Keepers Match Play-Battle Royale 2016
With an expanded field of over 90 Keepers this year the Keepers Year-Long Match Play had three brackets of 32 guys playing over four months for their division title. The Augusta, Oakmont, and Troon Bracket winners would go on to today’s Battle Royale Final to determine the Match Play Winner for 2016.
In the bracket championship matches earlier this month, Mike “Looking For A Three-Peat” Fisher beat Rich “I Was A Contender” Sussman playing spectacular golf on the first nine holes on the way to a seemingly stressless victory in the Augusta Bracket. The Oakmont Bracket winner was Len “The Plumber” Goldman winning a come-from-behind nail biter against Rich “Kojak” Greenberg. Norman “I Got Some Game” Goldberg beat Moe “Mishner” Dweck with a rock steady performance to win the Troon Bracket.
The Battle Royale Final played on the South Course was a Three-Way 5-3-1 Match Format where the best net score on a hole earns the player 5 points, second best net score 3 points, and not so best net score 1 point. Total points for the 18 holes is the Match Play Champion for 2016. Significant Kash Sweeps, a trophy of some kind, and a bunch of Keepers Kup Points were on the line.
Starting on the back of the South Len The Plumber made a par-net-birdie to get 5 points right out of the gate and set the tone for a torrid first nine. This “Slaughter House Fives Nine” included five 5-point holes (wins) and three 4-point holes (pushes for win) on his way to 38 points. This included an adept Otis Elevator pitch on 13 for par-net-birdie and two more Pelzian up-and-downs on 14 and 15 to build Len a 7-point lead.
Fisher and Goldberg just could not land a glove the whole side as Len won the last three holes on the outward nine to shoot 38 gross on his own ball and make the turn with a 15-point advantage.
But this “Almost Skins” Format is tricky when it comes to holding a lead since the permutations on any hole can result in sizable point swings. After bogeying the first hole on the front, Looking For A Three-Peat Fisher started to find his game and reeled off seven pars in the next eight holes to apply the pressure as some doubt seemed to manifest itself in Len The Plumber’s swing.
Even though Norman’s game still seemed to play keep-away with him all day he had five timely ties with Mike on the second nine to split points that helped stem Fisher’s comeback advance. Len just nodded approvingly.
For Mike it was duel Roy Scheiders on 7 and 8 that proved the difference, when he uncharacteristically left two 25-footers to win the hole six dimples short in The Jaws of the cup. You could hear the John Williams soundtrack emanating from the trees behind the 7th green.
With a 4-point lead and a shot going his way up the last Len had only to make a four-footer for bogey to halve the hole and seal a 4-point win over the Defending Champion.
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(Click to see the full Scoring Sheet from the 2016 Battle Royale)
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The final spoils from this year’s Keepers Match Play were:
1st Place Len Goldman $300 Kash Sweeps and 600 Kup Points
2nd Place Mike Fisher $200 Kash Sweeps and 500 Kup Points
3rd Place Norman Goldberg $100 Kash Sweeps and 450 Kup Points
Tied 4th Rich Sussman, Rich Greenberg, Moe Dweck $50 Kash Sweeps and 300 Kup Points
Keepers Golf 