EJ chose VICTORY over Valhalla

We had four golfers on vacation and one golfer playing in a tournament.   This means there will be more free points, and coming in last will not hurt so much.

Front Nine:

1st Place:  EJ – 32 (50)

2nd Place:  Rey – 33 (44)

2nd Place:  Joe T – 33 (45)

4th Place:  Rob – 35 (44)

5th Place:  James – 38 (45)

6th Place:  Dustin – 41 (59)

7th Place:  Joe V – 41 (43)

8th Place:  Joe – 43 (55)

EJ plays good golf on the front with Rey and Joe T on his heels.  If anyone has followed EJ’s scores, you would have noticed that he usually only plays the front or the back nine holes well, but never both. 

James, Joe V, and Rey all have a birdie on the front.

This is Joe V’s home course, but with his hand injury, I don’t know how good he will play.  At least Joe V is willing to give it the old college try. 

Meanwhile, Joe has another bad start, with an 8 and a 9 on his scorecard.

The easiest hole on the front was the Par 3, 7th hole, which played just a half stroke over Par.  The hardest holes were the Par 5, 3rd Hole, the Par 3, 5th Hole, and the Par 5, 9th Hole, all playing two strokes over Par.

As a group, we shot one over Par 37 (48)

Back Nine: 

1st Place:  EJ – 32 (50)

2nd Place:  Rey – 38 (49)

2nd Place:  James – 38 (46)

4th Place:  Dustin – 39 (57)

4th Place:  Joe – 39 (52)

4th Place:  Joe T - 39 (52)

7th Place:  Joe V – 41 (43)

7th Place:  Rob – 41 (50)

EJ SMOKES the competition on the back nine, even with Joe T and Joe trying to mess with his mojo.  The more EJ was heckled, the better he played. 

Meanwhile, the rest of the group didn’t seem to play great at Veterans, especially compared to EJ, but the rest of our scores were all very close.

Joe V is the only golfer with a birdie on the back nine.

We again had questions about lost balls, Stroke and Distance Relief and Provisionals.  I will cover that in more depth in my next blog.

The Par 4, 16th Hole, was the easiest, at just under one stroke over Par. The Par 3, 15th Hole, was the hardest, at 2.1 strokes over Par.

As a group, we shot two over Par 38 (50) and a final score of 75 (98).

Final Score:

1st Place:  EJ – 64 (100)

2nd Place:  Rey – 71 (93)

3rd Place:  Joe T – 72 (97)

4th Place:  James – 76 (91)

4th Place:  Rob – 76 (94)

6th Place:  Dustin – 80 (107)

7th Place:  Joe – 82 (107)

7th Place:  Joe V – 82 (86)

Well, even a blind squirrel finds a nut. 

The truth is that EJ has been playing "better golf" almost every time we have played a practice round. Plus, EJ usually gets a win at some point in the season. In 2021, he had the lowest score in the first round of the playoffs, and he won the 2023 Winter Classic Championship. The real question is—was this just luck, or does he have some skill? I guess we will find out at the Chubby Classic.

EJ also wins the closest to the Pin on the front nine, and no one could hit the green at 182-yard Par 3 on the back. This means the back nine Closets to the Pin payout will double to $40.

Valhalla Points:

1st Place:  EJ – 15 Points

2nd Place:  Rey – 14 Points

3rd Place:  Joe T – 13 Points

4th Place:  James – 11.5 Points

4th Place:  Rob – 11.5 Points

6th Place:  Dustin – 10 Points

7th Place:  Joe – 8 Points

7th Place:  Joe V – 8 Points

BJG Fed Up Cup Leaderboard: 

1st Place:  Rey – 220.5 Points

2nd Place:  Matt – 212.5 Points

3rd Place:  EJ – 166 Points

3rd Place:  Joe – 166 Points

5th Place:  Mike – 160.5 Points

6th Place:  Joe T – 144 Points

7th Place:  Rob – 137 Points

8th Place:  Dustin – 116 Points

9th Place:  James – 97.5 Points

10th Place:  Adam – 97 Points

11th Place:  Stephen – 95.5 Points

12th Place:  JT – 60 Points

13th Place:  Joe V – 57.5 Points

Rey is back on top of the leaderboard, with Matt now in second Place. With this win, EJ moves to third and is tied with Joe.

Mike drops from 3rd to 5th. Joe T, Rob, and Dustin remain in the 6th, 7th, and 8th spots.

James moves from 11th to 9th.  Adam falls from 9th to 10th, and Stephen falls from 10th to 11th.

JT remains at the 12th spot, with Joe V closing the gap but still in the last spot.

Our next round is the Chubby Classic on August 11th, 2024.  I am still working on a golf course for this event.

Finally, I want to congratulate James on making it to the Veterans Golf Association regionals. We all wish you good luck.

Respectfully,

Broken Joe

Commissioner