good news, Matt’s handicap is 21 strokes more than Chris’s.

Hole 10: Chris has a good drive. Matt’s first drive is low and left, right into the marsh 20 feet in front of the tee box. Matt’s next tee shot is left but it is farther so while not long at least it is safe. Matt’s 3rd shot near the dog leg right goes hard right…into the woods. Matt launches his club (which does go straighter than his ball). Chris plays the hole safe and gets a bogey, Matt get a 10. When I get to the green I can see that Matt is broken. You can see it in his body language and in his eyes. Matt is finished and Chris is up by 10.

Hole 11: Chris has a nice drive, Matt’s goes left on the top of the hill. For the 3rd time today, Chris finds Matt’s lost ball. I don’t really see what happens until I get to the green; I lost 2 balls on this hole myself. As I get to the green, I see Chris in the sand and Matt has a huge smile. Matt has found life. I didn’t know it at the time, but it took Chris 3 shots to get out of the sand. I can only equate this as Chris giving CPR to a dying Matt. Matt finishes with a Bogey, Chris gets a 7. Chris is now only up by 8.

Hole 12 (Par 5): Chris’s drive makes the other side of the sand. Matt’s drive is short and his 2nd shot is not much better but his 3rd shot was a great wood shot. Matt has a good chip and putt, Chris does not. Matt pars the hole and Chris gets a double bogey. Chris is now up by only 6.

Hole 13: Both have good drives. Chris finishes with a Bogey, Matt has a Double Bogey. Chris is up by 7 but only five holes left to play.

Hole 14 (par 5): Chris has a nice drive and Matt almost matches with his 3 wood. This was another crazy hole for Chris. Chris finishes with an 8 and Matt gets a 6. I get there in 4 and I’m putting for par. After my 4 putt I get an 8 too. Chris is up by 5 but only 4 holes left to play. The fat lady isn’t singing yet but she is leaving the table.

Hole 15 (par 3): Matt has a nice tee shot. Chris is short. Matt gets a 4 and Chris gets a 5. Chris is up by 4 with 3 holes left to play.

Hole 16: They both play the hole well. Chris pars the hole and Matt gets a Bogey. Chris is up by 5 with 2 holes left to play. The fat lady is starting to warm up.

Hole 17: Chris play the hole smart and finishes with a bogey. Matt’s drive is low and short. Matt’s next shot isn’t too bad but a little farther right then I would have liked to see but that is what he wanted. I hit a 4 iron a little far so I have to track my ball down by the 18th tee box. When the hole was finished Matt had a 9. Chris is up by 9 but there is only 1 hole left to play. Of course Matt could have hit the ball in the water twice on the18th but even then Matt would have been hitting 5 over the water. Even if Matt got a 10 on the 18th hole and Chris pared it, Chris would only be up by 16. The only way Matt loses is if he gets a call from Mickey Ds and then quits The Fat Lady is singing...

Hole 18: Everyone hits it left on the back side of the sand. No water for anyone. Chris gets a 4 and Matt gets a 5.

On the back, Chris gets a 50 and completes the round with a 104. Matt gets 55 and finishes with a 114. Matt has a handicap score of 65 (-7) to Chris’s 76 (+4).

Matt is the 2015 Winter Classic Champion.

Congratulations to Matt for a job well done. Matt was the worst golfer ,having the highest handicap but still came back to win it all. At Broken Joe Golf, “where you are never the worst golfer” once again proves true.