Fog Was Promised, Sweaters Were Delivered
adjusts glasses Twelve players took on Fallen Herald at Cedar Hills on the All-Star layout (Skip 8, Play 13B), with temperatures climbing from 48.2°F to 74.9°F and wind that never topped 5.8 mph. The lore ordered gathering fog over the Ridge of Second Sight, the new chapter after the Tunnel of Cedars. The sky ignored it and delivered a crisp morning and a mild afternoon. Fortune still turned fast for a few cards, and the fellowship closed ranks around them.
Three Ring-Bearers, One Very Confused Scorecard
Birdies on 18 from Bradley Bushman and Xavier Preudhomme dragged them level with Hudson Kozak. All three finished at -5 and tied for 1st in RPA Gold, each on a 955-rated round, which tied for the best number posted anywhere on the course. Bushman got there the hard way. His back nine was five strokes better than his front, with no bogeys, and it lifted him from 3rd. That 955 still sat 31 below his 986 rating, a step down from last week's 970. Kozak took the lead from Bushman after hole 4 and carded an eagle on the 415-foot par-4 12th. Then three bogeys or worse from 16 through 18 opened the door, and the pack walked through. Three players, one Ring, no dignified way to split it.
Redemption Arc, Now With Clean Back Nine
The opener set the tone: a 53-foot Circle 2 bomb from Troy Toler on hole 1. He finished RAH Blue at -5 with a bogey-free back nine, a round 39 points above his 916 rating and a new personal best on this layout. Last week he led through 18 and still faded to 4th, so this close was the fix. Dylan Hooper took 2nd at -2 (920). He gave back two strokes on 10 and answered with a birdie on 11.
A Newcomer Nearly Crashed The Feast 🍽️
The second lead grab settled RAE Red. Devin Drinan went ahead after hole 10, gave it back, and took it again for good after hole 15. He finished +1 (886), one stroke clear of Ruth Hudson at +2 (874). Hudson opened with five straight pars on 1 through 5 and was in it all the way to the final card. Drinan's week was quieter than last week's -3, but he still closed it out.
Hole Seven Picked a Side
In RAG Purple, em eason took the lead after hole 6 and then bogeyed hole 7, handing control straight back. Jesse Fletcher had led after hole 3, took that gift on 7, and kept the lead the rest of the way. Fletcher finished +4 with an 851, five strokes ahead of eason's +9 (793). That's a slide for eason after last week's +7 podium.
The Lonely Birdie Collector Strikes Again 🐦
Back-to-back birdies on the 229-foot 13th and the 256-foot 14th belonged to Brian Taylor alone. Nobody else in the field found red on either hole. He led RAF Green from hole 3 onward and finished +3, an 862 that sat 54 points above his 808 rating and set a personal best, building on last week's 844. Joe Puckett had the tougher walk: +15 (723, 75 below his 798) after four bogeys or worse from 15 through 18. That's the second straight week the closing stretch has bitten him. He's this episode's fallen herald, and the fix is in the counsel around the Second Breakfast fire: grip checks, a smoother tempo, a calmer last four holes.
Solo Quest Seeks Fellowship, Inquire Within
Chris Bower shot -2 in RAD White, a 920 that sat 28 above his 892 rating, with the field's only birdie on the 311-foot 2nd and eleven straight pars to close. RAD White has open seats, so challengers, the table is set.
The Course Fund Inches Up the Ridge
This event's registration contributions added $6.00 to the Cedar Hills Course Fund. The fund now sits at $213.15, 21% of its $1,000.00 goal, with $786.85 left to climb. Every registration helps keep these hills worth rolling down.
The Reshuffle Came, The Kings Stayed
Tags ran in AllIn mode, so every number got redistributed by standings. That's a full reshuffle, which is supposed to mean chaos. In Pool B, Drinan's RAE Red result kept the Shadowpine Marker, the #1 tag, around his neck. It's a dark-needled relic that apparently likes its current owner. It's also a piece of numbered metal, and in AllIn mode no tag is safe next week.
A Stump Has Opinions Now 🪵
The RPA Gold three-way tie is still unsettled, and next week the company gets a new distraction. Stone Question (Week 4) lands Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at Cedar Hills on the Blue layout (Skip 8, Play 13B). The lore says fresh marks have appeared on the carved stump at the fourth tee. The Lorekeepers can't agree whether it's a warning or an invitation. Meanwhile, Bushman, Preudhomme and Kozak need someone to blink. Track your round on PDGA Live so the booth has throws to chew on.
A fellowship of grown adults is about to take strategic direction from a tree stump, and I'm the one who has to write it down.