The 2021 YPGA Season has suddenly come down to the final tournament – The Tour Championship. The Tour Championship will look different this year as the tournament will be played as an 18-hole tournament with maximized points, instead of a 36-hole gauntlet like in 2020. Makefield Highlands has been preparing all year to host this prestigious culmination to the YPGA Tour season and early indications are that the course is ready to give the players a challenge. Some prickly par-3s covered with bunkers will be intermixed with some feisty par-5s lined with water hazards and tantalizing drivable par-4s. The low scores will be out there to be had – who will get them though? The YPGA Exec Cup comes down to four (but really three) players: Matt Launi, Vince Sobocinski, Mike Musselman, and David Carney. Whoever can capitalize on the short par-4s will likely be hoisting the Cup from Bucks County. Onto the Preview!

Tournament Details:

Course: Makefield Highlands

When: Saturday, October 9, 2021

Slope: 120

Weather: Currently projected to be Cloudy and 70 degrees.

Closest to the Pin Challenge: #8 and #17. Must be on the green and par hole. Leave a marker behind, upload pic to Telegram as soon as possible so the group knows (we are rolling money over to other challenges if no one qualifies on a challenge)

Drive the Green Challenge: #4 and #13. Must be on the green and birdie the hole. Post to Telegram as soon as possible so the group knows (we are rolling money over to other challenges if no one qualifies on a challenge)

Challenge Cost: $20 pp to Ed Grambo via Venmo.

Capped Strokes:

· Tag – 23

· Launi – 13

· Everyone else – what your Grint says

Point System: Please review below as the points are weighted heavily to give the field a chance at the Exec Cup since we have to move from 36 holes to 18 holes.

Tournament Preview:

1:36pm: Matt Launi, Vince Sobocinski, Mike Musselman, David Carney

It’s been quite the year for Matt Launi. Steady as she goes all year long and quite the attendance record. He’d get a gold star if this were elementary school. His fine and consistent play all year has landed him atop the standings needing a second-place finish or better to control his destiny of YPGA lore as an Executive Champion. Vince will be nipping at his buns all day long as tries to overtake Matt in the last tournament. Vince, already with a jacket hanging in his closet, knows what it takes to close in the final tournament to become a champ. No one will recall his blistering 95 at the 2018 Tour Championship that secured him the Exec Cup, but he will lean on that success on Saturday. Another Exec Cup winner from 2020, Mike Musselman, will try to go back-to-back if he can. Not only will he need to win outright, but he’ll have to hope Launi stumbles down the ranks leaving the door open. The door is open for Carney, but not really. He once again finds himself in the final pairing on the final weekend of the year, but don’t expect any fireworks here. He’ll be gunning for the closest to the pin challenges though!

1:46pm: Wayne Zimmer, Nate Kraynak, Paul Koch, Greg Taglialatela.

Wayne will be beside himself most of the day as he’ll be using a 7-iron for the drive-the-green challenges. In fact, he may not even bring his driver just to keep his bag lighter. Smart move. Three birdies en route to a gross-74 for Wayne. Nate will have to put the Lehigh Valley Classic Presented by Ed Grambo in his rearview mirror if he has any hope of not finishing last. All this reader can think about is Hole 10 at Architects where Nate duffed 3 straight tee shots. Not one of his finer moments but one that won’t be forgotten. Paul is hoping that a relaxing getaway to Montauk and a new stash of edibles will hopefully prime him for one strong push at the Tour Championship. The course agrees with him, and he should fare well, but it’ll ultimately depend on whether he can sink some putts. The Shoe Tree putter isn’t coming back from the dead! A bright spot on Tour this season has been the vast improvement of our perennial bottom dwellers. Since one of them is a health scratch for this tournament, only Greg Taglialatela will be mentioned. While admittedly many inconsistencies in his game, his swing and ball striking have come a long way and it has shown in recent tournaments, including a 94 at Architects. His and Marathon boy’s improvement this year will lead to a fun question in the annual offseason anonymous poll.

1:56pm: Chris Meyer, Gerry Margiotti, Matt Kelly, Billy Kelly

Chris Meyer! Wow, what a couple weeks for this guy. A blistering 80 at Architects, predicted by this writer, and a new golden retriever puppy to boot. Who gives a shit what happens to him at Makefield. Dr. Gerry will bring an inconsistent attendance record to the final tournament of the year where he hopes that he won’t have to deal with patients with hand, foot, and mouth disease prior to his tee time on Saturday. Matt Kelly – hey! Welcome back, bud! Alright, welp, see ya later! Billy Kelly leaned too heavily on the myth of dad strength at Architects and it landed him deep in the fescue without a lifeline. Too many vacations, hikes, and yoga have him distracted from his golf game. It’s sad to see, but 2017 and 2018 could have been the peak of bkbucky7.

2:06pm: Andy Kotulka, David King, Ed Grambo

Andy can’t wait for the season to be over so he can finally get his driver lessons from the pro at BBCC, but until then here’s another chance to go head-to-head against Dave King. Speaking of David King, he will be busy live streaming the Penn State-Iowa game with Ed Grambo to be focused on golf. Edward did buy a new wedge that has transformed his game from within 100 yards. I expect him to be dialed in and spinning wedges to within gimme distance. However, there is a prop bet for Saturday: O/U 8.5 duffed wedges for Ed.

Tour Championship Point System:

Place Points

1 3800

2 3000

3 2500

4 2000

5 1700

6 1400

7 1100

8 800

9 700

10 600

11 500

12 400

13 300

14 300

15 300