11th Annual Recap

Thursday night: Opening Ceremonies

The wait is over. After all 32 players gathered throughout Wednesday and Thursday for various practice rounds, everyone eventually huddled downstairs to watch the Wolves demolish the Lakers, setting up good vibes for the weekend. One of the more underrated moments of it all is with so many players now living across the country, with obligations and children, schedules become so busy for everyone. The Invy serves not just as a tournament but a weekend full of reconnecting and shared memories off the course; and Thursday night serves as the perfect kickoff and night to reconnect with other members of the tournament you haven’t seen in months.

After the frigid temperatures warmed up and the sun came out over the luscious Pines fairways, each team’s beautiful outfits started to showcase themselves as the cold gear sweatshirts and coats came off and the weekend really got into form in Round 2. 

As both the top 2 teams from round one landed in the “red” with 9 points each, 3 teams (‘11 Nation Army, Super Smash Bros, Tee-KO) went from red to green, all scoring 11+ points to get back into the fight.

Round 3 was highlighted by Miami Slice, with a round-leading 13 points to cement themselves as the only team to go ‘green’ with more than 10 points in all 3 rounds and put themselves into prime position for a top seed entering the 4-man scramble. They were tied for the lead with the Irishmen at 34 points, with Spring Break right behind at 33.5, followed by a handful of teams in the upper 20’s and then Globo Gym at 23.5, as the only team to go red-red-red. 

This left the final 9-holes of the Friday competition, with the ever classic and important 4-man scramble round. As Stinzy-led squads often do, Spring Break shined in the 4-man scramble, putting up a very strong 7 points, and making a birdie on the last hole, last putt to secure the 1st see and the bye. Every point counts at The Spieth!

The Fore Irishman played well all day, scoring 6 points in the scramble round and securing the second position. Spring Break and Irish earn the double-bye, and Miami lock in the 3-seed single bye. Tee KO makes an incredible scramble run, scoring 8 points in the scramble round, a new Invy all time record! Clutch Weber hit a hybrid to set up an eagle in this round, helping TKO sneak into the 4th place position, by the way of a round four tiebreaker score! TKO avoids the early morning matches and recieve the final single bye.

One more shout out to Miami Slice, who was the most popular pick to finish last place; they shocked everyone, securing the 3-seed and eliminating any chance of sniffing the Toilet Bowl, thanks to a full team effort of Captain Cullen, Kyle Dalton, the eye-turning improvement of Jacob Booden after his gap-year missing the last tourney, and Adam Schroeder.

Also, a highlight worth mentioning is Joey Friday Ford went 3-0 for the 2nd straight year and is undefeated in his Round Robin play career.

Day 2 - Championship Saturday

Pre-7am wake up calls for 4 squads in yet again near-freezing temperatures on Saturday morning. Mother Nature made her stamp on the tourney, even causing a 45 minute frost delay before the play-in games could tee off.

While some squads stretched, game-planned, and bonded with their teammates/competitors, Duder Haines for Globo Gym took a different approach, double-fisting a couple of Blood Mary’s after he convinced the bartender to start serving alcohol pre-8am. A bold strategy, Cotton.

Little Crow Head Pro Isaac finally gives the go-ahead and the bracket play is underway.

Play-in games: 

5- ‘11 Nation Army vs 8- Globo Gym

After struggling all day Friday, Globo wasn’t going down without a fight. Army grabbed an early lead but Globo clawed back over the middle stretch of holes. It ultimately came down to #9 Willows where a Schutt/Latzke up and down from the bunker put Golbo back to the wall. Reigning repeat Champ Matt Galloway’s 15 foot putt to force OT barely missed the cup, and the Army survive the play-in round.

6- Super Smash Bro’s vs 7- Bomb Squad

After flying under the radar on Friday, Bomb Squad’s depth started to showcase itself in bracket play. Alex Laporte was nearly flawless, as he and Prochno posted a -4 round, highlighted by a 190 yard 7 iron to inside of a foot on the par 5 #8 willows, leading to a tap in for Eagle. The consistent play of all four members of Bomb Squad buoyed them throughout the morning, boosting them past Smash Bros.

Last Place Game:
Also, after a slow start to the B-hole Bow, Super Smash Bros found themselves standing on the 7th tee down 4. Something needed to change, and change drastically if they were going to avoid getting last. And boy, did things turnaround quickly. Both the Todd/Gabe and Z/Boyce pairings proceeded to win all of the remaining holes, leading to a 2-up win. The Todd/Gabe duo that finished birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie to lead the comeback and help Super Mario Bros avoid the infamous loser of the Spieth tagline.

Quarter-Finals:

7 - Bomb Squad vs 3- Miami Slice

The depth of Bomb Squad proved to be too much for Miami Slice, despite a valiant effort from Cullen. With Miami Slice down 1 and heading to Pine #9, they needed Birdie or better to win the hole up front and put some pressure on the back pairing of Shotwell and Trow. Porte and Prochs got the job done, winning #9 to lead to a 2-up victory for Bomb Squad. A solid tournament for the #3 seed Miami Slice comes to an end. 

5 - ‘11 Nation Army vs 4- Tee-KO 

After needing to sprint from Willows #9 to Pines #1 after the lost time via the morning frost delay, Army fueled the warm-up to their advantage as Mitch Ebo donned his new motto “embrace the grease” and was absolutely dialed, hitting shots from every conceivable lie and angle as he led Army to the victory over Tee-KO in 8 holes. Freddy put the cap on the match with an off-the-tree iron shot that settled into tap in range on hole #8. A wink and nod to his playing competitior Andrew, as he strutted up the fairway closing out the match. The momentum and confidence for ‘11 Nation Army was growing stronger with each 9 hole match they were winning.

Something started heating up... maybe Mr. Schutty was onto something at 6:45am...

Semi-Finals: 

7- Bomb Squad vs 2- Fore Irishmen 

Bomb Squad was riding hot after two morning wins and took their talents into the semis against the Fore Irishmen, a team with as much firepower as we’ve seen in recent Invy memory. The front pairing of Dolan/Ford and LaPorte/Prochno played some elite golf all around, shooting 4-under and 3-under respectively. The theme of Saturday for Bomb Squad was a full team effort, picking up the other pairing when one group went down; this was perfectly exemplified by the Shotwell/Trow pairing, as they took a 2 up lead into Oakes #9, meaning Bomb Squad was 1-up overall. Needing a birdie to win the hole and force OT, the Devine/Bradley pairing had to hole out from the right bunker for any chance of extending the match. 

Brad gave it a great run, with his bunker shot rolling straight toward the pin and missing just a few feet high of the hole. The talented Fore Irishmen fall short, and head home early after a respected tournament showing. Survive and advance for Bomb Squad, cementing a spot in the Championship game.

5- ‘11 Nation Army vs 1 - Spring Break Boys 

Once again, Army used the morning momentum to their advantage and was set to face off against another team’s first match of the day, as they jumped to a 3-up lead through just 2 holes. But the break boys showcased why they’re the 1 seed and stormed back, with the Warner/Farrow pairing and Stinz/Chaka pairing both winning the par 3 3rd. After 6 holes of more or less ‘standard golf,’ fireworks were about to erupt as they entered the final stretch of holes.

The drivable #7 Oaks became an iconic hole for Spring Break Boys. Down by 2 in their match, Warner and Farrow had a 25 footer for birdie to win the hole, and after Farrow barely misses, giving a great read, Latzke looks at Cameraman Wario and simply says “Sammy’s due”. He was, in fact, due, as JT Warner drills it followed by a massive fist pump + “Let’s go!!!” puts SBB right back in it. 

Moments later, Stinzy drives the green on the 7th, capatilizing on the momentum. Cameraman Wario tries to congratulate him on the amazing tee shot, Stinz rebuffs it and says with a game face, “I missed it about 15 feet right. The object is to put it in the hole right? I missed”. The kid was fired up. Nonetheless, a tap in birdie wins them the hole as well.

The fireworks weren’t done yet, as we fast forward to #9, Latzke somehow hits the middle of the green from 185 yards out of a fairway bunker, a big shot for the Army in a tough position. But the breakers punch back, again in the form of Sammy’s hot flat stick, as Warner drains a 30+ footer from the fringe for Birdie!!! 

Trying to answer, Mebo just barely lips out on Army’s birdie putt and their side of the match ends in a push.

It’s now All-Square overall, as a crowd starts to gather around the green for the 2nd group, where both squads have Birdie-looks inside 25 feet. Stinz and Chaka just miss and secure their par. Quick to play and with seemingly no fear, Freddy, the reigning champ + MIP who had just hit a beautiful approach close from 150 out, calmly steps up. He plays the downhill putt beautifully, swinging-breaker perfectly, and.... 

The putt dropped. A chaotic team celebration for the ages ensues, with salutes all around on the green as Army is moving on to the Championship after one of the greatest matches the Invy has ever seen. 

The Championship 

5- ‘11 Nation Army vs 7- Bomb Squad

Two play-in teams for the title. Who saw this coming?

The 2 Captains, Latzke and Shotwell, did. After learning each squad won their first match-ups after the early morning delay, the two dapped each other up and said “Frost-delay gang. We’ll see you in the ‘Ship”. Nearly 12 hours later, it came to fruition and here they were facing off against each other for the right to become Champions. 

The groupings were Schutt-Freddy vs LaPorte-Prochno, heading out first, followed by Latzke-Mebo vs Trow-Shotwell. 

Both squads enter the ship with not only mirroring paths to get there, but very similar team makeup, consisting of depth, depth, and more depth. The days of every single team needing a clear-cut “1-2-3-4” player in order to succeed seem to be over. It’s a new era. 

On to the golf. All-Square through 2, with some championship jitters prevalent in both groups, both Army squads failed to hit the #3 Par 3 green, and Bomb Squad takes advantage to go up 1 overall. 

After seeing the entire field of 24 beauties turned spectators huddled up around the green at #4, Latzke channeled energy he hasn’t had since playing basketball against a packed house vs Hopkins as he persy birdies the hole. In the other group, Army found themselves in a more dire position as both teammates went OB, while Bomb Squad found the fairway after another smashed Laporte drive. With their backs up against the wall, Army somehow grinded out a push as both teams made bogey. All tied through 4.

LaPorte and Prochno answer right back and help their squad regain the overall lead through 5, as Trow and Shotwell also respond with a few straight clutch pushes via up and downs. 

Army takes advantage of the Par 5 #6 thanks to Mebo’s insanely consistent drives + approach shots that he had all tournament. Both of Army’s groups Birdie the hole to grab the lead, with Schutt and Fredericks starting to find their groove again and play some very high-end golf. They take the overall lead for the first time in the match. 

A couple of pushes on the drivable #7, and it’s still a 1-point Army lead going into the Arduous #8 Oaks, a hole that has provided countless match-changing moments over the years. 

It was there that Tom Schutt would have his MVP moment, as he drained a 25 foot uphill breaking putt for the birdie to win the hole, as the viewing party at the Quinnipiac M&T Bank Hockey Arena erupted after seeing it on the jumbo-tron. 

A few moments later, Latzke and Mebo had a chance to clinch it. It all comes down to a 4-foot clean up slider. Latzke took a moment to channel the energy of how Stinz has playfully motivated him for years with “are you ever gonna win the Spieth?” chatter… He steps up, and the putt drops for Captain. ‘11 Nation Army wins it. 

The pairings shake hands after a great match and you can’t say enough about the sportsmanship displayed by Bomb Squad. Great team but even better people. A hell of a run for the runner-up squad. 

The carts then drive up to the #9 green where Schutt and Freddy are waiting and the celebration is on. It quickly turns into a 4-person party like it’s Coachella as they get beer and champagne showered. Chants of Seven Nation Army emerge in the background, manifested via the Team bio write-up from weeks prior. 

For the first time of the modern era, Latzke, Schutt and Mebo are Champions while it’s just another day at the office for Freddy, who gets his repeat. 

Thomas Schutt walks away with MVP and receives glorious chants of it all night throughout Zorbaz. 

Mitch Ebo becomes the first ever player to win his second Most Improved award, an extremely impressive feat. 

Pedro Lerma receives a shout out as the unanimous Rookie of the Year,

Cameraman Wario Todd Kollodge is your Linda Harrington Courage Award winner.