Weekly Recaps
Post-round write-ups from the commissioner
Tonawanda, NY – The week-5 Open Championship marked the 11th week the Putter-In-Hand league has been in existence, and through 10-weeks there have been 10 different green jacket winners. This week, not only was there not a repeat green jacket winner, there wasn’t a winner what so ever. Neighbors Bryan An and Jay Flemming each scored an impressive 38 with 2 holes-in-one each and, as the rules state, when two or more golfers tie in score and holes-in-one, the prize money is carried over to the next week and the green jacket is not awarded.
Several PIH putters voiced their displeasure with the rule saying there should be a playoff or another means to determine the winner, while others were quite pleased with the rule and what it means for the final week of the season.
“The rules should be retroactively changed and they should split the money” said perennial bottom-feeder Crooked Harald Rehm. Agreeing with Rehm was Scott Wilson who chimed in with “Someone should be declared a winner every week. Ties suck.” On the other side of the argument was newcomers John Coyle and Shawn Conshafter who supported the rules as they’re documented and opposed the thought of changing the rules in retrospect. “I read the rules before I joined the league and had I disagreed with anything I would have brought it the attention of the rules committee before play started” argued Coyle, noting his time served in law school. “I’m not sure if Coyle went to classes at law school” said Conschafter. “I think he just drank at a law school campus, but he’s right. The rules are the rules.”
As for the putters in the middle of the controversy, An and Flemming, neither one seemed pleased with the outcome but did respect the rules. On the course, An did express a great deal of emotion during the match throwing his club on several occasions. Onlookers would never had guessed that An was the 23rd ranked player going into the match. With an average score of 47, An shot 9-strokes better than his average and doubled his season output for holes-in-one. “I had the chance to be in the lead group so I felt like I had to play up to my playing partners.” Playing with An was league leader Jeff Luke, 2nd place putter Dean Trzewieczynski and the controversial Jeff Hewett.
With a 5th place 39 and one hole-in-one, Luke did enough to stay in the lead heading into the final week. Trzewieczynski finished a stroke behind Luke and remains in 2nd place overall despite having to play with a house putter and borrowed ball. “I’ve put the wedding on hold” said Trzewieczynski before the match referring to the mistake his fiancé Dana made when she forgot to bring his putter to the pre-game dinner at the Dome. “Pending the outcome of the match, things are on hold” he said before the match. After shooting a season-tying best round, Trzewieczynski confirmed things were still on and that he’s considering the house putter for the final week.
Dropping 3 places to 6th overall, was Hewett who scored a 43 with one hole-in-one, good for 12th place. His ball was checked before the match which some say may have contributed to his poor showing. “It’s the first time he used a legit ball and see what happened. This league has to do a better job at governing game play” said James Geniti. “Look at my scores. They’re legit. No one can claim I’m doing anything illegal. But these other guys, they’re cheating.” While his claims are baseless, the league is considering some changes to ensure fair play at all times.
Flemming, sitting in 5th place overall, has never won a green jacket despite being near the top many weeks over the two years, thought this was his day. “I turned that score card in and thought for sure it was my day” cried Flemming. “But it wasn’t. I’ll just have to win it in week-6 and take home the jacket and the Tour Championship!” predicted Flemming who moved into 3rd place overall, one spot ahead of the leader going into the finals last year Tom Barbops. Barbops creped from 5th place overall to 4th, just where he wants to be headed into the final week. “I choked last year because I was playing in the final group. This year, I wanted to be on the outside looking in” said Barbops. “I’ll take the green jacket the final week and the trophy. This is my year.”
And rounding out the top-5 this week was 4th place finisher Joe Neeson who pre-golfed…with his wife. The news of Neeson pre-golfing a 39 with 2 holes-in-one with his wife was a hot topic among some PIH putters after the match. Some players were calling for a two stroke penalty for his actions while others were calling for his tour card. “What? His wife? She can’t be the one to validate his score, it’s a conflict of interest” said a defiant Jim Neville after the match. “That’s as bad as letting Jeff Kelly validate his own score” remarked Joe Mills. PIH league officials were quick to remind players that the league is based on trust.
With several putters in the hunt for the league championship and an increased week-6 purse, the scores are expected to be even lower this final week. With payouts for week-6 at $50 for 1st place and $30 second place, everyone has a chance for a good night. But who emerges with the league championship is sure to have a great night.
Week-4 Fun Facts:
Several PIH putters voiced their displeasure with the rule saying there should be a playoff or another means to determine the winner, while others were quite pleased with the rule and what it means for the final week of the season.
“The rules should be retroactively changed and they should split the money” said perennial bottom-feeder Crooked Harald Rehm. Agreeing with Rehm was Scott Wilson who chimed in with “Someone should be declared a winner every week. Ties suck.” On the other side of the argument was newcomers John Coyle and Shawn Conshafter who supported the rules as they’re documented and opposed the thought of changing the rules in retrospect. “I read the rules before I joined the league and had I disagreed with anything I would have brought it the attention of the rules committee before play started” argued Coyle, noting his time served in law school. “I’m not sure if Coyle went to classes at law school” said Conschafter. “I think he just drank at a law school campus, but he’s right. The rules are the rules.”
As for the putters in the middle of the controversy, An and Flemming, neither one seemed pleased with the outcome but did respect the rules. On the course, An did express a great deal of emotion during the match throwing his club on several occasions. Onlookers would never had guessed that An was the 23rd ranked player going into the match. With an average score of 47, An shot 9-strokes better than his average and doubled his season output for holes-in-one. “I had the chance to be in the lead group so I felt like I had to play up to my playing partners.” Playing with An was league leader Jeff Luke, 2nd place putter Dean Trzewieczynski and the controversial Jeff Hewett.
With a 5th place 39 and one hole-in-one, Luke did enough to stay in the lead heading into the final week. Trzewieczynski finished a stroke behind Luke and remains in 2nd place overall despite having to play with a house putter and borrowed ball. “I’ve put the wedding on hold” said Trzewieczynski before the match referring to the mistake his fiancé Dana made when she forgot to bring his putter to the pre-game dinner at the Dome. “Pending the outcome of the match, things are on hold” he said before the match. After shooting a season-tying best round, Trzewieczynski confirmed things were still on and that he’s considering the house putter for the final week.
Dropping 3 places to 6th overall, was Hewett who scored a 43 with one hole-in-one, good for 12th place. His ball was checked before the match which some say may have contributed to his poor showing. “It’s the first time he used a legit ball and see what happened. This league has to do a better job at governing game play” said James Geniti. “Look at my scores. They’re legit. No one can claim I’m doing anything illegal. But these other guys, they’re cheating.” While his claims are baseless, the league is considering some changes to ensure fair play at all times.
Flemming, sitting in 5th place overall, has never won a green jacket despite being near the top many weeks over the two years, thought this was his day. “I turned that score card in and thought for sure it was my day” cried Flemming. “But it wasn’t. I’ll just have to win it in week-6 and take home the jacket and the Tour Championship!” predicted Flemming who moved into 3rd place overall, one spot ahead of the leader going into the finals last year Tom Barbops. Barbops creped from 5th place overall to 4th, just where he wants to be headed into the final week. “I choked last year because I was playing in the final group. This year, I wanted to be on the outside looking in” said Barbops. “I’ll take the green jacket the final week and the trophy. This is my year.”
And rounding out the top-5 this week was 4th place finisher Joe Neeson who pre-golfed…with his wife. The news of Neeson pre-golfing a 39 with 2 holes-in-one with his wife was a hot topic among some PIH putters after the match. Some players were calling for a two stroke penalty for his actions while others were calling for his tour card. “What? His wife? She can’t be the one to validate his score, it’s a conflict of interest” said a defiant Jim Neville after the match. “That’s as bad as letting Jeff Kelly validate his own score” remarked Joe Mills. PIH league officials were quick to remind players that the league is based on trust.
With several putters in the hunt for the league championship and an increased week-6 purse, the scores are expected to be even lower this final week. With payouts for week-6 at $50 for 1st place and $30 second place, everyone has a chance for a good night. But who emerges with the league championship is sure to have a great night.
Week-4 Fun Facts:
- Average Score: 42.40 (league record for the 2nd straight week)
- Holes-in-one: 17 (one off the league record with 5-golfers to still golf)
- Best front-9: 19 (Neville)
- Best back-9: 17 (Trzewieczynski and An)
- Flemming leads the league in holes-in-one with 7; 5 others tied with 5
- Pezzino is still the only putter yet to record a hole-in-one
- Biggest improvement week-over-week: -7 (An)
- Biggest decline week-over-week: +8 (Roesch)
- First time in league history no golfer recorded a score in the 50’s
- Seven putters week-5 score would have won week-1
- From weeks 1 & 2 to weeks 4 & 5, Rotella has improved by 22 strokes