Jaramillo's Net 32 Headlines a Tuesday Full of Upsets
Week 5 at UNM North belonged to the underdogs and to Thomas Jaramillo, who posted a season-best gross 42 that netted out to a 32, the low net of the night by a mile. Orlando Flores did Orlando Flores things with the night's low gross, 39, and the lone birdie in the field. Three of the five live matches went to the lower-ranked player. Two of the league's three-match win streaks were snapped, and the scorecards were a bit of a crime scene. The doubles column ran long all evening, and one player filled it on every hole and still won.
Shields 6.5, Maxwell 3.5
Brian Shields and Jason Maxwell both signed for gross 47, but Shields' five strokes turned that into a net 36 and a 6.5–3.5 upset. Shields won holes 1, 3 and 4 early, taking No. 4 with a double bogey and a stroke, which is about as Tuesday-night as golf gets. Maxwell answered only on hole 6, and the last three holes were halved. That stretches Shields' win streak to three and ends Maxwell's at three.
Kardas 5.5, Candelaria 4.5
No strokes changed hands and the holes split three apiece, so this one came down to the low-net point, and Jeff Kardas had it by a single stroke, net 40 to 41. Dennis Candelaria punched back late by taking hole 9, but it wasn't enough to swing the match. Kardas at least got something out of No. 9 too, collecting the longest putt prize there. Call it a winning upset with a tip on the way out.
Sewell 5.5, Rains 4.5
Jimmie Rains got a stroke on every hole and needed all of them, making double or worse on seven of nine holes for a gross 55. Somehow that still netted a 40, matching Todd Sewell's net 40 and splitting the low-net point. The match swung back and forth, with Rains taking holes 2, 3 and 8. Sewell won hole 9 to close out a 5.5–4.5 upset, a fair reward for actually keeping the ball in play.
Flores 6, Sewell's card 4
Orlando Flores went up against Todd Sewell's card and played the cleanest round of the night: gross 39, no doubles, and the evening's only birdie on hole 7. He won holes 2, 3, 7 and 8, while Sewell's card picked up No. 1, No. 4 and No. 9 with help from its strokes. A 6–4 result keeps the league leader humming along.
Jaramillo 8, Rael 2
This was the big night. Thomas Jaramillo carded a season-best gross 42, and with two strokes that became a net 32, the best number on the board. He won six holes, including a run of 2, 3 and 4, then closed with 8 and 9 for good measure. Paul Rael took hole 5 and that was about all the room he got, falling 8–2 in a match that was over long before the walk to No. 9.
Winters 5.5, Pehr 4.5
File this one under scorecards you have to see to believe. Sean Winters made double bogey or worse on all nine holes, gross 55, and still beat Tom Pehr. Eleven strokes will do that, and so will an opponent who doubled five holes himself. Winters won five holes, Pehr rallied with holes 7 and 9, and the low-net point decided a 5.5–4.5 finish that ends Pehr's three-match streak.
Around the league
Flores swept both closest-to-the-pin prizes, on holes 2 and 8, for $18.33 apiece, and Kardas took the longest putt on No. 9 for the other $18.33 of the $55 pot. Flores stays on top with 32 points. Jaramillo's big night vaults him from fifth to second at 30.5, nudging Tom Pehr (30) to third, Jimmie Rains (27.5) to fourth and Jason Maxwell (26) to fifth. Shields climbs from 12th to 8th and Kardas from 13th to 9th. Andy Dean slides from 7th to 11th, Jeff Hunt from 10th to 12th and Joe Olson from 11th to 13th. It's only week 5 with 15 to go, so nobody should be printing anything yet. Still, Shields and Jaramillo have each won three straight, and the rest of the league now knows who's carrying the hot hand into next Tuesday.