Matt Wins The American Freedom Open

Matt has played second fiddle for the last three events, but this time, the John Daley coin smiled on Matt and gave him the win. The best part was that Matt wasn’t even supposed to play on Sunday, but with Stephen calling out sick at the last minute, Matt saw a way back in.

Joe T was out this week because he was on vacation.  James was landing at 7 am on Sunday, so he wouldn’t make it to the golf course in time.  Adam remembered he had a golf tournament.  Joe V had a bad ankle, and Stephen was sick Sunday morning.  There would be a lot of free points up for grabs.

Front Nine:

1st Place:  EJ – 33 (51)

2nd Place:  Rey – 34 (45)

3rd Place:  Dustin – 37 (55)

4th Place:  Matt – 38 (42)

5th Place:  JT – 39 (44)

6th Place:  Rob – 40 (49)

7th Place:  Mike – 42 (47)

8th Place:  Joe – 43 (55)

It was a tough front nine, with JT having the lone Birdie. The group made only 11 pars.  And it was Hot…

EJ and Rey were running hard on the front, with everyone else just trying to hold on.

Joe had to take a two-stroke penalty on the second hole after Matt called him out for hitting his ball from the wrong spot while on the green. 

Holes 3, 7, and 8 were the easiest to play, at just one stroke over Par. The 5th hole, Par 4, was the hardest to play, at two strokes over Par.

As a group, we shot two over par, 38 (49).

Back Nine

 1st Place:  Matt – 31 (40)

2nd Place:  Mike – 34 (39)

3rd Place:  Rey – 35 (47)

4th Place:  EJ – 40 (58)

4th Place:  Joe – 40 (53)

6th Place:  Dustin – 43 (61)

7th Place:  Rob – 45 (54)

8th Place:  JT – 45 (52)

The Back Nine was HOT; even the shade couldn’t bring relief.

On the back, Mike was the only Golfer to manage a Birdie. Once again, as a Group, we only managed 11 Pars. But Matt had the hot hand on the back.

Dustin, Rob, and JT had some trouble getting over the water on the par-5 14th Hole. In fact, the 14th Hole was the most challenging hole, playing at 3 Over Par.  The Par 4, 10th Hole, played the easiest at just .75 over Par.

As a group, we shot four over Par, 39 (51), and a final score of 78 (100)

American Freedom Open Final Scores

 1st Place:  Matt – 69 (87)

1st Place:  Rey – 69 (92)

3rd Place:  EJ – 73 (109)

4th Place:  Mike – 76 (86)

5th Place:  Dustin – 80 (116)

6th Place:  Joe – 83 (108)

7th Place:  JT - 85 (96)

7th Place:  Rob – 85 (103)

YES, we have another TIE… There was some talk about doing a Putt-Off, but it was HOT and HUMID outside. At the end of the discussion, Matt and Rey called for the John Daley coin. If Rey won, it would be his third Major win; if Matt won, he would finally get his first trophy. There was a lot at stake.

Rey told Matt he could call it.  Joe gave the coin a big flip and Matt called TAILS.  When the coin stopped bouncing, Matt finally had his trophy, not bad for a guy who wasn’t supposed to play.  And just like that, Rey’s quest for the 2024 Grand Slam was finished…

American Freedom Open Points

 1st Place:  Matt – 60 Points

2nd Place:  Rey – 57 Points

3rd Place:  EJ – 53 Points

4th Place:  Mike – 49 Points

5th Place:  Dustin – 44 Points

6th Place:  Joe – 40 Points

7th Place:  JT - 34 Points

7th Place:  Rob – 34 Points

BJG FedUp Cup Leaderboard Points 

1st Place:  Matt – 212.5 Points

2nd Place:  Rey – 206.5 Points

3rd Place:  Mike – 160.5 Points

4th Place:  Joe – 158 Points

5th Place:  EJ – 151 Points

6th Place:  Joe T – 131 Points

7th Place:  Rob – 125.5 Points

8th Place:  Dustin – 106 Points

9th Place:  Adam – 97 Points

10th Place:  Stephen – 95.5 Points

11th Place:  James – 86 Points

12th Place:  JT – 60 Points

13th Place:  Joe V – 49.5 Points

Matt and Rey remain at the top of the Leaderboard with only 6 Points separating 1st and 2nd Place.

Mike jumps up two spots to third, but there is a big 46-point difference between second and third Place.

Joe remains in fourth place, just 2.5 Points behind Mike. EJ moves up to fifth Place, just 7 Points behind Joe.

Joe T falls three spots to 6th Place and is 20 Points behind EJ. Rob moves up two places to 7th and is 5.5 Points from Joe T.

Dustin moves up three spots to 8th and is 20 Points behind Rob. Adam moves down two places to 9th and is 9 Points behind Dustin.

Stephen falls two spots to 10th and is just 1.5 Points behind Adam.  James loses a spot and drops to 11th. James is 9.5 Points behind Adam.

JT moves to 12th and is 26 Points behind James.  Joe V falls back to Last Place and is 10.5 Points behind JT.

Matt and Mike made some money by winning the Closet to the Pins.

Housekeeping Notes;

1.     Matt was following Rule 16th when he noted my 2-stroke penalty.  Remember, if you don’t say it before you leave the green, it did not happen.

2.     There were a lot of crazy shots on Sunday.  Please ensure you follow BJG Rule Number 1 about marking your balls.  The 1 Ball is your Original Ball; the 2 Ball is your Provisional Ball, and your 3 Ball is just in case you lose the first two balls.  You should always be hitting a One Ball from the Tee Box.  Your balls should also have your mark or Initials on your golf balls so your group can ID your ball when we find it.  No, the manufacturing name and number is NOT your mark. 

3.     You will only ever hit two balls from the same spot: the Original Ball and a Provisional ball.  After that, you will hit the next shot from somewhere else.  You will either play your Original Ball or Provisional Ball, or you will drop in the fairway with an extra two strokes.

4.     Water…  You only need to put TWO balls in the water from the same spot before moving to the BJG Drop Zone.  There is no reason to put 3, 4, or 5 more balls in the water.  Remember that most BJG rules help speed up the pace of play.  I will do a better job of telling each of you about the BJG Drop Zones and we will have the White Flags out on the course.

Remember, you can play BAD Golf, but you cannot play SLOW Golf.

There are only three more events in the Regular Season, so we are coming down to the wire.

Next on the schedule is the Quest for Valhalla on July 28th, 2024. I intend to get tee times for Valhalla at Tekoa Country Club in Westfield.

Respectfully,

Broken Joe

Commissioner