Results from the First Round of the Fed Up Cup — St. Mulligan’s Championship

It felt like a LONG two-week layoff after the double-round BJG Championship, but the time had finally come to start the playoffs.

About a week out, we knew it was going to rain, but I don’t think anyone expected this much rain.

Earlier in the week, I knew Magic Mike wasn’t playing due to an injury.

Then, on Sunday morning at 6:40, Stephen started the ball rolling by saying he would not be playing.

Iron Mike and JT were next to call out, but I don’t blame them. They weren’t playing for anything in the first round.

I called Franconia at 7:30, and they said they were open. I don’t think it was even raining here yet.

I was surprised, but happy, when Joe V said he would see us there.

Joe T and Rob called out next.

EJ arrived at Franconia at 9:00 and confirmed that the course was still open. Adam’s ETA was 9:55.

I arrived, followed by Rey.

James and Joe V showed up next. Both had just flown in the night before. James was just coming back from a golf outing in VA.

I went into the clubhouse, and you could tell they wanted to go home. After some discussion, they agreed to let us play, but we had to walk.  At least the five of us would get to play together.

I quickly called Adam and told him what was going on. He decided to head home, but I appreciated the effort to play.

The one person I had not heard from was Joe A. I called him next and told him what was going on. He told me he couldn’t walk the course. I understood and told him we would see him in a couple of weeks.

I headed for the first tee and then realized I hadn’t paid yet.

I got that taken care of, and now we were finally ready to play golf.

Welcome to the first round of the playoffs.

As soon as we all teed off and started down the fairway, the guys from the clubhouse came outside yelling at us.

I’m thinking that after all of this, they’re going to throw us off the course.

It turns out they were offering EJ an umbrella.  (EJ had given me his cart and umbrella).

I got to my ball, and EJ asked me for the distance to the flag. That’s when I realized I hadn’t brought my golf watch.

In fact, with everything going on that morning, I realized I hadn’t brought my rain gloves or extra towels in a plastic bag either.

On the second hole, I found out just how deep and thick the rough was and made a mental note to stay out of it.  Good luck with that.

By the time I got to the third hole, my rain jacket was soaked. The water coming off the jacket was running directly down my right hand like a river.

Because it was soaked, the jacket also felt like it weighed about 40 pounds.  I finally took it off, but now I had to carry that too. I instantly felt better.

Yes, it was raining, but at least it wasn’t a cold rain. It was about 67 degrees with no wind.

Believe me when I tell you, I have played golf in much worse conditions.

One time, we played when parts of the fairways were underwater, and the rule was that if you found your ball in the water, you could move it onto grass.

Another time, the greens were so wet that we used the streams of water running across them to help us with our putting.

And let's not forget the 2021 Pan Am with its cold, wet March winds where we had multiple golfers quit in the middle of the round and abandoned their teammates.

When we got to the par-3 fifth hole, we could see that the green was starting to hold water.

Rey was the first to putt, and the ball went nowhere.

We all laughed because we could see that the game had changed.

While some of you may think we were crazy for playing, the rule has always been that if the course is open, then we are playing golf.

I don’t control the weather or the golf course.

What you didn’t see was the Esprit de Corps that we experienced out there.

We were all competing under the exact same conditions and embracing the Commitment, Competition and Camaraderie.

THAT is Broken Joe Golf is supposed to be about.

Walking from the 5th hole to the 6th tee box, I actually think the rain slowed down, but by the time we reached the 6th green, I realized that I was in denial.

By the seventh hole, we were getting better at putting through the water. Unfortunately, that green had not retained as much water, so suddenly the putts were FAST.

On the eighth hole, we could see that the green had even more water on it, and we knew we would only be playing nine holes.

After we finished, we shook hands, knowing that we had accomplished our mission, but it was also definitely time to go home.

The good news was that it was only about 12:15, so we wouldn’t miss the NFL week one opening kickoff.

Results:

Match One: Joe defeats Stephen — 41 (51) to DNP

Match Two: EJ defeats Rob — 38 (50) to DNP

Match Three: James defeats Rey — 36 (44) to 44 (53)

Match Four: Joe A vs. Joe T — DNP x 2

Congratulations to Joe, EJ and James for moving on to the second round.

Final Scores — St. Mulligan’s Championship

1st Place: James — 36 (44)

 2nd Place: EJ — 38 (50)

 3rd Place: Joe — 41 (51)

 4th Place: Rey — 44 (53)

Honorable Mention: Joe V — 39 (45)

Congratulations to James for winning the St. Mulligan’s Championship.

Next on the schedule is the 2nd Round of the Fed Up Cup Playoffs, (The AMC Championship and Legends of Tomorrow / Losers of Today), which will be played on September 27, 2026.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE NOT PLAYING.

I also need to know if YOU ARE NOT PLAYING IN THIS YEAR’S RIDER CUP, which we will be playing on October 18, 2026.

Respectfully,

Broken Joe

Commissioner