The Merger Leaves Two Employees Standing ☔
Two players, rain, a steady 81.1°F and wind averaging 13.8 mph: that was the whole boardroom for Market Merger at Sprinkle Valley on Wednesday, September 30, on the Racoon (Medium Tees) layout. After six players in each of Weeks 3 and 4, Quarterly Downsizing hands the season to the Merger Proposal chapter, where unexpected alliances form to topple the leading CEO, and that plot needs more co-conspirators, so bring a friend next week.
Two Departments, Zero Competitors 😎
In RAE Red, Steven Joyner carded +2, a personal best on this course and layout, and answered a rough hole 9 by playing 2 under across holes 10 through 12. In RAD White, Zax Padilla posted +7, snapping a cold streak that ran from hole 7 through hole 9 and tightening a front-nine 37 (+5) into a back-nine 36 (+2), and both of these one-desk departments have open positions for anyone who wants a real card to chase.
The Conglomerate Notices Austin 📈
Steven Joyner threw a 921-rated round against his event-effective 862 baseline, a +59 differential and the hottest National-entry round here, and he beat his ghost rating of 868, so his ghost grew stronger to 871. The round earned 50 National points, moving his National score from 41 to 91 and giving him his fourth valid round of the four required. That qualified him and made him newly ranked at #3 on the National Leaderboard, provisionally in the paid cohort. The next rung up belongs to Chris Griffin of Lawrenceville, sitting at #2 with 116 points, 25 ahead.
Petty Cash Disbursement Approved 💵
Joyner also took closest-to-the-pin for $4.00 net. Filed, stamped, reimbursed.
The Audit Finds a New Chairman 🔍
Both pools run in AllIn mode, so every tag gets reshuffled every event and nobody's corner office is permanent. In The Red Ink Press, Zax Padilla climbed from #2 to #1 and now holds the Compliance Audit, built on a 73 that matched the 73.0 field average exactly. The tag is a floating red corporate seal trailed by surveillance drones, able to stamp APPROVED or VIOLATION on any acquisition after the fact. For now Padilla's paperwork reads APPROVED, which is the most comforting thing the AI-generated lore department has produced all season.
Over in The Gilded Machine, Steven Joyner played and holds the #1 Market Volatility tag after the reshuffle, which is an extremely on-the-nose tag for a guy whose stock just went national.
Insider Trading: Rumors Swirl, Pass the Water Cooler
checks clipboard Insider Trading tees off October 7, back at Sprinkle Valley. Steven Joyner arrives as a freshly listed #3 on the National Leaderboard with Chris Griffin 25 points up the ladder. Zax Padilla carries the Compliance Audit into a week of volatility at the top before the Shareholder Vote settles the franchise. Track your round on PDGA Live so the auditors have something to read.
Somewhere a man is whispering "buy putters, sell drivers" next to a basket, and I'm the one expected to report it to the SEC.