2020 YPGA Open Recap: Launi Goes B2B

David Carney
Jul 6, 2020
6 min read

The world was able to get back to some sense of normalcy as the YPGA reopened its doors and held the 2020 YPGA Open in West Chester, Pennsylvania. West Chester offered an ideal location for the YPGA that was stuck navigating a budding enterprise through the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike its neighboring and rapidly declining Delaware County, West Chester provided luscious scenery along with a sparsely populated region. Newly minted resident, Vince Sobocinski, sought out West Chester for his family’s second home for the sole reason of being able to shank irons and wedges in his backyard as his nearest neighbor isn’t within 200 yards.

In addition to some players relocating to new oases, others spend the off-season procreating, buying new clubs, taking lessons from PGA certified golf instructors, and buying newly customized putter covers. When the quarantine struck the region, others were forced to act quickly to keep their games sharp. BirdieBall.com became a frequently visited website for tour members to purchase artificial putting greens for indoor putting practice. As March rolled into April, a lot of anxiety build up on the Tour after dealing with the cancellation of the Destination Championship in Tampa. However, May 1st brought newly found hope and light as golf courses opened in the region. A new calendar for the Tour, and a new beginning.

Broad Run was a tough test for the return of the YPGA Open (previously held in 2018 when Ed Grambo took home the trophy despite a 5-putt on 18). Speaking of Ed Grambo, we caught up with Ed prior to the round to get a feel for how he handled the quarantine, his fitness tips, and how he fuels up for a YPGA major: Click Here to Play Ed Grambo Interview.

June 28th was a hot day for all. Teeing off at 10:20am did not offer any reprieve from the suffocating humidity and heat. Local hospitals confirmed several instances of heat exhaustion among the Tour members. We are not sure what played a bigger role: the extreme heat, or the lengthy layoff from competition, but virtually everyone played horrendous and posted their worst rounds.

When the dust settled, and many on the Tour realized their inevitable fate plummet into the ground, two players emerged to provide some suspense and excitement. Matt Launi, an established winner on Tour and looking to defend his title, knocked down a birdie on the first hole that propelled him to an 88. Nate Kraynak posted his best score of the decade by throwing up a 94 that was mostly decorated with double and triple bogeys. However, Launi’s ability to go par-par-bogey-par on the last four holes compared to Nate’s par-double-double-double forced the twosome into a playoff hole to be played on hole 10.

Hole 10 was a 150-yard par 3 with water on the left and Pook’s bare feet on the back of the green. Nate knocked his tee shot on the green to within 8 feet, while Launi pushed his just off the green in the short rough. Launi reached into his bag of tricks and putted his second shot to within inches to clean up for par. Nate, needing to sink his birdie putt to etch his name in YPGA lore, shit his pants and flubbed his birdie putt 4 feet forward, leaving himself a nerve-wracking 4-footer to push the hole. He knocked it in to force a putt-off, but Nate could not stop leaking oil from Hole 10 to the practice putting green. In short, Nate never nestled any of his 3 putts close to the pin and Launi took home the YPGA Open trophy and defended his title to go back-to-back.

Group Recaps:

Pook’s Wedding Party

Pook’s wedding party, I mean foursome, included Andy, Sabara and Meyer. Sabara tried to literally steal the YPGA Open by failing to adjust his strokes in the Grint, so no, he did not finish first. But a 112 was….respectable, I guess. Andy’s banana drive didn’t seem to help him much as he posted a 103, and Chris was a shell of himself coming in at a 94 after much hype in the offseason. Paul finally has something to smile about as he found himself on the playoff hole (not involved in the playoff hole) walking around barefoot as if the course was his own. I guess that’s what breaking 90 for the first time this year will do for a guy. A T3 finish has Paul in solid position for the Exec Cup.

Hairy Heaters

The group of Ed, Launi and Matt Kelly was destined to be a fun group from the start. From the lax attitudes, ability to play good golf, and leading the tour in cigs smoked per capita. Matt struggled all day with his brand new $550 M6 driver that he had to use his driving iron off the tee. Big fall from grace for this 7.9 handicapper. Grammy pulled his best Sobo impression by draining a 60-footer for bogey, but Ed will be kicking himself on the last three holes (triple, double, bogey) for failing to seal the deal to claim his second YPGA Open. Launi, a guy that has been all over the map this year, was able to dial it in all day, get in great position off the tee, and scrap and claw his way to card filled with pars and bogeys. His 45/43 splits earned him a playoff with Nate Kraynak where he eventually was able to putt* his way to victory. More on that later.

The Boring Nice Guy Group

Dave King, Musselman, Jerry and Kraynak made up the third pairing of the day and just from the looks of it, you can be sure that TONS of compliments and air high fives were given all day long no matter the outcomes. And hey, maybe they are onto something with Nate posting a 94 and runner-up finish, Musselman scrambling his way to an 82, Jerry throwing up an 86 in his first tournament and Dave thundering his way to a 110. One thing is for sure, Nate will be kicking himself for dropping a pile of shit in his pants mid-putt on the playoff hole.

Featured Group

The Featured Group set a record for losing its following audience in the quickest amount of time. From the first tee, the entire group was a foursome of straight slop. Moral was quickly down and never returned throughout the brutally long day in the heat. There really isn’t much to say, but these were the Featured Group's Featured Moments:

1. BK – chipped in from 50 feet to save par.

2. Vince – draining a 70 foot par putt

3. Carney – Watching Vince puke 4 times after one shotgun

4. Tag – the round finally being over.

That’s it. Bunch of losers.

Did You Know?

Did you know that the winner of the YPGA Open has never gone on to claim the YPGA Executive Cup?

Surprise Performances:

1. Launi – 88 en route to a repeat finish

2. Nate – posting a 94 en route to a runner up finish

3. Pook – finally breaking 90 this year.

4. Jerry – 86 during his first major tournament

Disgusting Finishes:

1. Billy – 91 round. Yikes

2. Meyer – 94. I just don’t know what to say here.

3. Carney – straight up pitiful round

4. Vince – golf game is in shambles. Quoted after the round as saying “I literally don’t have a single idea if I’ll break 90 again. Physically and mentally, I’m a goner.”

5. Matt – 85 and no confidence in his newly purchased M6 driver.

6. Dave King – 110 and beating Sabara by only 2 strokes.

7. And basically, everyone else stunk.

YPGA Open Challenges

1. Closest to the Pin: Chris Meyer (20 feet from the pin).

2. Drive the Green: No one could drive the 275-yard (255 yards with slope) Par 4 5th hole. Don’t blame the 3-5 mph wind either. We are all pathetic losers.

Quick Nuggets:

· Still Cannot do a Shotgun: Vince

· Most Pukes Post Shotgun: Vince

· Players that haven’t looked at their scorecard since the round ended: Vince, Carney, Billy, Meyer, Dave King

· Best Addition to the Round: Shotguns at the Turn! Yay, camaraderie

· Weather Complaints: 95, sunny, humid, no wind. Is that worse than 75 and rain? Hmm...

· Only 5 players broke 90. That’s pitiful.

· Player unlikely to duplicate success: Nate, followed by Paul

· Players trending up: Musselman, Jerry, Launi

· Players trending down: Vince, Carney, Meyer, Pudd

· Carney v. Sobo Part VII: Carney by 1 stroke. Vince missed a 3-footer on 18 to push match.

· Highest Score on a Hole Relative to Par: Andy, a 10 on a Par 4