Harry wins the BJG Fed Up Cup

While it is true that the pandemic had cut the BJG season in half, it has been a wild ride.

The 2020 best of the best, the final four golfers in BJG, played the Fed Up Cup Finals at Chicopee County Club.

We had an 11 am tee time, and I thought I would have plenty of time to lie around and mentally prepare for the challenges to come, but that was not to be. I had to go pick up the Fed Up Cup from Jake and then pick up Dave for 9.

I knew Dave was taking this event seriously when he asked me to pick him up early so he could go to the driving range. Dave has been off his game in 2020, and he did not want to be surprised at the first tee.

Cody comes rolling into the parking lot with his windows down and blaring some hip hop song, trying to get his head into the game. Next comes Rock and then Joe T.

I give Joe Willie and Rock the 10:50 tee time because if anyone is going to get bombed on, I figured it should be them. I was impressed with their commitment. They said they were going to play, and then they showed up, unlike Rey and Juan, who bailed when it looked like it might rain. I am sure the late tee times did not help along with the start of the football season.

Rock and Joe Willie tee off, but we are still missing Harry. I call Harry as he is just pulling into the parking lot with about 5 minutes to spare. For a minute, I thought we would only have three people in the Finals.

Front Nine:

On the very first hole, Dave gets off to a rough start with an 8, and the rest of us get a bogey.

The greens were fast, not Florida fast, but just fast enough so that you could not read the break or make you afraid to hit a firm uphill putt.

After the first four holes, the scores are tight. Harry is at 19, Cody is at 20, and Dave & Joe have 21. Of course, with Dave and Cody having plus handicaps, being close is not going to be good enough today.

On the 5th, Joe has his trademark Fed Up Cup blow-up hole with a score of 10, and he knows he is in trouble. After that, no one has any real issues, but Dave and Joe know that they could already be in trouble.

Front Nines Scores:

Cody - 43

Harry – 45

Dave – 49

Joe – 53

Cody is in trouble with his handicap, and Harry is playing well. Dave is pretty sure his day is over, and Joe thinks that 53 with a 10 is not so bad, especially if Dave is at 49.

Back Nine:

At the turn, Joe goes to the clubhouse to get a beer, and since he has not eaten today, he decides to order a hot dog. After 15 minutes of watching the whole town of Chicopee gets served their food, he decides to go hungry. Of course, his playing partners are not happy about the delay.

As it turns out, Joe should have eaten because he shot a nine on the 10th hole, with Harry having a double and Dave & Cody with a bogey.

Joe makes a joke about shooting par for the next eight holes so he can complete the 2nd greatest comeback in BJG history, but then he thinks, "hey, why not, Idid it last time…"

The scores after 10 holes are Harry with a 51, Cody has a 48, but with his 10 strokes, he is really at 58. Dave is at 61 with his plus 7 handicap, and Joe is bringing up the rear with his 62.

This means that Cody is down by 7 strokes, Dave is down by 10 strokes, and Joe is down by 11 strokes. Harry clearly has this game in the bag… but then the winds begin to change direction, and the earth slows down for just a second…

What happens over the next seven holes is an incredible story of perseverance and luck, both good and bad.

Harry's game starts to come apart at the seams and Joe and Cody take advantage of Harry’s misfortune. This could be the start of, what is hoped to be, the 2nd greatest come in BJG history.

Harry shoots a par, four Double bogeys, a Triple, and then gets his own 8 on the 17th hole (41). Cody shoots a par, four bogeys, and two doubles (35). Joe shoots two pars and 5 bogeys (32).

At the end of 17 holes, it is coming down to the wire.

Harry is at 92, Cody is at 93 (with his handicap), Joe is at 94, and Dave is at 97 (with his handicap). Cody managed to get back 6 strokes, and Joe was able to get back 9 strokes with only one hole left to play.

Joe was riding with Dave, and he told Dave since the 11th hole that he just had to play one hole at a time, that this comeback was possible. Dave was skeptical at first, but by the 17th hole, I really think Dave was starting to believe too. If nothing else, Joe was confident.

Dave was counting the scores after the 17th hole, but Cody knew he was one stroke back. He had been keeping very close track of the scores. Cody was binding his time, waiting for his opportunity and his time to strike was near.

Well, you know Harry (no, Nic wouldn’t know him) was still happy and still kind of loose, even after playing bad golf for the last seven holes.

The 18th Hole:

Joe had the honor on the tee box since he had just shot par on the 17th hole. Joe just needs to do what he has done must of the day, just hit the driver on to the fairway, nothing fancy. Instead, Joe hits a line drive, foul ball , straight left and into the brush. Joe is absolutely stunned as are the golfers behind him. Dave’s eyes are as big as saucers, and he is trying so hard not to laugh, but the smile is just too big to hide. Joe knows the comeback is over…

Dave hits a nice drive down the left side, and Cody hits another beautiful drive that goes a county mile.

Harry is last on the tee box, and his drive is short and right. Joe sees some hope and hits his 3rd shot right down the middle of the fairway and wonders why he could not do that the first time.

Harry's second shot is in the right greenside bunker, and Cody knows that this could be his day. Joe still believes he has a chance, maybe not for first, but at this point, he would be happy with just finishing strong.

Dave is on the green in two, and Joe is on in five. Cody is about 40 yards from the green, and then his wheels fall off. Cody flubs the first chip shot, and with his second chip shot, he just makes it to the green. You could almost feel the air come out of Cody. Joe knows that feeling, as does Dave.

Harry is still in the bunker so there is still some hope. As I walked by the bunker, the ball looked like a fried egg in the sand and it seemed to be close to the lip. Harry was going to need to be perfect… AND HE WAS. Harry hits a beautiful bunker shot that stopped about 4 or 5 feet from the hole. It was incredible to watch, and I cannot even imagine the pressure that he must have been feeling. Maybe Harry really is Superman, well at least util he gets his 2021 handicap.

Dave 2 putts for four, and Joe, once again three-putts and gets another 8.

Cody must have lost all hope after witnessing Harry’s bunker play because he finishes with a three-putt for 6.

Back Nine Scores

Dave – 45

Cody – 46

Joe – 49

Harry – 51

Final Score (Actual Score)

1st Place – Harry – 96 (96)

2nd Place – Cody – 99 (89)

3rd Place – Dave – 101 (94)

4th Place – Joe – 102 (102)

Just in case you were wondering, Rock shot a 105, and Joe Willie shot a 106.

After Juan won the BJG Championship, I told Harry that he probably had to win the "Fed Up Cup: to be the “2020 BJG Rookie of the Year” and he has done just that. Congratulations to Harry for a great victory.

Juan will probably need to win the "Winter Classic Championship" to just get back into the conversation for the “2020 BJG Rookie of the Year”. Either way, our two rookies have played very well for their first year out.

Next on the schedule is the Rider Cup, scheduled for October 4th, 2020, and then the final BJG round of the year, the Winter Classic Championship, scheduled for October 18th at St Annes.

Next week I will send out information on the Rider Cup.

Respectfully,

Broken Joe

Commissioner