Adam wins the 2023 BJG Tour Championship

The first text of the day is from Jason, at the golf course, saying he is arriving at Franconia at 8:15. Jason's text was a little surprising since the first tee time wasn’t until 9:48.

Of course, I started to panic. I wondered if I was somehow wrong about the tee times. I checked the BJG website, and yes, the first tee time is 9:48, but I still wasn’t convinced. I searched for Joe T’s text… Yes, 9:48. Thank goodness, I did not get that one wrong. Jason was just early, really early.

There was a drizzling rain, but I had expected worse weather. The forecast I saw said it would rain all day.

Jason, Adam, and EJ were there when I finally showed up. All of us have some kind of rain gear on.

Of course, I forgot the trophies and needed my wife to bring them to me. Good thing I live close by, and we don’t have an early tee time.

Cody arrives looking like Bill Belichick, with his hoodie and shorts. When Joe T arrives, he is wearing his usual summer Goff attire. I guess they didn’t get the memo about the weather. The Patriots are playing the Jets at 1 p.m., so Joe T does plan on staying long.

As we are waiting for our tee times, it becomes more obvious with each ticking minute that Cam is going to be a “No Call / No Show”. I start the round by sending Joe T and EJ out as a group of two. And so starts, The Legends of Tomorrow…

Next up is Jason and Adam playing the final round of the BJG Tour Championship.

Adam had won early, winning the Misters, the Woods Shootout, and the Championship of the World. Adam had battled Cody all year, trying to win the Race to Big Y (Dubai).

Adam had fallen off the pace after his time at the Travelers, but at the end of the day, he finished 2nd in the regular season. Adam defeated Joe T in the first round of the FedUp Cup playoffs and won the 2nd Round of the BJG Fed Up Cup to advance to the Final Round.

Jason had a different path. Jason was DQ’ed at the Pretenders and then took the Woods Shootout off for a birthday party. Jason would then come back strong with his win at our 2nd Major, the Fathers & Uncles Invitational. Jason also defended his title at the Victory or Valhalla and then won our final Major, the BJG Championship.

Jason had succeeded in coming back to tie Adam for 2nd place at the end of the regular season. Only the luck of the John Daly coin and the Golf Gods gave Adam 2nd place and Jason 3rd. Jason’s winning streak would continue as he soundly defeated Joe in the first round of the Fed Up Cup Playoffs and in fact, won the first-round trophy. Jason managed a 2nd place finish in the 2nd round of the playoffs to advance to the Final Round.

The Front Nine:

Adam and Jason are running neck and neck for the first four holes with Jason leading 23 to 24, but that is not a good thing for Jason since he must give Adam 13 strokes.

On the 5th hole, a 91-yard par 3, Adam hits a nice tee shot to about 5 feet of the flag. Jason goes long and right. As we searched for Jason’s ball, I noticed the vegetation that I had never realized was there. The further up we looked, the more water we found. After a while, it was declared a lost ball and with it, a two-stroke penalty. Yes, there was water, but it was from the rain and there were no red stakes. By the time Jason gets on the green, he is hitting 6. Add 3 putts, and Jason has a 9 to Adams Par.

On the last 4 holes, Jason and Adam continue to battle it out with Adam shooting 18 to Jason’s 19.

Front Nine Score

Adam – 30 (45)

Jason – 42 (51)

I have to tell you, even in the poor conditions and with all of his rain gear on, Adam was “Steady Freddy” playing great golf.

The Back Nine

For those of you who have played Franconia before, you know that the back nine can be dangerous if you don’t stay on the fairway.

10th Hole – Adam and Jason both get a 6 on the Par 5.

11th hole – Jason sends two tee shots to the right and up the hill by the 5th tee box. I have been there many times and that is not a place you want to be, especially not twice. Adam’s tee shot is in the middle of the fairway.

After searching for a while, we found Jason’s ball on the other side of the fence, on the far end of the 5th tee box. You can clearly see the ball, but even if you could get over the fence, there was nothing you could do with it. The area was thick with brush and more than 2 clubs lengths to the fence. We now started the search for the provisional ball. This one is farther up, but it is in the far right brush, and it is thick. After the search, Jason takes the drop and is now hitting six. Jason finishes with an 8 to Adam’s 5.

Augusta National has “Amen Corner” at holes 11, 12 & 13. At Franconia, we have the “Devil's Corner” at holes 12, 13 & 14.

The 12th hole, Par 5 has two creeks that run through it along with water all down the right side after the first creek, plus the green is small and tucked in the back right corner. The 13th hole, Par 4, has a narrow window going uphill from the tee box, so you need to be straight. Going right has some room for error, but left is trees and then a steep drop down near the 15th fairway. The 14th hole, Par 3, is from an elevated tee box with water at the bottom before a climb back up to the green. The green always runs hard from back to front.

The 12th hole – Adam and Jason finish with a 7, even with Jason losing a ball to the right after the first creek. Franconia is now well-marked, so it is only one stroke for the "penalty area".

The 13th Hole – Adam’s drive goes right, and we hear it hit a couple of trees, and that is never good. It is pretty open on the right side so there is a chance of finding it.

Jason’s first ball off the tee is hard left and deep into the trees in front of us. Jason's second ball is a little straighter, but it is still left.

Adam does his quick search but comes up empty and drops 2 club lengths on the fairway. Adam is now hitting 4. Jason searches for his ball down the steep hill. Joe T and EJ are on the 15th fairway, and they can hear Jason looking for his ball.

Jason finds his 2nd ball, and the next time we see Jason, he is on the very edge of the tree line, hitting 6.

Jason finishes the hole with a 9, and Adam has a 7.

The 14th Hole – There were a few minutes of concern as Jason walked off the tee box saying he never saw his ball. Adam is on the green. Jason finds his ball, and play continues. Adam has a 3, and Jason has a 4.

The 15th Hole. The rain starts to come down hard, and it reminds me of the good old days at BJG when we would play in monsoons. Adam has a nice tee shot, but Jason crushes his tee shot. The wheels start to wobble for Adam as he finishes this hole with an 8 to Jason’s 4.

For the last three holes, Jason finishes with a 13 to Adam's 15.

Back Nine Scores

Adam – 35 (51)

Jason – 42 (51)

FINAL SCORE

1st Place: Adam – 65 (96)

2nd Place: Jason – 102 (84)

Congratulations to Adam for not only winning the BJG Fed Up Cup Tour Championship but for also shooting under 100 for his very first time. Adam, welcome to the 90’s club. Of course, this means that Adam’s handicap will change…

Adam has put in a lot of work during the 2023 BJG season by taking lessons and playing a lot of practice rounds. Adam has also proven his commitment by the long drives to and from the BJG events. Adam had even completed in two events that he was scheduled to miss. That is real commitment. Adam is a testament to the fact that if you work hard, you can play better golf.

For Jason, he came up just short of a Cinderella-storied comeback. season.

The next blog will be The Legends of Tomorrow (it will be much shorter).

Next on the schedule is the BJG Presidents Cup on Oct 15th.

Respectfully,

Broken Joe

Commissioner