Weekly Recaps

TONAWANDA, NY – "John Coyle: Arrow Even – The mystery of Coyle continues. Once a perennial contender for the green jacket, Coyle has only finished in the money once in 2023. Some are saying his lack of commitment to the game has him in a funk while others are claiming he, Mondoux, and Conschafter are at odds and making things awkward on the putting greens and at the bar has him off. Until he sorts his personal life out, Coyle will remain out of the money."

These are the words that drove Coyle to his record setting performance in week-8 of Putter-In-Hand.

Approaching hole 17, Coyle knew what needed to be done to secure the course record. It was simple: ace both the 17th and 18th holes and the record is set. He had two thus far in the round and 39 total in his career, so another two was very possible.

And that is exactly what he did! Coyle drained holes-in-one on both 17 and 18 and walked off with the new course record: 33 and 4 holes-in-one.

"It was very cool" said Coyle the press pool the next day. He continued "I think 31 is out there. I made a 3 and still shot 33. I also lipped out 3-4 aces. But in contrast, I made about 2-3 seven or eight footers for 2 to save the round."

When asked where he got the strength and poise to shoot such a rounds, Coyle pointed to the article posted about him the day before. "Listen, every word written about me in that post was true. I give it to the PIH Times for their accuracy. I haven't been myself as of late. Maybe it has something to do with my two young children at home, maybe it has to do with my two old children in the league" he said referring to his ongoing feud with Mike Mondoux and Shawn Conschafter which dates back to the 2021 LukeOlympics when Conschafter left he and Mondoux after winning the title in 2018.

"I got the guys together and we buried the hatchet. It was rough. There were definitory some tears but there were some laughs too." admitted Coyle. When probed for more information on the genesis of the break-up Coyle only offered up this tidbit "Listen, all three of us were stellar athletes back in the day and some of them still think they got it. As the Times reported a few weeks back, Conschafter hasn't been himself and it's been throwing everyone off. With this victory, you can see from the pictures. Things are normal again. Conschafter got super sloppy, violated me the way I like it. And we putted well. I told the guys, we're the three that made this league what it is today. Let's not be the three stooges that let it go. Basically, I challenged them to be better while challenging myself. And I think we responded. I moved into 7th, Mondoux moved to 5th, and Conschafter has a legit chance of winning it all sitting in 3rd. All is well again and Josh and The Grill Girls can start making money again to pay for their kids Christmas gifts thanks to Uncle Concho's vodka consumption."

While some of Coyle's assertions are debatable, others are not. The Grand Island crew owns 5 of the top 7 spots in the league standings with two weeks to play. While the top spot belongs to league founder, Jeff Luke, he only sits 2.75 points behind Jason Cox who fell out of first place for the first time this season. With Conschafter in 3rd, poised for a let down, the putter to watch is Chris Wilkinson who many are predicting to win it all despite not winning the green jacket this season or in his lustrous career.

When Coyle was asked what HIS prediction was for the final two weeks he was eager to give his thoughts "It's all business for the Grand Island Greats" he said. "I believe in this crew and guys like Luke and Barbops better watch their backs because this group is on a mission and as you saw Thursday, 'we're back'.

In other news:

There are just two weeks of play in the regular season and just 12/5 points separates the top-4 in the standings.

Likewise, the inaugural "PIH Tag-Team" title is still anyone's title. Just 16 points separates the top-4 teams with US Express, Wilkinson and Duffy, leading The Moondogs, Mondoux and Brindenbaker, by 5 points headed into week-9.

Tim Kazukiewicz was the lone putter BAP'ed in week-8. With 16 putters still in it, the payout for the BAP Challenge may be revised for the final week. More to come on this in the next week as league officials are still concocting things.

Jeff Luke leads the total holes-in-one with 15 on the season. He sits 3 up on Wilkinson and Cox.

Comparing the top-10 in 2022 vs. 2023, seven of the top-10 putters in 2022 are in the top-10 again this year: Luke (1st in 2022-1st in 2023), Conschafter (3rd-3rd), Wilkinson (8th-4th), Mondoux (4th-5th), Barbops (2nd-6th), Coyle (6th-7th), and Wilson (9th-8th). Not in the top-10 this year are Hewett, Flemming, and An.

With one regular week to play before the final PIH Championship worth 2x, it's shaping up to be the most exciting finale ever.