Weekly Recaps

TONAWANDA, NY – After years of enduring Team Grand Island’s smug dominance and shady rule manipulation, Team London finally struck back—and struck hard. Nick Keil, the newly minted SCOPIH Justice and proud Team London member, claimed his first green jacket in a stunning victory. It took 38 rounds for Keil to get there, but the timing couldn’t have been more poetic. Just a week after his controversial appointment to the Supreme Court of Putter In Hand (SCOPIH), engineered by Team London to combat Grand Island’s "alleged" cheating and rule-bending, Keil’s win sends a clear message: the tides have changed.

For years, Team Grand Island—led by some of the shadiest putters such as John Coyle, Shawn Conschafter, Mike Mondoux, and Chris Wilkinson—has been accused of everything from manipulating the bylaws to “accidentally” forgetting the rules in order to pad their leaderboard spots. With Coyle sitting atop the standings and Grand Islanders dominating the top 10, Team London decided enough was enough. The election of Nick Keil was a calculated move, a line drawn in the sand to stop Grand Island from turning PIH into their personal playground.

And now, with Keil holding the green jacket, Team London has solid proof that Grand Island’s days of unchecked power are numbered. “This win isn’t just for me—it’s for every putter sick of watching Coyle and his cronies strut around like they own the place,” Keil said after his victory. He then added, with a wink, “And for the record, we play fair. Team London doesn’t need to "pre-putt" or manipulate the bylaws to score well and win.”

Despite Team London’s rally, it likely won't be enough as Coyle still holds a commanding lead overall and would need to crumble like a 2023-Luke the last two weeks in order to relinquish the top spot. With two weeks left in the season, he sits 11.75 points ahead of Barbops and 13.75 points ahead of Wilkinson. But it’s not just the points—it’s the relentless Grand Island stranglehold on the standings. Three of the top-four sitting in the money are Islanders.

With the PIH Championship looming in Week 10, Wilkinson and Barbops are running out of time to make their move.

In other news, Barbops, who sits second overall, has racked up 20 holes-in-one thus far this season. To put that in perspective, if you combined the holes-in-one totals from Jason Cox, Scott Lis, Kevin Wylke, Mark Verost, Dom LoVallo, Joel Cady, Brett Verost, Geoff Zander, and Dave Richards...Barbops would still have more. Either Barbops is that good or these putters are that bad. (They're that bad.)

Week 8 also delivered some brutal eliminations in the Survivor Pool. Jeff Hewett, who is known for untimely bad rounds, fell to Jay Flemming and rookie Jake Donn. Even more shocking, the mighty John Coyle was taken down by fellow Team Grand Island putters Wilkinson and Jim Neville.

That leaves 3 Islanders and 1 Team London putter left in the inaugural Survivor pool which will only increase the tensions between Team London and Team Grand Island over the final weeks. Keil’s victory proves the tide is turning, but Coyle’s dominance reminds everyone that the war is far from over. With just two weeks remaining, the fate of PIH hangs in the balance. Will Barbops or Wilkinson mount a comeback, or will Coyle cement himself as the undisputed king of PIH?

For now, Keil is soaking up his moment in the sun, dreaming of his post-retirement life in Florida’s The Villages. “This win is just the beginning,” Keil said. “Soon, I’ll be leading the Senior Circuit down south while moonlighting in a Village People cover band. Life is wonderful when you got the green jacket and sipping from the chalice.”

Week 9 is sure to bring more drama, more trash talk, and another chapter in the bitter Team London vs. Team Grand Island saga. Stay tuned—this is one you won’t want to miss.