TONAWANDA, NY – After six weeks of play, Jeff Luke and Mike Mondoux were sitting atop the standings and Tom Barbops not far behind. These three gentlemen had started to break away from the pack and have consistently been atop of the standings and playing partners most weeks.
Meanwhile, folks like Shawn Conschafter, John Coyle, Joe LaBuda and Jeff Hewett were consistently griping that they were playing with the same players each and every week and that it was difficult to score as low as those at the top. Their griping had continued and after week six was over a motion was made to the PIH Board by John Coyle.
The motion read: “Dear respected Putter In Hand board member(s). We, the putters of the esteemed Putter In Hand League, call to motion a change to rule 34.5.1 of the PIH Rule Book which currently states ‘The pairings each week will be determined by the overall standings and shall not be altered unless executive order is granted by the league commissioner.’ While this rules does follow the pairings process by similar leagues of PIH caliber, for example the PGA and LPGA, we do feel it violates the principals with which the league was founded on and that is to make new friends and nurture existing ones. Many of us less-skilled players would like the opportunity to play with the top players in the league and foster new relations. It is for these reasons we call to motion a league vote which will alter the pairings process, making it a random draw. We hope you will consider this rules change and sincerely appreciate all that this board does for the league. Sincerely, Jonathan “Bobby” Coyle”
The league was moved by such a request and reluctantly set the motion into vote. The options given to the putters were:
- Start this week and continue until the final week
- Only weeks 8 & 9, don’t mess with the majors
- Keep it as is
- I don’t give a shit
With 16 votes submitted, “I don’t give a shit” won with 7 votes, so Board Members needed to look at 2
nd place. With 6 votes, the league spoke and “Start this week and continue until the final week” won and the random order was implemented immediately.
League leader, Luke, was paired with 19
th place Joe Neeson and 20
th place Anthony “Pleated Pants” Remy, not a pairing that was ever going help Luke. On the 2nd hole, Luke could tell how the round was going to go as the heckling in his back-swing ensued, he scored a 4. Things didn’t get much better, or quieter, and Luke went on to shoot a Remy/Neeson-like 43 with 0 holes in one.
“It was a conspiracy by a group of deplorables to bring me and Mondoux down” proclaimed Luke after the round. “You don’t change the rules mid-season, plain and simple. This is something the incoming rules committee will discuss in the off season, I promise you that!”
Matching Luke’s 43 (0 HI1) exactly was Mondoux. In a Johnny Cochran tone, Mondoux remarked angrily “They can’t compete, so they gotta cheat”. When pressed as to who he thought was behind the rules change Mondoux said “Conschafter and Coyle. No doubt. Those SOBs are angry that they brought me into the league and dominated from week-1. The softball diamond, yard games, putt putt, you name it I dominate them!”
Look no further than his playing partner, Conschafter, as to the reason for Mondoux’s collapse. After week six play, Conschafter laid into Luke about not getting in Mondoux’s head when playing with him. Conschafter bragged about his ability to get in his “simple mind” and asked for the rule change as that would be his only chance to prove his power over Mondoux.
Well, the PIH Gods were listening to Conschafter’s prayers and as luck would have it, they were in the threesome together. Conschafter messed with Mondoux simply by saying nothing but encouraging words. Conschafter finished with a respectable 40 (0 HI1) but did claim victory over Mondoux.
And playing with Conschafter and Mondoux was the excommunicated Getzville-7 member, Mike Robinson, who continued his atrocious play, finishing last with a 49 (1 HI1). Robinson was petitioning the GI6 members claiming he would move to Grand Island if they would accept him into their “gang”. The two GI6 members looked at Robinson, holding his hot-dog putter, and laughingly said “If you win the green jacket, sure, you’re in” knowing there was no chance that would happen. The GI6 will remain at 6.
Luke and Mondoux finished in 14
th place, and with these two uncharacteristic results, the leader-board was sure to change. And it did.
Barbops who had pre-putted earlier in the week, escaped the damage of having to play with lesser-caliber players, and turned in a 39 (0 HI1). By finishing 10 places ahead of Luke and Mondoux, the week of a major, Barbops took over sole possession of 1
st place, 1.5 points ahead of Luke.
With Luke, Mondoux and Barbops out of the way, Jeff Hewett returned to his 2016 form and took his first green jacket in 14-weeks. Hewett shot a 36 (2 HI1) to move into 10
th place overall. “It feels good to be atop the leader-board again. I’ve had to deal with the distraction of the media at my door lately, asking me about the trophy, but I put that behind me and persevered.”
The media Hewett referred to is as a result of the damning reports that have been circulating about his involvement in “Trophy Gate”, which is reportedly nearing complete.
Playing alongside Hewett was Coyle, the lead sponsor of the Random Pairings Motion. Coyle has struggled in 2018 and again turned in a very pedestrian, 11
th place 42 (1 HI1) and now sits in 8
th place overall. Also playing with Coyle and Hewett was Nick Keil. A non-factor in the previous 6-weeks, Keil finished in 19
th place, the same place he sits in the overall standings.
Finishing T-2
nd and scoring his first sub-40 round was rookie Joe LaBuda with a 38 (1 HI1). LaBuda is starting to figure things out as not only did he take 2
nd place in week-7, he also won the skins tournament over Thanksgiving break with his playing partner Keil. LaBuda, who recorded just his 2
nd HI1, now sits T-17
th place overall and is ready for the green jacket he says.
Playing alongside LaBuda was green jacket virgin Jay Flemming and one-time green jacket winner Scott Mason. Flemming shot a 41 (1 HI1) and still confuses Vegas odds makers with his consistently inconsistent play. A one-time green jacket favorite hasn’t sniffed the green jacket in 2018. He claims its part of his long-term strategy which he’s reluctant to share. Mason on the other hand admits to not having a strategy as he shot a 45 (1 HI1). “Listen, if I score a hole-in-one in a given week, I’m going home happy. And that’s just what I did. Good. Night.” Mason now sits in 13
th place overall while Flemming is in 7
th.
Tied for 2
nd place with LaBuda was Neeson, who clearly took advantage of playing with Luke, as he was in 19
th place coming into the week. Neeson shot his first sub-40 round since week-8 of 2017 and looks to finish the year strong.
Rounding out the Luke and Neeson pairings was Remy who, despite playing with Luke and Neeson, still played his typically poor game and finished with a 45 (0 HI1). Remy hasn’t had a whiff of the green jacket since his fluke win the first week of the league and doesn’t appear to be anywhere close to returning to the top any time soon.
In other action, the threesome of Bryan An, Scott VeRost and Scott Wilson provide little challenge as Wilson lead the group with a 42 (0 HI1). Wilson, 2 weeks removed from his green jacket victory, sitting in 5
th place overall, didn’t like the new rules. “Putting with that Bryan guy is brutal. He gives me no look and no motivation. VeRost is not much better. I better be on that rules committee.” Wilson may have a legit reason to complain about his parings abilities as VeRost finished with a 45 (1 HI1) and An finished with a 48 (0 HI1). 2018 is the best VeRost has ever shot and still holds out hope of that green jacket. An, on the other hand, just doesn’t want to finish in last. He finished in 22
nd, one better than Robinson.
And rounding out the pairings was the twosome of Pat Holden and Chris Wilkinson. Wilkinson finished with a 40 (1 HI1) while Holden shot a 42 (0 HI1). During the round, the media captured the two looking to enjoy themselves immensely. After the round, the media caught up to the two individually and they told quite a different story.
Holden told reporters: “That Chris is a fine lad. Very nice. A strong looking body with a great swing. I enjoyed our walk through the course as a couple. I hope to do it again sometime soon.”
While Wilkinson had quite the opposite reaction: “Who the F*** is this guy? I felt his eyes looking me up and down on every putt. At one point, when crossing the bridge, he asked me to do a selfie with him. I acted like I didn’t hear him and hurried to the next hole. I’ll be voting no if that random pairings rule ever comes up for vote again.”
And with that, week-7 is in the books. Week-8 is a non-major and again will be a random draw. It will be interesting to see what the parings are and how it will impact the field once again.
- Average Score: 42.48
- Holes-in-one Leader: 10 (DiJames, who didn't record a HI1 this week)
- “Harald Watch” – Harald finished in the top-9 for only the 4th time in his career.
- No putter had scored in the 50’s
- GI6: Avg. Score – 41.33
- Getzville-6: Avg. Score – 42.67