Wild Card Sunday - Group One & Two

Broken Joe
Sep 23, 2022
4 min read

Dude, Where’s My Par – Wild Card Match Up

With Dave moving on to greener pastures, the Wild Card match-up was supposed to be between Bryan and Jake.

Of course, Bryan texted me on Friday asking if we have golf on Sunday, and yes, according to the BJG schedule that came out in February. Bryan also reminds me that it is his anniversary on Sunday. I’m starting to get a bad feeling…

I get my 2nd text from Bryan on Saturday. He needs to withdraw because he's working until 8:15 and will not make his tee time on Sunday.

Bryan has been with BJG since 2017, and to his credit, he has made it to the playoffs every year. Unfortunately, in those 6 years, Bryan has never actually played in the playoffs, which has always opened the door for someone less worthy.

Jake does show up to play, but he must complete the round in order to move on to the second round.

As it turns out, it was a gift from the Golf Gods that Bryan did not show up. Jake struggled with the front nine, scoring a 55.

On the back nine, Jake was on fire, that is until he got to the 16th hole and scored a 13. Jake finished the back nine with a 48 and a final score of 103. Since Bryan did not play, it did not matter what Jake scored, he just needed to finish the round, and now Jake is moving on.

A Few Good Men – Wild Card Match Up

Joe vs Jason was probably the Dave vs Goliath story of the Playoffs Joe has had his struggles this year, and Jason has been playing "better" golf as the year progressed. But this is the playoffs, and if you want to move on, you have to play “great” golf.

Front Nine:

Turns out, Joe is playing great golf. His driver is straight, 2nd shots are ok, chipping is good, and even his putting isn’t bad.

Jason on the other hand has hit 5 trees off the tee box on 5 separate holes. But the Golf Gods refused to let Jason lose a ball into the woods. If Jason was left or right, the Golf Gods would ricocheted the ball back onto the fairway. It was truly something to witness.

Front Nine Scores:

Joe – 44

Jason 47

Back Nine:

Joe is surprised that he is up by 3, but he knows Jason came to play some golf, so he needs to stay focused. Jason tells the world that he will shoot 40 on the back nine.

For the next 6 holes, Joe continues to play great golf and now leads Jason by 5 strokes.

The 16th hole is a blind downhill, par 5 and water at about 200 yards. Joe decides to take the water out of play and hits a 170-yard shot. Jason crushes his tee shot.

Joe gets to the top of the “hill” and suddenly realizes it is just a tiny slope, and the "water" is about 3 inches wide. Joe realizes his mistake. Joe’s second shot is a little right and under a tree. Joe plays smart since he has no shot at the green and chips out.

Joe duffs his next shot which should have been an easy shot to the green. Joe skulls his shot to the green, bounces over the back side of the short green, and into the water. Joe decides to hit a provisional and finally hits the green. With his 2 putts, he completes the hole with his 9…

Meanwhile, Jason has crushed his drive and is on the green in 2. He just misses the eagle putt and settles for birdie.

The 9 will be hard for Joe to shake off, but the fact was that Joe and Jason were now tied, but Jason could smell blood in the water and was not going to give Joe anything. On the 17th hole, Joe has trouble with his 2nd shot going right, and Jason finishes the hole with a 1-stroke lead.

On 18, Jason crushes another drive up and over the barn. Jason makes par. Joe goes to tap in for par, but the Golf Gods say “no, not today” and the ball rolls around the cup, and Jason finishes 2 up.

Back Nine Scores

Jason – 39

Joe - 44

Back in the clubhouse, Alex is adding up the scorecards and declares Joe the winner because of the 3 strokes that Jason has been giving him all year. Jason insists that the round played “straight up”. Jason had made that statement at least 3 times while on the golf course.

As I pause for a moment before making my comment, I think, did I say or write something that would lead Jason to believe we were playing straight up?

I also think about Adam, Alex, and EJ, who had to play the regular season “straight up”.

And finally, I know that I had been kicking Jason’s ass most of the day (until I wasn't) and that Jason made a GREAT comeback. While I was a little disappointed with the outcome, I did play my best golf and finished with my lowest score ever.

I tell Alex, "yes, we were playing straight up”. Truth be told, when the Golf Gods would not let Jason lose a ball in the woods, I knew I could be in trouble.

Final Score

1st Place: Jason – 86

2nd Place: Joe – 88