Results from the 2024 BJG Winter Classic Championship

This was not the Winter Classic Championship I had hoped for, with only 4 out of 13 Golfers playing in the event.

EJ sold his clubs and moved to Soccer.  James was on vacation. Rob’s son had a football game.  Matt had to work.  Adam had a golf tournament.  Joe T had fallen behind on his home chores.  Joe V may have had an issue with his hand. 

On Sunday, at 5:12 am, Stephen texts me that it is too damn cold for him, and he wishes us “Good Luck”.

When the day begins, it is cold, with a temperature around 30 degrees, and of course, there is a frost delay.  When Joe and Rey arrive, Mike and Dustin are already at the golf course.  The kid behind the counter taking green fees says the delay will be about 90 minutes, so we settle in for the wait.  The clubhouse is packed with golfers, and with the kid behind the counter doing double duty as the cook, Joe decides to head to Dunkin Donuts. 

When Joe returns, the temperature is around 37 degrees, and only the BJG guys are left in the clubhouse. 

Most of the Golfers are now outside waiting to start. The good news is that there was a Starter at the first Green. We continue to wait for our 90-minute delay, which should mean our new tee time will be around 10:15.

As we wait, it seems that more Golfers are in line around the first tee box and the practice green.

When I go out to check with the Starter to see where we are in the cue, I hear a golfer say his group is next on the tee box. I ask him what his tee time is, and he replies, "9:08." Well, that’s a problem.

I run back inside the clubhouse and pass the word.  Dustin and Mike are first out the door, ready to have a conversation with the Starter.  As Rey and Joe pull up, Dustin says we are on the tee box. 

It is a little surreal as we walk through the crowd and the line of golfers to step onto the first tee box. There is no warm-up, no nothing.  And that is how we started the 2024 Winter Classic Championship.

As we move to the third green, JT gets a ride from one of the golf course staff. Unfortunately, we have a foursome, and JT makes us Five. JT heads back to the clubhouse to get his money back.

So far, the day has been chaotic, but the temperature is starting to warm up, and we are settling in.

Front Nine Scores:

1st Place:  Joe – 33 (47)

2nd Place:  Mike – 39 (44)

2nd Place:  Rey – 39 (49)

4th Place:  Dustin – 48 (66)

Joe is on fire. He is getting an extra 60 yards from his driver using a combination of his PGA Professional winter golf lessons and YouTube golf videos of Moe Norman's single-plane golf swing, which he practiced during the BJG Rider Cup. Joe’s putter is also HOT. 

Mike was playing great golf except for the double bogey on the 4th Hole and the triple bogie on the 7th Hole.

Rey was having trouble getting off the tee box, and his putting was just off. Four double bogies and a triple bogie were not going to cut it.

Dustin had a tough first hole before settling in and playing well. That was until he fell apart on the 7th, 8th, and 9th holes. Dustin also lost his NY Giants putter cover, which did not help.

As a group, we shot a score of 40 (52).  The Par 3, 3rd Hole is the easiest at just over half a stroke.  The Par 4, 7th Hole, plays the hardest at 2.6 strokes over par.

The Back Nine:

Mike plays GREAT golf on the back, scoring the only birdie of the day, along with SIX pars.

Joe has trouble on the 10th and 18th holes but plays well on the other seven holes, thanks to his driver and putter.

Rey plays better golf on the back nine, but his driver and putter are still giving him a little trouble.

A group, a couple of holes behind us, finds Dustion’s NY Giants putter cover and gives it to him while we are on the 10th tee box.  This small act of kindness restores Dustin’s faith in humanity, which helps him play better golf until his blow-up hole on the 18th hole…

Back Nine Scores:

1st Place:  Mike – 33 (38)

2nd Place:  Joe – 36 (50)

3rd Place:  Rey – 37 (47)

3rd Place:  Dustin – 37 (55)

As a group, we shoot a score of 36 (48) for a total score of 76 (100)

The Par 4 13th Hole and the Par 3 15th Hole play the easiest, at just over half a stroke. The Par 5 18th Hole plays the hardest, at almost three strokes over par.

Final Scores:

1st Place:  Joe – 69 (97)

2nd Place:  Mike – 72 (82)

3rd Place:  Rey - 76 (96)

4th Place:  Dustin - 85 (121)

Joe wins his 5th Winter Classic Championship.

Joe has not played well over the last two years, but hopefully, he has finally turned the corner. 

Rey wins the Closest to the Pin on the Front, and Mike wins the Closest to the Pin on the Back.

Next year could be another great year of competition If all 12 BJG members return in 2025.

Just because our 2024 BJG season has ended doesn't mean that we here at BJG World HQs will go quietly into the night.  I will continue to write blogs once or twice a month, and I plan to schedule some BJG time in the Golf Simulator over the winter, maybe even a BJG Bowling Match.

Please take some well-deserved time off, and we will talk again later.

Respectfully,

Broken Joe

Commissioner