Team Dave Wins the 2019 BJG President’s Cup

Broken Joe
Oct 21, 2019
10 min read

Of course, this event had “drama” written all over it right from the very start. This being a TEAM event, any changes would be a problem.

Right off the bat and an hour before the captains would start the draft, Joe T informed us of his first wedding anniversary and that he would not be playing in the 2019 BJG Presidents Cup. Unfortunately, Captain Dave ended up having to take Joe T and therefore giving himself a loss.

Jake made it clear that he chose his team based on who was most likely to show up to play on Oct 13th. I thought this was a pretty interesting strategy when looking at some of our golfers and how many weeks that they have missed and not just this year but over the past few years.

After talking with Captain Jake, he gives me his blessing to find a replacement for Joe T. In the end, OB agreed to take Joe T’s spot. This substitution wasn’t going to be pretty, but at least it wasn’t a loss right out of the gate.

On Friday, Chris Cerilli informed me that he had some family issues and that he could not play. I was ok with that because a last-minute emergency can come up at any time. I was just glad he let me know as soon as possible.

Since Joe T and Chris C were playing in the same match, I no longer needed OB. After another conversation with Captains Dave and Jake, we decide to have 3 man vs 3 man scramble, that way it is competitive, and everyone gets to play.

The next day, Saturday, Bryan from Team Dave, informs me that his babysitter bailed on him, and he may not be able to make it on Sunday. In the end, he finds a replacement babysitter, and he is back in. At this point, Dave must be calling each of his team and making promises or threats like a Politician looking to get re-elected.

On Sunday, at the golf course, it becomes a madhouse because Veterans is hosting a 2 man scramble, and it sounds like they are overbooked. As our BJG guys wander in, we get the word from Chris that Rey’s car is broken down at a gas station in Westfield, another one of Team Dave’s guys...

This is not only a loss for Team Dave, but now Steve, Rey’s opponent, has to play 3 clubs by himself just to confirm the win. We haven’t even swung a club yet, and Team Dave is down by one Match. Right now, Jake’s plan seems solid.

Of course, because of the 2 man scramble, we don’t even get to the tee box until 9:30, even though it was supposed to be a 9am start.

Match One – Joe vs Chris in Match Play

We start on the par 5, 12th hole, and after the first nine holes, Joe is up 5 to 1. While this isn’t great for Chris, watching six people playing a scramble together was brutally slow and bad for everyone.. I don’t have any idea where they would get the impression that six people should ever player together, especially since I had assigned them TWO 3 man groups. Here comes another BJG rule.

On the last 8 holes, Chris plays better, and they swap wins, each winning 3 holes with 2 holes being tied going into the final hole. The 6 man caravan is still in front of us, and we are probably on pace for a 5 plus hour round.

The 6 man group manages to put all of the balls in the woods and now needs to hit 6 more balls. Chris is at the top of the hill at the 11th hole watching this craziness, and he not getting any happier.

Finally, Chris comes back to the tee box, and we are ready to finish this round. Chris goes first and slices one right, and “she’s gone.”

Joe goes next and his slices right too, but he gets a gift from the Golf Gods, and it hits a tree, bounces right, and is now sitting on top of the hill.

Chris looks for a miracle but then drops his ball and counts an extra two strokes for the lost ball. Joe doesn’t have much of a shot at the green, so he just hits it across the other side of the fairway. Chris hits his fourth shot, but it too is going right and ends up in the woods. Chris finds this one, so it just costs him one extra stroke. On Chris’s sixth shot, he sails over the green, and it goes back in the woods, this time on the left side. Chris was not happy at all, and he was ready to take the DNF, but his commitment to the game and BJG were too strong, and he finishes with his 11 like a man. Chris, having things to do, immediately departed Vets without any fanfare or a drink. Joe – 9 (100), Chris – 4 (111)

Team Dave – 1 (Joe) Team Jake – 1 (Steve)

Note: I did a wellness check on Chris that Tuesday and everything was back to normal. It seems he just needed some time alone... in the woods.

Match Two – Adam vs Dan, Match Play Dan being a -3 golfer, gives 3 strokes to Adam because Adam is a -6 golfer. Dan is giving a stroke on the 3 hardest handicap holes. Those holes were on 9, 11, and 14. The First Nine: Dan and Adam are playing in the same group as Chris and Joe, so they are starting on the 12th hole too. On the first two holes, Dan and Adam are even, but Dan has a tough time on the 14th hole scoring a 12 to Adam’s 6. Adam was getting a stroke, but in this case, he didn’t really need it. Adam goes on to win 3 holes, the 14th, 15th, and 16th. They both shoot fives on the 17th hole.

Adam has his own trouble on the 18th hole. Adam puts his first drive into the water. Adam moves up to where the ball first entered the penalty area (water hazard) and tries again but puts that one into the water. The funniest part was when Adam asked us what he was supposed to do next. We told just to keep hitting it until he cleared the water. Adam puts another ball in the water. On Adam's fourth shot, he finally clears the water, but he hits the pump house, and it goes back into the water. At least Adam can take his next shot from the other side of the hazard. When all is said and done, Adam walks away with an 11, which is lucky for him because the pin placement was right on the downside of the hill. If you didn’t hit it close, the ball was coming all the way back down the hill. Dan takes the 18th and 1st hole with Adam winning the 2nd hole. At the end of the first nine, Adam is up 4 to 2.

Last Nine: Dan takes holes 3 and 4, so they are tied at 4 each. Adams wins the 5th and 6th holes, so Adam is now up 6 to 4. Dan fights back to win holes 7 and 8, and they are all tied again at 6 to 6.

On the 10th hole, Adam has a poor second shot, and it goes left as it is going up the hill. Dan can smell blood and is hoping Adam has a lost ball. Again, the Golf Gods smile, this time on Adam and he not only finds his ball, but he also finds it in a small clearing, and the ball is sitting pretty. Dan and Adam tie the hole with 6s.

Dan and Adam are still all tied up, and they are on to the final hole to find out who the victor will be. As I mentioned earlier, we are waiting for a long time to play the 11th hole.

Dan’s drive is long and hard left and heading for the street (and cars were driving by). Adam plays the hole pretty much as he has all day, playing smart and conservative. Adam may not have been long this day, but he was straight. Adam wins the final hole 6 to 8, and Dan thinks of what might have been. Dan loses the match by 2 strokes because of the lost ball. All in all, it was a great back and forth match, but in the end, there can be only one winner. Adam – 7 (108), Dan -6 (109)

Team Dave – 2 (Joe and Dan) Team Jake – 1 (Steve) Match Three – Rock vs Nic, 3 Club Challenge I don’t know what Dave was thinking about when he put Rock in the 3 Club Challenge. Rock HATES the 3 Club Challenge even though he is a past Champion. Turns out Nic wasn’t too thrilled about being chosen to play the 3 clubs either. Rock and Nic are playing 12b, so they were right behind the Match Play groups. Rock shows up to Vets parking lot and starts putting 11 out of his 14 clubs back into his car. From the clubhouse, I can see Rock is having a conversation with the golfer in the car next to him. I just assumed that Rock knew him, but it turns out the guy was asking why he was only taking 3 clubs to a 2 man scramble. Of course, when Nic shows up, he has all his clubs in his bag, which is a big no-no in the 3 Club Challenge. Rock will help him lose 11 clubs on the way to the 12th hole.

First nine: Ok, so it wasn’t pretty, but Rock shoots a 56, and Nic shoots a 64. It isn’t like we haven’t seen these kind of scores before. Last nine: Rock and Nic catch up with Group One on the 11th hole because EVERYONE is waiting for the 6 man scramble to play “better golf.”

While we are all gathered at the 11th tee area, Nic is just going off on Rock. Nic is talking shit, and he’s pushing Rock around. I didn’t know what the hell was going on, but Rock was taking it all in stride, but listening to Nic is how I knew he wasn’t happy about playing with what looked like a driver, a wood and a putter.

That being said, Nic really played well and tied Rock on the last nine holes with a 55. Final score: Rock – 111, Nic – 119. Team Dave – 3 (Joe, Dan, and Rock) Team Jake – 1 (Steve) Match Four – Rey vs Steve, 3 Club Challenge As we all know, Rey was a no show because his car would start at some gas station in Westfield. Rey thought it was his battery, and I guess in the long run, he was right. After paying to replace the car battery, the car still would not start, so Rey had the car towed home. As it turns out, the battery that was actually dead was the battery in his key fob. Rey was wondering what that yellow light was for, and now he knows.

Steve was really looking forward to competing against Rey, but that’s the way it sometimes goes at Broken Joe Golf.

I told Steve that he should compete against Rock and Nic scores, and Steve did just that. Steve finished the 3 Club Challenge tied with Rock at 111. Team Dave – 3 (Joe, Dan, and Rock) Team Jake – 1 (Steve) Match Five – Team Dave vs Team Jake, 3 vs 3 Scramble Team Jake was giving up nine strokes to Team Dave (Cody +12, Jake plus 3 = 15 vs Dave +6). Jake knew this because we talked about the scramble late Saturday afternoon, and he seemed to be confident. Team Dave was starting on the 13 hole followed by Team Jake as 13b. All of the groups were moving along at a decent pace until, for whatever reason, the two Scramble Teams (6 players) decided to play together on the 18th hole, and that slowed everything down to a snail’s pace. Maybe that was Dave’s strategy to get the win, or perhaps they just didn’t trust each other to keep proper score.

At the end of the first nine, it is all tied at 33 (3 under par). While that is an excellent score for a scramble, Jake had to be worried because he was still giving up strokes. Team Dave had 2 Bogey, 2 Pars, and 5 Birdies. Team Jake had a Bogey, 4 Pars, and 4 Birdies. On the last nine holes, Team Dave gets a Double Bogey, Bogey, 6 Pars, and a Birdie. Team Jake gets a Double Bogey, 7 Pars, and a Birdie. Team Dave shoots a 38, and Team Jake shoots a 37.

Final score Team Dave – 71 to Team Jake’s 70, but Dave gets 9 strokes making the final score, Team Dave – 62 to Team Jake’s 70. While Jake's team may have looked good on paper, Dave really stepped up and led his merry band to victory, making sure that he put his team in a position for the win.

Team Dave – 4 (Joe, Dan, Rock and Dave, Bryan & Matt) Team Jake – 1 (Steve) I thought Team Jake had a practical plan going into the President’s Cup, choosing his team based on who would actually show up and for a little while it was working. Jake, being a true competitor, also initially allowed a replacement player for Joe T and then allowed the adjustment to the Scramble Match.

I think the difference, in the end, was that Dave did everything in his power to make sure his team showed up and then used his leadership to lead his team to victory.

Jake probably should not have given an quarter to Dave sticking to his original plan. Jake probably did not do himself any favors by putting him and Cody together playing in the scramble. I'm sure Jake will not show any mercy next time.

Congratulations to Team Dave for crushing Team Jake. Don’t forget that the last round of golf for the season is the "Winter Classic Championship," which will be played on October 27th, and the plan is to play at St Annes Golf Course.

UPDATE: St Annes is closed for an event on the Oct 27th so the "Winter Classic" is moved to Agawam Golf Course.

I picked Agawam Golf Course because I figured Rey could Uber to the golf course from Westfield. More information to follow.

And last but not least...