The Houston Golf League kicked off the 10th season's anniversary at the Pearland Country Club, and it was quite apparent that their clubs had been in the back of the closet over the offseason. Let us dive into the numbers to see just how bad this historic round of tournament golf compared to other HGL events. Spoiler alert this was the worst ever, with the scoring of 94.5.  Even if I throw in the handicaps, it's not much of an improvement with the scoring of 83.8. I'm not calling out any names even though several players in the field are on the Ryder Cup team headed to DC in May or maybe not, with those scores. But we have three months to correct some things so that I won't hit the panic button yet. Enough of the pessimistic stuff; let's now focus on the positive.  Joe Eckford, Joe Hart, and Blaise Brandon, a newcomer, played good golf. Eckford's Achilles heel was the par fives on the back. He shot eight over on those two holes only to lose by seven shots. He is knocking on the cusp of a victory over the past few years, and this year I predict this will be his break-out year.  Keep working on your game, Eckford, and soon you'll be comfortable on top of the leader board, as victories will come as easily as pulling teeth. Hart and Brandon battled each other all day on the leader board, and at the turn, Brandon was up by one shot. Hart's three-putt on 10 turned out to be the difference in the match. On the back nine holes, they closely match each other shot for shot.  Brandon gave Hart a chance with a double bogey on the difficult finishing hole 18, but Hart's bogey would come up one shot short of providing the rookie with his first victory of the Houston Golf League. Congratulations, Blaise Brandon! You are the 2021 Season Opener Champion at the Pearland Country Club.    

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PAYOUT

      A  FLIGHT MONEY LIST 

      B  FLIGHT MONEY LIST