ROCHESTER, N.Y. (FLX) — Over a crowded table of fried food and cheap domestic beer at Shamrock Jack’s on Sunday afternoon, FLX Tour Co-Commissioner Matt Driffill leaned over and told Patrick Moynihan “Your life is about to change forever.”

No truer words were spoken Sunday after the team of Sean Sawyer and the youngest Moynihan brother triumphed over the largest field in Tour history to claim victory at the 2023 Genesee Invitational.

The two man best ball format brought out the best and brightest in Tour offerings, but Sawyer and P-Moyns rose to the occassion, laying claim to the crown with a 59 net score (73 gross).

It was a sweet and deserving moment for Sawyer after finishing in second place at the Grand Open and the Churchville Classic earlier this season. It was the first major championship on the FLX Tour for both Sawyer and Patrick Moynihan.

“This is what it’s all about,” FLX Tour Co-Commissioner Shane Driffill said after his sixth shot of Jameson. “Sawyer has been knocking on the door all year long, and though everyone is always trying to win, it’s less bitter when such deserving young men earn the prize.”

Though Sawyer carried the torch for most most of the day, the triumph would not have been possible without his teammate. P-Moyns sank a clutch birdie on Hole No. 1 (his first career birdie and adding new meaning to his nickname P-Bird), and a par on Hole No. 16 (perhaps the two hardest holes on the entire course).

P’s flashes of brilliance, and Sawyer’s consistent quality helped the duo hold off the surging second place finishers, Shane Driffill and Chuck Pace. Shane and Chuck each posted gross score personal course records of 83, and the team finished with a net score of 61. Even more impressive when you factor in reports indicating Pace was up until 3 a.m. the night prior watching Lord of the Rings battle scenes.

“Theoden man,” Pace was heard saying at the Champions Luncheon following the tournament. “I mean, what else do you need to say.”

There was a moment of intense drama at the gallery as the early groups were finishing up. Shane and Chuck were only one stroke back from Sean and P-Moyns, and were also just one group ahead of them. Chuck landed on the green and posted the closest to the pin of 17 feet and then two putted for a par. If Sawyer and P-Moyns choked on 18, Shane and Chuck could win the whole tournament outright, as well as the $50 prize for closest-to-the-pin.

However, fate was not on their side this day. Sawyer confidently teed off a miracle shot that ended just 2 inches shy of the cup. The near hole-in-one sent the gallery into a frenzy and the tap-in birdie sent Sawyer and P-Moyns into the winner’s circle and the prestigiuos FLX Tour Hall of Champions.

Rouding out the podium was the team of Steve Nally and Danny Ott, who finished with a net score of 63, highlighted by Nally’s first career eagle. Not making the net podium, but taking first place in gross score was the team of Chris Miers and Brandon Moynihan, who eached picked up some valuable Young Man of the Year points along the way (full results below). Miers’ own gross score 72 currently stands as a single gross round FLX record. IMPRESSIVE INDEEED!

On the other end of the scoring spectrum, no bell was rung louder than that of the team of Matt Driffill and Dan Riesenburger, finishing in dead last for net score with a (93).

“Your boy is down bad,” Matt Driffill said sheepishly Monday morning, still very much wallowing in defeat.

While some of the usual suspects were also ringing bells as expected at the bottom of the leaderboard, perhaps the most surprising result was Tim Dorsheimer and Gene Ferrera, considered a dark horse team to claim the prize going into Sunday, but finishing with a lackluster 12th place finish with a net score 72.

Now that the first three majors are all out of the way, the Tour’s focus now turns to the grand finale … the FLX Cup. The single’s style tourney is set to take place at Shadow Lake Golf Club on Saturday, October 14. Matt Driffill will look to defend his title after winning the tournmanent last year, but we assume that won’t happen because your boy is down bad. Real bad.

An incoming wrinkle for the upcoming FLX Cup: Tour officials say instead of the usual hat drawing for groups and tee times, the setup will be dictated by current Young Man of the Year rankings — meaning the final pairing of Sean Sawyer, Chris Miers, Danny Driffill and Shane Driffill will all be going head-to-head as favorites to determine who will lay claim to the FIRST EVER YOUNG MAN OF THE YEAR AWARD.

Though that foursome will have the leg up going in based on points, other players — Brendan Millward, Brandon Moynihan, Mike Mortillaro, Patrick Moynihan, Tom Dieure, Steve Nally, Tim Dorsheimer, Matt Driffill, Joey Mortillaro, Chuck Pace, and more — are all within striking distance as well. Not only will someone take home the FLX Cup, but they could also shock the world for YMOTY.

Talk about drama. Stay tuned for more updates from the FLX Tour.

Notes from the course

— Jesse Cramer posted another impressive score, as is expected with such a quality young man. What wasn’t expected was the extent of his generosity as he scored donuts for all the young men before the tournament, officially earning him the short term title of “donut guy.” DONUT count him out!

— Ryan Pancione, a last minute fill-in for the potentially suspended Al Gray, made his FLX Tour debut and posted a masterful gross score of 80. A tip of the cap to the young man. Also making their season or Tour debuts were Kyle Pierce and Evan Santiago. Pierce cracked a White Claw on the first hole, sipped a lot of tequila, and kept a lit joint in hand the whole round. #GrowTheGame.

— Jack Burns once again stayed true to his name and kept it burning with heaters all day long. Although Uncle Chris has claims to the throne, through just two FLX Tour appearances this season, Burns leads the leagues in darts destroyed.

— Tom Deiure made a splash on the driving range before teeing off with a Christmas-esque display of supplied golf balls he found recently after fighting off possums during a night-time excursion through Durand Eastman Golf Course. However, Tour pros later accused Deiure of trying to sabotage them as most of the balls were damaged and water logged. Even his own teammate lobbied accusations of chicanery.

— Joey Mortillaro had a solid showing on the scorecard, but what was more impressive is that he was actually able to get rid of a few of those ball markers that have been haunting him.

— Lot of bell ringing out there folks.

Final Scores & Results

Net Scores

Rank	Player	Score	YMOTY Points
1	Sean Sawyer	59	28
1	Patrick Moynihan	59	28
2	Shane Driffill	61	26
2	Chuck Pace	61	26
3	Steve Nally	63	24
3	Danny Ott	63	24
4	Chris Miers	66	22
4	Brandon Moynihan	66	22
5	Alex M. Dooley	67	20
5	Ryan Pancione	67	20
T-6	Joey Mortillaro	68	18
T-6	Jack Burns	68	18
T-6	Jesse Cramer	68	18
T-6	Nathan Wirth	68	18
T-8	Danny Driffill	70	14
T-8	Brier Koroly	70	14
T-8	Brendan Millward	70	14
T-8	Boston Slootmahker	70	14
T-10	Tom Deiure	71	10
T-10	Mike Mortillaro	71	10
T-10	Dan Driffill	71	10
T-10	Kyle Pierce	71	10
12	Tim Dorsheimer	72	6
12	Gene Ferrera	72	6
13	Kevin Moynihan	73	4
13	Evan Santiago	73	4
14	Matt Driffill	74	2
14	Dan Riesenburger	74	2

Gross Scores

Rank	Player	Score	YMOTY Points
1	Chris Miers	72	28
1	Brandon Moynihan	72	28
2	Sean Sawyer	73	26
2	Patrick Moynihan	73	26
3	Shane Driffill	76	24
3	Chuck Pace	76	24
T-4	Brendan Millward	80	22
T-4	Boston Slootmahker	80	22
T-4	Alex M. Dooley	80	22
T-4	Ryan Pancione	80	22
6	Joey Mortillaro	82	18
6	Jack Burns	82	18
7	Tom Deiure	83	16
7	Mike Mortillaro	83	16
8	Tim Dorsheimer	85	14
8	Gene Ferrera	85	14
T-9	Jesse Cramer	86	12
T-9	Nathan Wirth	86	12
T-9	Steve Nally	86	12
T-9	Danny Ott	86	12
11	Danny Driffill	87	8
11	Brier Koroly	87	8
12	Dan Driffill	88	6
12	Kyle Pierce	88	6
13	Matt Driffill	91	4
13	Dan Riesenburger	91	4
14	Kevin Moynihan	93	2
14	Evan Santiago	93	2

Updated Young Man of the Year Rankings

_{Last update 8/28/2023 after Genesee Invitational}

Rank	Player	Points
1	Sean Sawyer	147
2	Chris Miers	134
3	Danny Driffill	113
4	Shane Driffill	106
5	Brendan Millward	104
6	Brandon Moynihan	103
7	Mike Mortillaro	98
8	Patrick Moynihan	96
9	Tom Deiure	95
10	Tim Dorsheimer	93
11	Matt Driffill	88
12	Joey Mortillaro	86
13	Steve Nally	84
14	Alex M. Dooley	82
15	Chuck Pace	76
16	Dan Riesenburger	66
17	Brier Koroly	59
T-18	Jesse Cramer	57
T-18	Dan Driffill	57
20	Danny Ott	52
21	Jack Burns	50
22	Gene Ferrera	49
23	Nathan Wirth	48
24	Ryan Pancione	42
T-25	Boston Slootmahker	40
T-25	Al Gray	40
27	Mike Converse	24
28	Kevin Moynihan	20
29	Kyle Pierce	16
30	Todd Horne	12
31	Josh Valletta	10
32	Evan Santiago	6

Play like a young man today.