The Sap Bucket X

Sap Bucket X kick-off

On Sunday, May 20, 2012 the Center Chains Disc Golf Course in Waterbury, Vermont hosted the Sap Bucket X. Here are the stats you need to know about. 88 players, 80 degrees, a Green Mountain Points Series record 24 Pro Open players, 18 CTP's, 1 ace, and a keg. Pretty impressive, that's for sure.

Going into the second GMPS event of the year, I thought for sure that the story would be Matt Idol. He was the two-time defending champ and a very late addition to the field. He plays pretty stellar disc golf and features a devastating flick shot. Combine his huge distances and lazer putting and I thought a third straight win was a done deal.

However, Johnny Betts would simply have none of that. I thought Matt Idol had answered the bat signal, but really Johnny Betts took my other piece of advice. 40's win. And he did it. His first round score of 48 put him on a top card of players who all shot in the 40's. Pat Hout's 48 and three scores of 49 by Todd Holmes, Chris Young, and Jeff Spring completed the lead card.

Center Chains, Waterbury, VT

But only Betts could hang in the 40's for round 2. He shot a second stellar score of 49 to finish the day at 97. On the 2^nd round, Pro Chris Young shot a 50, as did AM1 winner Travis Keller, but only Betts managed to shoot in the 40's. Betts held strong both rounds for his first ever Sap Bucket win. And to answer my previous question, it was Mr. Betts who drank from the shot glass.

Pat Hout made his trip south from Canada worthwhile, tying for 2^nd in Pro Open with Reigning Champ Chris Young. Hout shot a 48/51/99 and Young was 49/50/99. It's no surprise Young shot well. I slighted him a little in the Sap Bucket Prediction article, so he had to show me up. Speaking of which, all I heard before the first round was about how I didn't have any love for Todd Holmes and about how great he plays at Waterbury. And, sure enough, he played well right in front of my stupid face and set me straight. Holmes finished the day at 49/53/102, good enough for a 4^th place tie with Mike Davies. This is starting to sound a little like 6 degrees of separation, but Mike Davies also hated the fact that I suggested he might not finish both rounds, and he also played well just to spite me.

Now that we lay it all out like that, I wonder if Johhny Betts was motivated to prove me wrong too. Maybe so, maybe not.

Either way, congratulations to those guys. Six total rounds in the 40's is pretty solid.

 Also, the next time I go to Montgomery, I hope Mr. Betts pours me a nice bourbon on the rocks in that fancy ass glass trophy I helped him get.

And Then:

*There's so much still to talk about. We haven't even touched on the Points Series, AM1, the ladies and those other...cough...cough... Pro divisions. Plus, the Rivalries. And Black Falls is only a few days away. So, where do you want to start?

*Points Series. Chris Young is a little sneaky. He (kind of quietly) tied for 2^nd at Pinnacle and tied for 2^nd at the Sap Bucket. Right now he's in 1^st place in the Points Series. That's right folks, he's officially at it again. He got off to a quick start last year and he's off to another one this year. I'm happy to see James Beaulieau currently in 2^nd, but right now he's about 41 points behind Young. Mike Habets, Jon Moorer and Jeff Spring round out the top 5.

*You have to wonder if Johnny Betts is ready to capitalize on the quick turnaround between the Sap Bucket and his own tournament, Black Falls VI. He's already working with a 100 and maybe winning Black Falls (which would be another first for him) would make for the perfect story.

*Pro Prediction Follow-Up: I picked Idol/Betts/Spring. Betts exceeded my expectations and Idol and Spring both failed me. Circle Three really did start with predictions, but its a hard business. I should just stick to the commentary.

*Am1 had some excitement. The top card after the 1^st round featured Edwin Bedell (52), Matt Cohen (53), Brad Harris (53), Justin Kaulius (53), and Vinnie Samolis (54). I saw Harris shoot a 2^nd roud 52 and figured he had the win in the bag. Instead, one of George Boone's posse, Travis Keller shot an impressive 2^nd round 50 to tie things up. After a two-round play-off, Keller prevailed to keep the trophy in Vermont.

*Am1 Prediction Follow-Up: I picked Tundji/Harris/Powell. Harris hung tough but couldn't quite make it work, so I nailed the prediction on his 2^nd place finish. I think it was too early to predict Tundji, but it happens. Andy... maybe next time?

*I was psyched to see that Chris Sherwin won Pro Masters. If not for any other reason, he got to keep one of his own trophies. That's got to make it extra sweet. John Sudarsky's starting to run away with Pro Grandmasters. Do any of you guys think you're going to give him some competition anytime soon?

*Rivalry Watch: During the Sap Bucket, Jim Conroy approached me and asked me to include him in a rivalry. In my mind, he took out a glove and slapped me in the face when he said it, but in real life it probably wasn't that dramatic. None the less, you know I accepted the challenge. Plus, Seth McQuade wasn't there so I figured that'd keep us at six rivals for this one.

So, how'd it go?, you're probably wondering. It seems that we should only keep track of rivalries during GMPS Events. So, that means I was 6-1 going into the Sap Bucket. I was 53/57/110 on the day. Dave Carter was 55/56/111, so I got him by a stroke. Newcomer Jim Conroy was 59/54/113, so I got him by 3. DeVico was 57/55/112, so I also got him by 3 and Spencer Weatherholt was 60/52/112, so I got him by 2. Andy Powell, the only rival to beat me at Pinnacle, was 61/59/120, so I got a little redemption there. That makes me 12-1 against the rivals, and its safe to say none of you would have predicted that.

*The Final Word this time goes to your Favorite TD. It doesn't have to be Wedel or I, just your favorite TD. They deserve it.

(Thanks to Gretchen Kruesi for the fantastic pictures.)