FLX Cup: Rebrand, venue change for Tour’s final major of 2023

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (FLX) — In a major “flex” by the FLX Tour this week, officials announced Tuesday the rebranding and relocation of the final major championship of the season.

Previously dubbed the “Lakeshore Cup” in 2022 in the Tour’s inaugural season, officials said they were proud to announce the tournament’s rebrand to the FLX Cup.

Along with the rebrand, there is also a venue change from the original Lakeshore Country Club. The first-ever FLX Cup is set to take place on Saturday, October 14 at Shadow Lake Golf Club with the first group teeing off at 9 a.m. Continuing the tradition of 2022, this tournmaent will be a single’s style event and will have massive ramifications for the coveted Young Man of the Year.

“We’re proud to partner with Shadow Lake for the first ever FLX Cup,” FLX Tour Co-Commissioner Shane Driffill said. “Logistically it worked out for this calendar year, but also moving forward this switch will give Tour pros an annual opportunity to play a new and nicer course to finish out the season.”

With the commitment to growing the game and maintaining affordability, FLX Tour officials say the first three major tournaments of the calendar year — The Grand Open, The Churchville Classic — will remain as is at Monroe County’s three munincipal golf courses, but the final major each year, the FLX Cup, will allow pros to chase their dreams at a rotating selection of more upscale courses each season.

Sources close to the situation said league leaders were split between having this year’s FLX Cup at Shadow Lake or the Links at Greystone, but ultimately landed on Shadow. The same source suggested that Greystone is the heavy favorite to host the event in 2024.

“As we continue to grow as a Tour, we’re always tinkering with ways to make things better for everyone involved,” FLX Tour Co-Commissionr Matt Driffill just thought. “This year we moved the Churchville Classic ahead of the Genesee Invitational because Churchville gets brown in August. This year we’re rebranding the Lakeshore Cup as the FLX Cup to give us more ‘FLX-ability’ going forward with where we can host our final major championship each year.”

Other significant changes on Tour this year include:

  • Massive expansion of Tour event participants
  • Application of handicaps for tournaments
  • Designation of 18 Birdies as the official app of the FLX Tour
  • This fucccccckin thiccccc dope website you’re reading right now
  • Launch of GroupMe channel for enhanced communications (mixed results so far, but leadership remains steadfast)
  • Trophies and big checks
  • Extra video and picture content
  • Launch of initial merchandise line

Future ideas being tossed around include a flate rate Tour membership to include a very nice Tour card that will help the Tour with regular maintenance, expansion, and enhancements.

While things will continue to change and evolve going forward, leadership says some things will never change: High fun meters, VNTs had by all, and Joey Mortillaro sitting on a mountain of ball markers.

FLX Tour officials say tee times for the FLX Cup will be drawn in the coming weeks, however they remained silent on the format of the drawing. Sources said there were suggestions of grouping up Tour pros by their Young Man of the Year Rankings in a way, and quote, “to put all those fuckin’ bell ringers out front together.” However, that idea is not set in stone and sources say other options suggest that groups may submit their own foursome suggestions or the more traditional route of the random draw.

FLX Tour Head of Content and Rules Czar Joey Mortillaro said he favored the idea of grouping the pairings by YMOTY rankings.

“These ball markers are killin’ me man,” he said.

Matt Driffill took home the Lakeshore Cup in 2022 with a personal best gross score of 81, but while FLX Tour officials are excited about the fourth and final major the year this fall, all eyes are on the Genesee Invitational this Sunday where players will fight to make their mark on history.


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