After round one we went from 8 golfers down to the final four. Ironically, it was the same top four players from the week before.

Had Bryan played in Round One, he would have been in the finals but that didn’t happen so Joe T gladly stepped into the fourth spot.

The Championship round was played at the same course where we started the 2017 golf season, at St Anne Country Club in Feeding Hills.

St Anne’s can be a fickle golf course depending on the conditions and your attitude. While the course has some tricky holes, I think it is kind of straight up and down. For the most part, I play St Anne’s ok and I was number one on the leaderboard after a strong first place finish at Veterans after the first round. I felt pretty good about playing at St Annes and I figured if I can finish first or second then the Championship could be mine. I’m sure Eric and Rock felt the same way. Unfortunately, Joe T didn’t have enough yearly money to win the Championship even if he came in first place. Joe T’s job would be to play spoiler to the other three golfers.

We had a 7:50 tee time and it is cold. The forecast says that it will get warmer but not by a whole lot.

After the first four holes, no one is playing great but it is still kind of close.

On the 4th hole, the one with the swamp between the tee box and the green, I get fancy and try to hit my drive down the right side down by the lone tree at the edge of the swamp. I hit it well but my drive is a little more right then I had anticipated and I hit a tree… hard. I have no idea where it lands but some people think they saw some movement on the far left side of the fairway, not far from the tee box. I hit my provisional using my trusted 3 wood, you know the wood that propelled me to victory just the week before. It is straight, true and short of the swamp.

The Golf Gods show me some mercy and I find my first ball. I hit my 2nd shot to the tree I was aiming for from the tee box. Problem is that my 3rd shot is blocked by said tree. I can’t go over and I damn well sure don’t want to go left back over the swamp so I aim right. I hit the ball well but it goes where I aimed, into the tree line to the right of the green. It only gets uglier from there and I finish with an 8. Lucky for me the rest of the group gets 7s and a 6. At the end of the 4th hole Joe T is at 22, Me and Eric are at 24 and Rock has a 25.

At the 5th hole par 5, Rock finds the power of his driver and crushes one down the left side down by the tree line. My drive is at least straight but I am behind Eric and Joe T. I grab my 3 wood and duff it about 12 feet. Not to be out done Joe T follows suit. Eric stays true to form and hits an iron up the middle.

I decided that it’s a par 5 and I need some distance after that last shot. Surely my trusty 3 wood would not let me down again. Swing and a duff, the ball goes another 12 feet and I start to get little nervous. Joe T finally hits a nice shot down the fairway along with Eric and Rock.

For my 4th shot I decided to forsake the 3 wood and grab my 5 iron, after all it is my "go to club" when all else is failing. I hit the ball and it starts to head a little right towards the tree line. Not great but I am at least moving forward more than 12 feet at a time.

For my 5th shot I’ve got about 160 yards and I’m think this is for par. I probably try to hit it a little harder then I should have because my tempo ends up being total out of wack and the ball goes almost directly to the right. Here comes the yeps. The ball is now is the leaves and the acorns are everywhere. I try to hit the ball but it is just a mess. I can see my playing partners through the trees, they losing their patience waiting for me to get to the green but also understanding that they could be next. When the smoke finally clears I finish with a 12 and a feeling that for me, the Championship is probably over.

I try to shake off the 12 but the stench just lingers. I remind myself that I am a competitor, a warrior and I just need the others to have their own epic failure on a hole. After nine holes the score is Eric 50, Joe T – 52, Joe – 57 (corrected score) and after a string of 7s, Rock – 58. On to the back 9.

Holes 10, 11 and 12 uneventful except that Joe T hits a pop up on the 10th that everyone hears land but no one can find and on the 12th hole (dog leg right and up hill) Rock crushes another drive. This one goes over the water and lands near the yellow / red tee box on the next hole over.

On the 13th hole everyone goes left except me. I am a little left but still on my own fairway. Once again Rock crushes his drive and takes out 4 old guys teeing off at the yellow tee box on the 12th hole. Eric tee shot is short and left. His second shot is weak and it dribbles directly behind this lone little tree. I would have taken a picture but I was too busy thinking about getting my 6 shots back. Eric plays it smart and in the end I only get 3 back.

The 14th hole is uneventful except for the fact that I get another one back from Eric. I am now only 2 strokes behind him. Of course, it never dawns on me that I would still have to overcome his 8 stroke handicap advantage.

The 15th holes is the long par 3 with the water directly in front of the tee box. I tee up first and curve my drive to the right and into the tree line. The Golf Gods show me no mercy and I have no idea where the ball went. Joe T hits his tee shot and spins the ball right in to the middle of the pond. Eric is straight and safe. Rock hits his drive down the right side but it appears to be safe.

I hit my 2nd drive and it follows my first drive, to the right and no clue. Joe T’s 2nd drive is a worm burning and it goes into the water again but this time the ball has some speed and power behind it and it skims across the water and lands on the other side safe and sound. At the end of this hole I get an 8 to go with my 12. So much for my come back.

On the 16th hole, Eric and I hit our drives to the right and into the trees and leaves. The Golf Gods let me find (step on) Eric's ball but mine is never found. Hell, at one point I think I was playing with 3 balls

We finish the last 3 holes strong, me with a 10, 9 and 7. Eric with a 7, 7 and 9. Joe T with a 6, 7 and 9. Rock with a 9, 9 and 6.

On the rare bright side for me, I finally hit my one and only good drive on the 18th hole. Talk about too little to late…

Eric is the clear winner and he didn't even need his handicap to do it.

Final score

Eric – 106

Joe T – 108

Rock – 112

Joe – 115

Handicap scores

Eric – 76 (+4)

Rock – 83 (+11)

Joe T – 86 (+14)

Broken Joe -93 (+22)

Weekly Money

Eric - $7.00

Rock - $5.60

Joe T – $4.40

Joe - $3.00

Final Leaderboard

1st - Eric - $38.96

2nd - Rock - $37.00

3rd - Joe - $35.70

4th - Joe T - $34.20

5th - Chris - $29.25

6th - Rey - $26.77

7th - Bryan - $26.55

8th - Matt T - $24.04

9th - Dave - $19.98

10th - Dan - $19.59

11th - Jake - $17.61

12th - Matty Slush - $11.63

Congratulations to Eric for becoming the 2017 Broken Joe Golf Champion.