2007 Highlights

The Founders' Cup returned to Arrowhead Golf Club for the annual 4-man scramble. Blustery winds provided competitors with arguably the most difficult conditions in the event's history, with all teams struggling to stay at or below par. As teams made the turn, Team Heaney (Heaney, Reimels, Brenneman and Heltebran) held a slim lead over Team Palumberi (Palumberi, DeRosa and Williams), while Team Yakich (Yakich, Kushner, Lewis and Reardon) was a distant third and fighting to avoid the worst score in Founders' Cup history. Team Palumberi's birdie on #17 brought them to within one stroke of the lead as they teed of on #18, with Team Heaney in the clubhouse at 2-under. Despite three good looks from under 12 feet, no one could drop the birdie putt and Team Heaney was crowned Founders Cup Champion.

The players shuttled over to the local Hooters for the traditional meal of wings and beer. It was quickly observed that former Mayor Andrew Smith's picture had been removed and replaced with one of Dan Marino, although the similarities were striking. Captain Palumberi then left to pick up his foreign competitor, John Holland, at the airport. Never one to shy away from the spotlight, Holland made an entrance in true Euro-glam style, sporting Jennifer Lopez-type sunglasses, earning him the nickname "J-Ho" and thus creating another opportunity for DeRosa to cause a stir when yelling for someone at Barefoot Landing.

Much has been studied and written about the concept of leadership. Experts in the field have offered many observations on this valued skill, including:

• "Any one can hold the helm when the sea is calm." - Publilius Syrus
• "To do great things is difficult; but to command great things is more difficult." - Friedrich Nietzsche
• "It is a terrible thing to look over your shoulder when you are trying to lead – and find no one there." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

And most notably, from modern-day philosopher, Dave "Chen" Williams: "I don't see how anyone who has had three older sisters waiting over him hand and foot his entire life can be any kind of leader." Some observers wondered whether Reardon should have sought out the free swing analysis from world-renowed golf instructor Ted Frick as the players warmed up at the Legends prior to departing for the TPC, but Reardon was busy working on his putting stroke. So the stage was set for Final Fore X and Reardon's Last Stand as captain of a Final Fore squad. The Founders resolved that given his recent string of losses, Reardon could pick his own team but had to win or surrender his captaincy.

As players milled about the TPC of Myrtle Beach for the first match to begin, Chen was informed that due to the laws of Final Fore descent, if Reardon were to lose, he stood next in the line to the throne based on the length of his tenure, thus earning him the name "Prince Harry." Threatening to quit Final Fore rather than take over for Reardon, he was also informed that the only way out of Final Fore would be to fight his way out, to which he responded: "Johnny Reimels or John Holland could snap any of us in two so...I can't believe I'm saying this...but I think I'm actually rooting for Reardon to win." And so the matches began.

Reardon attempted to stifle any questions about his leadership early on Day 1 when he and partner Gordo jumped out to an early lead and held off Palumberi/Yakich 2-1. But the rest of his hand-selected team didn't respond: rookie Johnny Reimel committed the ultimate rookie sin (actually the penultimate rookie sin...see below) by getting shut-out with his partner Andy Brenneman 3-0, and DeRosa/Heaney went down 2-1 to Holland/Heltebran. Add to that the controversial Total Team Skins fiasco (controversial until Palumberi figured out it earned him 3 more points, then it was a great idea) and Team Reardon found itself down 9.5-3.5 right out of the gates.

Being a Final Fore rookie can be tough...we've all been there. Some have not survived, some have barely survived, while others have thrived and earned that rarest of "automatic bid" for a return invite. Take Rob Lewis, for example. One of the first to arrive at Final Fore, he immediately assumed the role of "designated driver" chauffeuring participants around all weekend without even uttering a peep. He was careful not to offend any players with more seniority, like when Heaney was practicing chipping before the Founders' Cup out front of the Legends condos and skulled his wedge off the windshield of the rental car and across the parking lot, barely missing a passerby - Rob complimented Mike on the rare ability to hit a nice "knock down wedge."

Rookie #2, Jon Reimels, sought to fall right in line too, also taking over driving responsibilities and other rookie tasks. But he made one very critical mistake that will haunt him so long as he participates in Final Fore. As the players returned from the first day of competition, it was resolved that pizza and beers back at the condos was the fare for the day with the upcoming semi-final NCAA games on tap...and perhaps a card game in the offing. But Jon's only vice got the best of him: blond hair and blue eyes, this time in the form of Andy Brenneman. The two snuck off for a little one-on-one time at the local Outback Steakhouse - a sort of "Outback Mountain," shall we say. While the rest of the competitors dined on pizza and beer, Jon and Andy shared a "Bloomin' Onion" which I can only guess is the Australian version of a Dirty Sanchez.

Later that evening, Team Reardon cut the deficit in half when Florida and Ohio State both advanced to the NCAA Final Game, earning Gordo first place overall honors, and the rest of the team decisively outscoring Team Palumberi 52-26. The gap stood at 9.5-6.5 after Day 1.

Day 2 took the players to the famed Barefoot Landing courses on a day where traditionally teams try to distance themselves, and this year was no exception. On the first tee, we saw a lighter side to Prince Harry as he described J-Ho's snoring tendencies, likening him to Curly of "The Three Stooges." I guess that would make him "Limey." The laughing quickly subsided, though, as the teams went to their work. First out on the Love Course was the team of Reimels/DeRosa versus Palumberi/Lewis. But this was not your father's DeRosa, this was newcomer Doug DeRosa. Rob Lewis inadvertently referred to Greg as Doug for the first nine holes of the match, during which "Doug" shot a sizzling 37, including holing out from 150 yards for a birdie after hitting a ball in the hazard. DeRosa's alter-ego proved menacing the rest of the round as he and Reimels won 2-1. Yakich/Heltebran swept Reardon/Heaney 3-0. Meanwhile, in the Holland/Williams vs. Kushner/Brenneman pairing, Andy Brenneman's hearing impairment was questioned after a second rules violation put him in some hot water.

Earlier in the week, playing against Rob Lewis, Brenneman hit his approach into the green, leaving him about 15 feet away for birdie. When approaching the green, Rob said to Andy "That was good," meaning "that was a good shot", not "that putt is good, pick it up." But Andy, continuing with this ruse that he cannot hear, thought Rob meant "that's good" in match play vernacular. So he picked it up. Again, Rob being the rookie, just let it slide. Now fast-forward to Sunday's match.

With Kushner and Brenneman both sitting two on the par 4 16th, Holland made par and Kushner and Brenneman needed only to par (each getting a stroke) to win the hole. Brenneman left his lag putt short but assumed it was good and tapped it in...or better said...a foot past the hole, for a 5. Holland looked shockingly at Gordo, his face ashen white as he realized he had to now putt one close - naturally, he left it 3 feet short and missed the next putt to push the hole. But in the ultimate display of sportsmanship, Chen (former 2006 Lady Byng runner-up) and Holland allowed Andy's non-putt to be good and the match ended up halved.

After a quick burger at the now infamous "DeRosa Parks Hamburger Stand" at Barefoot, the players turned their attention to the afternoon matches on the Fazio course. Down 14.5-10.5, Team Reardon knew they could not afford to lose ground in the Blackjack format. DeRosa/Kushner did their part, sweeping Holland/Yakich to cut the deficit to one point, but out on the course, much damage was being done by their teammates. Andy Brenneman's bumble-bee yellow pants proved too distracting for his teammate Reardon, and they fell 2-1 to Lewis/Heltebran; meanwhile Palumberi/Williams swept Reimel/Heaney, thus leaving the score 19.5-14.5.

Chuck's Steakhouse once again hosted the Day 2 dinner, where the players recounted their day on the course and made plans for post-dinner festivities. While everyone else ordered steaks, Johnny Reimel decided to try the pork chop and as a result, a new nickname was born: "Johnny Pork Chop." Once again, one of Myrtle Beach's fine entertainment clubs served as the pairings negotiation site, where Captains Palumberi and Reardon made their plans for the always critical final day pairings while the other competitors seemed more interested in the baseball game than the other distractions.

In the annals of sports history, famed UCLA basketball coach John Wooden is widely considered to be one of the greatest leaders of all time. He's often the first name mentioned when the subject is debated, closely followed by Joe Palumberi. Going into Final Fore 2007, his record stood at a remarkable 6-1-1 as captain. He's accomplished that through a combination of great play, unquestionable leadership, savvy pairing decisions and having Reardon as captain on the other side.

With the morning times devoted to the two-man scramble at Legends Parkland, it would be critical for Captain Reardon to make some head-way to ensure the afternoon matches would indeed be meaningful (as they have been every year). So it was that Team Reardon closed the gap to 4 points right out of the blocks thanks to the Reimel/Heaney sweep of Lewis/Williams (yes, the same Williams who said he was actually rooting for Reardon to win getting swept...hmm). Reardon/DeRosa split with Palumberi/Holland in the captains' pairing, while Kushner/Brenneman could only muster half a point from Yakich/Heltebran when Andy's hearing impairment suddenly reappeared and he decided he would putt everything out (big mistake).

Needing just seven points in the individual match play to retain the Green Jacket, Palumberi sent his ace Rob Lewis out at the Heathlands against Doug DeRosa, who proceeded to sweep Lewis 3-0 and put Team Reardon only one point out of the lead. J-Ho and Johnny Porkchop split their match, so Reardo's hand-picked final two foursomes would determine Reardon's fate. In the first group, Gordo pulled a major upset, knocking off Palumberi 2-1 to bring the match to a dead-even 26-26. Final Fore 2007 was now anyone's game.

Leadership by example is often considered the most effective form of getting the most out of those you are leading (getting a slight edge over dictatorship). And Captain Reardon had a most unique opportunity to lead by example. He needed to win or halve his match against Heltebran and leave the final pairings to decide how history would remember him. But Reardon, normally reliable with the flat-stick (throwing it, not putting with it), fought a twitchy putter the entire round and fell 3-0, after which he commented: "The best contact I made with my putter all day was when I threw it across the green and hit the cart on 18 after blowing that 5-footer 6-feet past to lose the match." But still, he held a glimmer of hope that someone in the final foursome could muster enough points to allow him to snap the baton of The Maestro of Myrtle.

However, Wayne-O and Chen combined to take 4.5 out of a possible 6 points from Brenneman and Heaney, respectively, clinching the seventh Green Jacket for Captain Palumberi and forcing Reardon to resign his captaincy and live in infamy...or so it seemed.

Despite the players having played 6 rounds of golf over 4 days and accumulated an average of about 4 hours of sleep per night, the tournament-ending Champions Dinner has traditionally been a rather raucous event where the weekend's activities are recounted, previous years' results remembered and much alcohol and even some food is consumed. Rarely if ever has the event seen much in the way of drama (except for two notable speeches...and we all remember who gave them).

But Final Fore 2007 will be remembered most for the stunning turn of events at the presentation of the Green Jacket. As has now become standard operating procedure, outgoing Captain Reardon once again bestowed the Green Jacket on The Maestro of Myrtle. In his victory speech, Captain Palumberi paused, collected his thoughts, and then shockingly announced his retirement from captaincy at the Final Fore. "I've done all I can do in this position. While I will continue to participate as a player, if I kept up this pace as a captain, it will look like I captained the Harlem Globetrotters against the Washington Generals all these years, and I want to be remembered for the quality of my victories, not the quantity."

A stunned crowd went silent, then let out a loud cheer and immediately turned their attention to his replacement. With Chen a/k/a Prince Harry the heir to the throne as the longest attending non-founder, the Founders immediately rescinded Reardon's "win or you're out" edict in order to set the stage for a new era of rivalry. Reardon and Chen immediately stepped to the podium to fight over the Green Jacket, perhaps foreshadowing how hotly Final Fore 2008 will be contested.

Final Fore 2008 (April 4-8, 2008)...Captain Tom Reardon versus Captain Dave Williams...this one will be available on pay per view!