The Ford Flooded, the Scorecards Didn't
Eight players teed off at Cedar Hills for Week 6 under clouds, with a 61.9°F average (55.7°F to 68.1°F) and wind holding steady at 6.9 mph. Last week's stump vote and faction colors have given way to Green Tide. In the lore, the Ford of Whispering Creek floods, the Tunnel of Cedars clogs with fallen branches, and the company eats Second Breakfast standing up in rain cloaks. The actual sky sent clouds and nothing else. The One Tag in Pool B still found a new pocket. We'll get there.
Sharing Lines, Not Sharing Leads
Holes 16 and 17, at 295 and 236 feet, decided RPA Gold. Bradley Bushman carded the field's only birdie on both and retook the lead through 17. He finished -5 on a 963, 24 under his 987 rating. Before that, Parker Chesson had moved ahead through hole 11, where his lone birdie on the 369-foot par 3 landed on the same hole as a Bushman bogey. Chesson also carded the field's only birdies on 3 and 15, and he finished one back at -4. Bushman went bogey-free on the front, birdied 12 when nobody else did, and ends up atop Gold for a second straight week. Last week's wire-to-wire -8 was a stroll. This one was a knife fight.
The Toughest Hole Blinked First
Hole 8 is a 325-foot par 3 that averages +0.83 over par for this league, and in RAD White it gave up exactly one birdie, to Cameron Collar. That closed a three-hole heater from 6 through 8, which started with the field's only birdie on the 496-foot par-4 6th. His bogey-free front nine came in four strokes better than his back, and he led wire to wire to finish -6 on a 974. That's the round of the day, 58 points above his 916 rating. Somebody tell hole 8 it's allowed to say no. Chris Bower finished +2, a cooler Wednesday after last week's -4.
Even Par Is a Flex Here
Hole 18 is a 309-foot par 3, and in RAF Green Devin Murray carded the field's only birdie there to close at even par on a 906. A five-hole par train from 5 through 9 kept his wire-to-wire lead from ever getting nervous. Joe Puckett finished +8 on an 815, 31 above his 784 rating, so he has outplayed his number for a second straight week after his +5 last Wednesday.
Empty Seats at the Second Breakfast 🍳
In RAG Purple, Jesse Fletcher shot +5 on an 849, 91 points better than last week's 758, with a five-hole par train from 3 through 7 doing the heavy lifting, while Brandon Mayes carded +7 in RAE Red on an 827, 28 under his 855. Both divisions have chairs open, so come pull one up and give them some company.
The Dragon's Hoard Keeps Growing 💰
The Super Ace prize stands at $500. Four contributors added $8 this week, which moves the split pot from $530 to $538. Nobody robbed the dragon, so the hoard just gets shinier for next round.
Clearing Deadfall, Four Dollars at a Time
The league's $4 registration contribution went to the Cedar Hills Course Fund. The fund now sits at $226.15 of its $1,000 goal (23%), with $773.85 to go. If you'd like to help the woods that keep humbling you, chip in.
The Eagle Found a New Perch 🦅
Pool B runs AllIn, so every tag reshuffled on this week's standings. Murray, the man behind that closing birdie on 18, now carries the #1 tag, the Eagle Herald, the bird that circles the league announcing tag movements, tee times and weather. The lore says the One Tag changed hands more this week than ever before. In AllIn, nothing is safe next week either. It's numbered metal, people. It just happens to be numbered metal everyone wants.
Knock Twice, Then Throw Hyzer 🚪
Chesson owes Bushman one stroke, and Hidden Door brings him a chance to collect: Week 7, Wednesday, November 4, at Cedar Hills on the Blue layout (Skip 8, Play 13B). In the lore, a forgotten retaining wall called the Mason's Gift becomes a hyzer backboard that shaves two strokes off the sixth hole. This week, Collar was the only player to birdie 6. Tag numbers should compress, and old rivalries are lining back up as the climax approaches. If you track your round on PDGA Live, my clipboard will happily take the extra detail.
Next week a fellowship names a wall, toasts it over breakfast, and then throws plastic at it, and somehow I'm the one who looks strange here.