Below Par Golf League · Est. 2002
Through Week 9 of 17
Year-End Outing · 2026
Conklin Players Club · Binghamton, NY
Saturday, September 19, 2026
# SUMMER HEATWAVE: Scorching Scores, Solo Masterclasses, and a New King Seizes the Throne! ☀️🔥🏌️♂️
The thermostat wasn't the only thing hitting triple digits this week. Week 9 at Crestwood was absolute chaos on the back nine, defined by blistering summer heat, lopsided blowouts, a massive shakeup at the top of the standings, and some individual carry jobs that belong in the league history books. When the dust settled and the point money was distributed, the defending champs were forced to yield the throne, a new leader ascended, and a couple of solo flyers had nights they won't soon forget. Let’s dive into the action! 🪓
Playing without your partner isn't automatically a death sentence—it's the ultimate make-or-break gamble depending on whether you bring your 'A' game or fall apart. Safe to say, Will Cotter and Frank Gentile Jr. caught pure lightning in a bottle, turning their solo appearances into absolute dual-card clinics.
The Cotter Show 🌟: With Jake Lyman out, Will Cotter threw down a career performance. Cotter fired a career-best and night-low gross score of 38, needing a microscopic 12 putts to get it done. His insane night officially vaults him into the league's #1 spot for Best Putting Average at a blistering 15.3 putts per round! He was an absolute buzzsaw, securing 19.5 of a possible 24 points completely solo against Todd Allen and Jon Hazeltine.
The Streak Grows 🚂: Frank Gentile Jr. was also flying solo with Michael Gentile away, and he absolutely capitalized on a rough night from his opponents. Frank Jr. cruised to a 20–4 blowout, racked up a massive 11.5 individual match points (setting a new season high for most individual points in a single matchup), and extended his mind-boggling win streak to 8 consecutive matches!
| # | Team | Pts | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇▲1 | Team 8Gagnon / Gannon Hcp 19 | 125.5 | 🎯 |
| 🥈– | Team 10Kasper / Firley Hcp 9.5 | 123 | -2.5 |
| 🥉▲1 | Team 2Miller / Bates Hcp 12.5 | 122.5 | -3 |
| 4▲2 | Team 3Gentile Jr. / Gentile Hcp 13.5 | 122 | -3.5 |
| 4▼3 | Team 13Sreca / Matwijec Hcp 10 | 122 | -3.5 |
| 6▲3 | Team 9Hazeltine / Smaldon Hcp 11.5 | 113.5 | -12 |
| 7▲1 | Team 1Woodlan / Pomeroy Hcp 20.5 | 109.5 | -16 |
| 8▼3 | Team 7Dudeck / Beckwith Hcp 14.5 | 107 | -18.5 |
| 9▼2 | Team 12Brillante / Miglin Hcp 20 | 106 | -19.5 |
| 10– | Team 4Hazeltine / Allen Hcp 12 | 100.5 | -25 |
| 11▲2 | Team 11Lyman / Cotter Hcp 12 | 98 | -27.5 |
| 12▼1 | Team 14Sergott / Lamb Hcp 13 | 91 | -34.5 |
| 13▼1 | Team 6Allen / Sreca Hcp 16.5 | 88 | -37.5 |
| 14– | Team 5Acquaviva / Hughes Hcp 10.5 | 83.5 | -42 |
Top 10 · composite of scoring, putting, and points-per-round
| # | Player | Avg Score | Avg Putts | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Bates | 40.9 | 15.6 | 629.3 |
| 2 | Frank Gentile Jr. | 44.6 | 15.8 | 611.6 |
| 3 | Eric Kasper | 43.3 | 16.9 | 604.1 |
| 4 | Will Cotter | 44.6 | 15.3 | 590.4 |
| 5 | Mike Sreca |
The Coup at the Top 📉: The headline of the night was the subtle coup at the very peak of the standings. Defending champions Matwijec / Sreca locked into a gritty, hard-fought 12–12 draw against a resilient Pomeroy / Woodlan team. While a tie is respectable, the rest of the field moved so fast that the champs slipped 4 spots down the standings from #1 to #5.
Clear Skies Ahead ☀️: Seizing the crown were Dave Gagnon & Tom Gannon, who took 18.5 points off Jeff Sergott & Josh Lamb. Both players posted absolutely stellar rounds, highlighted by Tom Gannon firing a legendary, season-best low net of 24! When a team puts up scores that hot, the forecast completely changes. You can go ahead and pack away the storm prep and take down the sandbags—with clear skies and scorching momentum like this, Gagnon / Gannon are officially sailing into sole possession of first place by 2.5 points.
Other Notable Battles: Matt Smaldon & Jon Hazeltine put together a spectacular night, taking 17 points off Shawn Hughes & Frank Acquaviva, fueling a huge 3-spot surge up the standings from #9 to #6. Meanwhile, Eric Kasper & Joe Firley took 16 points off Jim Miglin & Chris Brillante, and Ryan Bates & Chad Miller secured a strong 17.5 points against Brandon Allen & Matt Sreca.
The league saw a wave of "Redless Rounds" on Monday night, with several players keeping their scorecards perfectly clean of double bogeys or worse:
Joe Firley and Ryan Bates both notched their second redless round of the season!
Also carding an impressive, blemish-free redless round on the night were Will Cotter, Eric Kasper, Frank Gentile Jr., and Nick Matwijec!
Milestone Update: Mike Sreca has officially joined Pat Beckwith and Ryan Bates in the All-Green Club, meaning he is now out-pacing his entire performance from last year across every major statistical category.
Eight birdies hit the card on the back nine to push the season total to 43, with league-leader Ryan Bates maintaining his throne atop the individual world rankings and keeping his league-leading birdie/eagle count moving forward to 6 on the year.
Skinny Dipping: Four skins were snatched at $7.50 per. Matt Smaldon grabbed one on Hole 11, Jon Hazeltine took Hole 14, and Will Cotter put the exclamation point on his historic night by sweeping two skins on Holes 16 and 18.
Pin Hunter: Jon Hazeltine walked away with the night's single biggest cash payout, stuffing a crisp $30 into his wallet for striking an absolute dart that landed just 5 feet, 4 inches from the cup to win Closest to the Pin on Hole 14. He confirmed with the birdie/skin.
We have to send a collective thoughts-and-prayers out to Josh Lamb. On the par-5 15th, Lamb hit an absolute seed to reach the green in two strokes. Standing over an eagle opportunity... he proceeded to four-putt for a bogey. Someone please check on this man, and please get him a new flat stick before next Monday. 🙈😂
The drama heads right into the mid-July stretch. Can Gagnon / Gannon hold the top spot? Will the defending champs bounce back from the #5 slot?
See you on the tee box! 🏌️♂️💨
| 45.3 |
| 16.3 |
| 582.1 |
| 6 | Joe Hazeltine | 48.6 | 15.8 | 572.8 |
| 7 | Todd Allen | 44.4 | 15.6 | 562.5 |
| 8 | Joe Firley | 47.8 | 15.9 | 560.3 |
| 9 | Nick Matwijec | 45.6 | 16.4 | 557.9 |
| 10 | Dave Gagnon | 53.8 | 16.8 | 554.2 |