PENFIELD, N.Y. (FLX) — AND IT ALL CAME DOWN TO THIS! We got updates on the FLX Cup and the much-anticipated final rankings for the inaugural Young Man of the Year … Here we go!

The race for YMOTY came down to a single shot Saturday, and the final major of the season came down to the final hole to determine the winner of the 2023 FLX Cup.

As the rain came on, Danny Driffill’s bid for a historic third major championship fell short in the last group as Ryan Pancione held on to claim victory and etch his name in the Hall of Champions forever.

It’s Pancione’s first major championship in just his second appearance at an FLX Tour event. He laid claim to a sloppy Shadow Lake course with a masterful net score of 67 (77 gross) as Danny Driffill and Brier Koroly tied for second with net scores of 69 (nice) and gross scores of 82 and 99, respectively.

Three players, Tom Deiure, Brandon Moynihan, and Alex M. Dooley, tied for fourth with net scores of 71 (78, 99, and 98 gross, respectively). “Uncle Chris’ Miers took home the top gross score with a raw 75, and Deiure won the closest to the pin challenge on the par 3 hole No. 9 (full results in table below).

The unfavorable weather conditions consumed the week as the dominant discussion point. It was chilly, with temps in the high 40s as groups began play, but the rain mostly held off until the final pairings were finishing their rounds. Despite the cold, and wet, FLX Tour pros showed up and showed out for the final major the season.

“Personally, not the desired result,” said FLX Tour Co-Commissioner Matt Driffill who was seen tossing his clubs in the basement for the year following a disappointing performance. “Personal feelings aside, this whole season was a tremendous success for the tour. We saw explosive growth of the roster, launched a website, offered new merchandise, and connected many nice young men, all while setting this Tour up for longstanding success for the years to come.”

If it weren’t for two withdrawals at the last minute, it wold have been the third straight FLX major to feature 28 participants, which would have tied again for the largest field in Tour history. 25 of the 26 participants were returning pros with only Ryan Wirth making his FLX Tour debut.

YMOTY

Zooming out from the FLX Cup as an independent event, and perhaps more importanly, the final major of the season also determined the first ever Young Man of the Year Award. A massive congratulations from all of us at FLX Tour to the one, the only, Uncle Chris Miers for taking home the most coveted prize in the golf galaxy.

Uncle Chris prevailed in the final grouping at the FLX Cup and finished the season with a YMOTY leading 180 points, edging out Sean Sawyer (177), Danny Driffill (161), Tom Deiure (142), and Shane Driffill (138). Click here for the updated YMOTY rankings.

It was yet another heartbreaking result for Sawyer this season who saw multiple trop gross finishes result in second place net. At the FLX Cup on Saturday, one stroke on the card was the difference between tying Uncle Chris for first place in YMOTY and finishing in second yet again. Sawyer had led the YMOTY rankings after each major this season, with Uncle Chris and Danny Driffill lurking close behind, but one bad tournament result from Swa ultimately gave Chris the nod. Despite the disappointment, Sawyer did notch a victory at a major this season, something Uncle Chris was unable to accomplish in 2023.

“Congrats to the old Young Man Uncle Chris, a devoted golf fan since his youth when pop-pop widdled a club from a cherry tree in the yard,” FLX Tour Co-Commissioner Shane Driffill might have said. “He’s played well all year and deserves this recognition, but so too does the young man Sean Sawyer who went toe-to-toe all season long with anyone who stepped up to the tee. A hardfought battle to the end, and a real dog fight.”

“I’m so excited,” Uncle Chris said in the FLX GroupMe (which is still operational btw). “I’m ready to be an ambassador for the Tour and continue to help #GrowTheGame.”

According to sources, Uncle Chris will receive an invitation at a later date for a formal sit-down interview with FLX Tour leadership and for a ring presentation. Stay tuned for details. POP POP!

New in 2023 to the FLX Tour is the Young Man of the Year, a season-long ranking of Tour Pros based on their gross and net results at majors and designated events. A sort of Player of the Year award, if you will.

Though widely considered a smashing success from pros and fans alike, Tour leadership has discussed changing the scoring format next year to only include net score results versus the net-gross combination format used this year. The thought, according to sources, is that the gross results will prohibit most high-handicappers from ever truly competing for the honor.

If this year’s YMOTY was net score cumulative only, Danny Driffill would have been the ultimate champion. In fairness to those wondering why leadership is thinking of revisiting the scoring format … that’s fair. We kinda made it up on the fly this year after the Grand Open not knowing how explosively popular the Tour would soon prove to be. We’ll always be tinkering.

Tour officials also teased other potential changes for 2024, including Tour pro cards which would allow for one flat fee to qualify entrance to each major and designated events. Leaders say this could also potentially help offset the current operating deficit because of trophy purchases, big checks, merch, and more. One source said it would aslo be nice to be able to upgrade this shitty free version of WordPress into a better CMS-WYSIWYG WP editor. We’re not sure who exactly said that among the Tour officials. Anyone’s guess.

While leadership will certainly have a busy off season ahead of them (the disciplinary action committee is very backed up on paperwork and we cannot handle another scandal right now), one tour official said he’s prioritizing the following change for next season.

“10 rounds minimum to play in a major next season,” said FLX Tour Head of Content and Rules Czar Joey Mortillaro said. “Also we need dates for the next five years so I can plan ahead.”

Though dates are far from being announced, Tour pros can expect the usual: Grand Open in June 2024, the Churchville Classic in July 2024, the Genesee Invitational in August 2024, and the FLX Cup in either September or October 2024 (we’re hoping September, at Greystone).

While the 2023 season is coming to a close, and a watchful eye turns to 2024, Tour leadership said they wanted to extend a heartfelt and genuine thank you to everyone who joined us on this whacky adventure this year. We hope to continue to #GrowTheGame into 2024 and beyond, and we couldn’t imagine a finer group of nice young men to do that with.

Until then, STAY TUNED!

Notes From the Course

— After the over/under for no shows was set at 5.5 during the FLX Cup preview show, only two players from the field didn’t make it: Dan Driffill and Mike Converse. The former, the oldest Tour pro, said the cold weather wasn’t good for his back to play 18 holes while the latter plays golf in open-toed shoes … not ideal for the conditions. To make up for the two losses who were slated to tee off first in the Senior Bell Ringers group, Ryan Wirth jumped up to join them, creating two threesomes for the field and enhancing the pace of play.

— Speaking of Senior Bell Ringers, it was quite the start to the competition when Josh Valleta drove his ball into a pine tree about 12 feet right of the tee box on Hole No. 1. Nathan Wirth followed up that doozy with a J. Walter Toppenheimer that rolled briskly to a decorative boulder about 12 feet left of the tee box on Hole No. 1. The starter snapped his head and gave the group a confused look, with no idea what the course was getting into with this lot. The Bell Ringers ultimately got it going, and N. Wirth put in one of his best rounds of the season, but no amount of breakfast balls was going to save them from that tough sledding start.

— Donut Guy Jesse Cramer, who famously and generously provided donuts for Tour pros at the 2023 Genesee Invitational, upped his philanthropy game even more for the FLX Cup with a keg of Genny Light tapped and ready to go for the gallery on hole 18. Made for quite the jovial celebration and plenty of smiles!

— Not to be outdone on the generosity meter, Alex M. Dooley, known for quick and easy access to all things cooler, came primed and ready to go with treats and apple cider moonshine that helped Tour pros warm up before starting their rounds near the practice green. Classic Dooley.

— Also warming up near the practice green was Chuck Pace and his ceremonial shotgunning of a Twisted Tea:

— Now that we’re on the subject of warming up, No cart tandem was more recognizable than that of Joey Mortillaro and Brandon Moynihan, whose cart was decked out with the tent flaps and a portable heater. Firefighters may have said it wasn’t up to code with the lack of oxygen flow available, but it was a toasty treat to say the last:

— Patrick Moynihan got stung on the head by a fucking HORNET! Imagine that?? Kid toughed it out like a champ that he is though. Matt Driffill and Tim Dorsheimer were waiting in the fairway on hole No. 13 when they reported seeing the young Moynihan laying on the green with his hands on his head. WE THOUGHT SOMEONE PLUNKED ’em! KAPOWY! Kudos to P-Bird for battling through. Respect that grit.

— The traditional Champions Luncheon was held, once again, at Shamrock Jack’s in Irondequoit following the conclusion of the tournament. People were already in sour moods about Pancione laying claim to the cup, but USMNT getting hammered by Germany to the tune of 3-1 did little to improve spirits. Not the warmest of celebrations, but a toasty sendoff to the 2023 season nonetheless.

— Intending to prove who indeed had that dog in them, J. Cramer wore a fuckiiiiiin sick undershirt with a wolf on it. Look at this tough guy:

The wolf howls at midnight son.

FLX Cup Final Scores and Results

Net Scores

Rank	Player	Score	YMOTY Points
1	Ryan Pancione	67	26
T-2	Danny Driffill	69 (nice)	25
T-2	Brier Koroly	69 (nice)	25
T-4	Tom Deiure	71	23
T-4	Brandon Moynihan	71	23
T-4	Alex M. Dooley	71	23
T-7	Chris Miers	72	20
T-7	Joey Mortillaro	72	20
T-7	Danny Ott	72	20
T-7	Dan Riesenburger	72	20
T-7	Evan Santiago	72	20
12	Mike Mortillaro	73	15
T-13	Shane Driffill	74	14
T-13	Chuck Pace	74	14
15	Jesse Cramer	76	12
T-16	Tim Dorsheimer	77	11
T-16	Patrick Moynihan	77	11
18	Sean Sawyer	78	9
T-19	Nathan Wirth	80	8
T-19	Todd Horne	80	8
T-21	Matt Driffill (washed)	82	6
T-21	Boston Slootmahker	82	6
T-21	Steve Nally	82	6
24	Brendan Millward	83	3
25	Ryan Wirth	93	2
26	Josh Valletta	96	1
T-27	Dan Driffill	WD	0
T-27	Mike Converse	WD	0

Gross Scores

Rank	Player	Score	YMOTY Points
1	Chris Miers	75	26
2	Ryan Pancione	77	25
3	Tom Deiure	78	24
T-4	Danny Driffill	82	23
T-4	Joey Mortillaro	82	22
6	Sean Sawyer	83	23
7	Danny Ott	85	20
8	Tim Dorsheimer	86	19
9	Shane Driffill	87	18
10	Jesse Cramer	88	17
11	Evan Santiago	89	16
12	Chuck Pace	91	15
13	Brendan Millward	92	14
14	Mike Mortillaro	96	13
15	Matt Driffill (scrub)	97	12
T-16	Alex M. Dooley	98	11
T-16	Todd Horne	98	11
T-18	Brandon Moynihan	99	9
T-18	Brier Koroly	99	9
T-20	Boston Slootmahker	100	7
T-20	Dan Riesenburger	100	7
22	Steve Nally	107	5
23	Patrick Moynihan	111	4
24	Nathan Wirth	113	3
25	Ryan Wirth	118	2
26	Josh Valletta	129	1
T-27	Dan Driffill	WD	0
T-27	Mike Converse	WD	0

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

Updated and Final Young Man of the Year Rankings for 2023

Updated 10/16/23

Rank	Player	Points
1	Chris Miers	180
2	Sean Sawyer	177
3	Danny Driffill	161
4	Tom Deiure	142
5	Shane Driffill	138
6	Brandon Moynihan	136
7	Joey Mortillaro	132
8	Mike Mortillaro	126
9	Tim Dorsheimer	123
10	Brendan Millward	121
11	Patrick Moynihan	110
T-12	Matt Drffill	106
T-12	Alex M. Dooley	106
14	Chuck Pace	105
T-15	Dan Riesenburger	93
T-15	Brier Koroly	93
T-15	Ryan Pancione	93
18	Danny Ott	92
19	Steve Nally	90
20	Jesse Cramer	83
21	Nathan Wirth	59
22	Dan Driffill	57
23	Boston Slootmahker	53
24	Jack Burns	50
25	Gene Ferrera	49
26	Al Gray	40
27	Evan Santiago	32
28	Todd Horne	31
29	Mike Converse	24
30	Kevin Moynihan	20
31	Kyle Pierce	16
32	Josh Valletta	12
33	Ryan Wirth	4