Weekly Recaps

TONAWANDA, NY – For the second straight year Mondoux wins in week-6, this time setting the course record and moving into 1st place overall. Mondoux finished his record setting round with three consecutive holes-in-one, to finish with a 35+3. Mondoux aced holes 5-6-7 to close out the round and securing his 4th career green jacket.

Remarkably, it was week-6 in 2018 when Mondoux last won a green jacket and moved into 2nd place overall that year (he wasn't present in week-9 when he came in 1st). How did he do the following week? He shot a 43+0 and finished in 14th place. In fact, Mondoux is averaging 41+0.75 in the week following a 1st place finish.

"Really?" Mondoux questioned after learning of his post-victory stats. "I really do crumble under pressure. I wish there was a little blue pill for putting." he said without a smirk, suggesting the rumors around Grand Island of his impotence are true.

Paired with Mondoux was Jeff Luke and Shawn Conschafter. Both of these putters went limp as Luke posted a 41+1, finishing tied for 11th while Conschafter finished in 18th with a putrid 42+0. Luke moved to 3rd overall while Conschafter started his descend into irrelevance sits in 5th.

Pre-putting (again), Jay Flemming tied a then course record 35+2 and thought he was poised to miss the green jacket because of the pre-putting rules but was bested by Mondoux by one hole-in-one. Flemming has now averaged 36.66 in weeks he has pre-putted vs. 40.5 those weeks he putts in-person.

When questioned about the validity of his pre-putting scores he deferred reporters to his usual putting partner Bryan An for verification. When reached for comment, An had no comment instead made an unusual claim "This league is ripe with fraudulent scores. It's not only Jay you should be looking into." It was obvious An was not denying the facts rather he was suggesting it was only fair to manipulate the scorecard in Flemming's favor to stay competitive.

These comments are now being reviewed by the SCOPIH and a decision on any new rules about pre-putting playing partners is expected within days.

Finishing tied for 3rd was Jeff Hewett and John Coyle with a 38+1 which means 2nd place money carries over.

Hewett was photographed before the round checking what was said to be an unverified course slope book that he has said to be working on off nights. Hewett has a history of cheating but when asked about the legalities of the book, PIH League Counsel and part-time photographer John Coyle, the book is not deemed to be illegal if that in fact is what it is claimed to be. Hewett sits in 2nd place overall but did pre-putt for this weeks major and shot a 40+1, not a score that will make moves the week of a major.

Coyle sits in 6th overall but is over 20 points behind the leader. If Coyle wants to make a move, it needs to start this week when major points are up for grabs. The one-time green jacket winner has vowed week-7 is his week. Let's see if his prediction comes true.

Rounding out the top-5 this week was Joe Neeson who finished with a 39+3. Because Flemming was not eligible for winnings, and Coyle and Hewett tied for 3rd, Neeson actually finished in the money once again. The person most surprised by his performance on the links was his wife, Kristy, who was in attendance to see him perform.

"It was nice to see him perform. It's been a few years since I've seen him perform." she said with a depressed look in her eyes. "Joe, he isn't much of, should I say, a 'performer' at home. So it was nice to see him do it here. The little blue pill must work for his putting game because it's not working for him at home."

The reporter on the scene then questioned how two men from Grand Island have performance issues, wondering what is in the Grand Island water. "How many of these guys from the Grand Island 10 have issues such as this." the reporter wondered aloud.

Passing by the group was another wife in attendance, Erin Cox, who heard the reporter and shot back "How do you think they know each other? They're in the same club together!"

None of the other GIX members were available to respond to the allegations but given their collective performance on, and apparently off the course, they may be looking for a blue pill to help either game.

In other news around the league:

Joel Cady has yet to break 40 but didn't finish a career best 7th with a 40+2. Cady said he is getting more comfortable with the course and has predicted a money finish by the end of the year.

Chris Wilkinson, who walked in with a 40 in hand stumbled out with a 40+1 to finish in 8th. Wilkinson was Vegas #2 seed going into week-1 sits in 9th place overall, 36 points behind the leader. If he's going to make a run for the title, it has to start in week-7.

Tied for 9th was Harald Rehm and Nick Keil with 40+0. Harald was able to knock Luke out of the Haralds Challenged who leaves Mondoux and Coyle as the only putters that aren't yet Harald's Bitches! Keil's 40+0 is his best round of the season.

Tying Luke in 11th with a 41+1 was Pat Holden, Rob Vickers, and Scott Wilson. Wilson sits 35.75 points behind the leader must also make a move this week to stay relevant. Holden and Vickers haven't been relevant since the late '90's.

Bryan An finished in 15th with a 41+0 and is banking on Flemming to win and share some of the winnings with him for 'services rendered'. As mentioned, investigations are underway regarding the scorecard fraud.

Tied for 16th was Jason Cox and Steve Steck whose performance was seen by their spouses. When asked what Steck's wife Kim thought of his performance she said "He's not the athlete I married. I beat him at cornhole, even beer pong, so I'm not surprised these men defeat him week after week." She's not wrong.

Finishing with a 43+0 for 19th place was Brenan Dracup. Dracup continues to look like Harald's replacement in 2023 as his threat to beat you any week is minimal at best.

Shooting a 44+1 for a 20th place finish was Scott Verost. Verost has averaged a 44.25+0.25 since finishing in the money in week-2. Vegas has his odds of him finishing in the money any of the next 4-weeks at 500-to-1. Looks like a good bet for Vegas.

Tied for 21st overall was Dominic LoVallo and Mark Verost with 44+0. Neither one are an inspiring story so we'll just pass over them until they show any signs of relevancy.

And rounding out the week is the dynamicless-duo of Steve Maziarz and Kelly Caito. Maziarz shot a 46+1 and claimed to "destroy" Caito once again who shot a pre-putt 50+0. These two have finished at or near the bottom each week and sit 24th and 25th respectively. Caito is just 0.5 points behind Maziarz in the overall standings. Fans of PIH I'm sure will be watching this story over the next four weeks.

Jeff Luke leads all golfers with 9 holes-in-one, three ahead of Joe Neeson (WHAT!?!?) and Scott Wilson.

Brenan Dracup, Dominic LoVallo, and Kelly Caito have yet to ace a hole (WHAT!?!?).

Seven putters have an average weekly score below 40. Mondoux leads all putters with a 38.17. Caito anchors putters with a 49.83 (one full stroke behind Maziarz).

Mondoux's sits in 1st place overall but Jeff Hewett and Jeff Luke are just 4.5 and 5.0 points behind him. Tom Barbops and Shawn Conschafter sit in 4th and 5th place overall and are within striking distance just 11.75 and 12.75 points behind. To put things into perspective, after week-6 last year, Jeff Luke was ahead of the pack by over 10 points when Barbops, sitting 13.5 points behind, moved into the lead after week-7.

So, going into the week-7 major, The Open Championship, there are still plenty of putters that have a chance at the overall championship. For the other 15 or so, it's only bragging rights and a Green Jacket each week.