GREECE, N.Y. (FLX) — The FLX Tour wrapped up the 2025 preaseason on Saturday with the second annual Warm Up at Lakeshore Country Club.
Overcoming wind and rain, 16 youngsters battled it out in the first Tour outing of the season, and when the dust settled it was Brendan Millward, aka KIWI, aka the New Zealander, taking home the top spot on the leaderboard with a -2 69 net score (80 gross). FLX Tour Head of Content and Rules Czar Joey Mortillaro was the golden goose as the low man with a +6 77 gross score.
“It was a great day getting out there and seeing some smiling faces on the links, despite the weather,” said FLX Tour Co-Commissioner Shane Driffill, who played 18 holes for three consecutive days. “This was the kickoff to the kickoff, and we’re gearing up for a top-notch season.”
The Tour calendar happens in the blink of an eye. The Commissioner’s Cup Draft is this Thursday (streaming live on Discord), with the annual Ryder-Cup style tournament slated to take place on May 10. After that it’s just a three week break until the big one: The Grand Open.
“Last year’s Warm Up event really changed how Shane and I went into the draft for the Commissioner’s Cup,” said FLX Tour Co-Commissioner Matt Driffill. “We like to see who put in the hours in the offseason, who’s showing loyalty, and grit. Who can really dig in when it matters most.”
Saturday’s invidivual stroke play brought fierce competition and some tight scoring as players vied for leaderboard spots in both gross and net categories. All eyes were on Shane Driffill and Gene Ferrera, as the rivals traded barbs leading up to tee time. On this day, Mean Gene and his fancy golf lessons paid dividends, driving S. Driffill to the bottle.
The weather proved difficult; the challenging course setup was felt across the board, with scores ranging up to +28 (99). The Tour’s two Young Men of the Year, Chris Miers and Sean Sawyer, showed up in usual form with each of them breaking 80 on the net.
Other notables included M. Driffill, who finished top 5 in both net and gross, picking up the pieces from what was an otherwise disappointing 2024 campaign. Elsewhere, Ryan Wirth and Ferrera both finished under +10 net.
“The merch store is closed,” Joey Mortillaro said. “Thank you to all the Tour pros who purchased gear. For those who didn’t … we’ll see.”
Lot of action. Lot of action.
The munis are now open. We’ll see you out there. Tee it high and let it fligh maggle.
2025 FLX WARM UP results
Net
| Rank | Player | Score | Net (+/- Par) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B. Millward | 69 | -2 |
| 2 | D. Riesenberger | 71 | E |
| 3 | J. Mortillaro | 72 | +1 |
| T4 | M. Driffill | 74 | +3 |
| T4 | S. Sawyer | 74 | +3 |
| 6 | C. Miers | 75 | +4 |
| T7 | M. Mortillaro | 79 | +8 |
| T7 | S. Driffill | 79 | +8 |
| T9 | B. Moynihan | 80 | +9 |
| T9 | G. Ferrera | 80 | +9 |
| T11 | D. D | 81 | +10 |
| T11 | R. Wirth | 81 | +10 |
| T13 | B. Annal | 84 | +13 |
| T13 | C. Pace | 84 | +13 |
| T13 | M. Prokopenko | 84 | +13 |
| T13 | R. Netchke | 84 | +13 |
Gross
| Rank | Player | Score | Gross (+/- Par) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | J. Mortillaro | 77 | +6 |
| 2 | C. Miers | 78 | +7 |
| 3 | S. Sawyer | 79 | +8 |
| 4 | B. Millward | 80 | +9 |
| 5 | M. Driffill | 88 | +17 |
| 6 | B. Annal | 89 | +18 |
| T7 | D. D | 90 | +19 |
| T7 | M. Prokopenko | 90 | +19 |
| 9 | D. Riesenberger | 93 | +22 |
| 10 | G. Ferrera | 94 | +23 |
| T11 | C. Pace | 95 | +24 |
| T11 | M. Mortillaro | 95 | +24 |
| T13 | B. Moynihan | 98 | +27 |
| T13 | R. Netchke | 98 | +27 |
| T13 | S. Driffill | 98 | +27 |
| 16 | R. Wirth | 99 | +28 |
FLX TOUR Golf 