Magical Mishaps

The fourth week of Twoesday Teton Trials brought ten brave wizards to the course for what Professor MontClaire would later document as "Magical Mishaps" - a day where the mystical energies of West Jordan created both breakthrough performances and spectacular failures. With temperatures soaring from 83°F to a scorching 96°F and winds gusting up to 16.6 mph, the conditions proved as challenging as navigating a Sunday grocery run in Utah County. 🔥🪄

In the RPA Division, Britain Best channeled what could only be described as pure suburban sorcery, posting an astonishing -10 round that shattered his personal record. His 984-rated performance - a full 47 points above his usual 937 rating - featured a mystical hot streak of four consecutive birdies through holes 4-7. The real magic happened on the back nine, where Best unleashed five birdies over the final five holes, including a clutch birdie on 18 that sealed his dominant victory. It was the kind of round that happens when all the ward boundaries align perfectly with the ley lines running through the old Shopko parking lot. 🎯✨

The RAE Division witnessed a dramatic battle that shifted like Sunday traffic patterns around a stake center. Christian Phelps emerged victorious at -5, but not before the lead changed hands seven times between him, Christopher Hamby, and Houston Turner. Both Phelps and Hamby achieved personal bests, with Phelps shooting an impressive 63 points above his rating. The division's intensity peaked when Phelps sealed his victory with a final-hole birdie - a shot that followed the exact same trajectory as Brother Poulsen's famous green Jello incident of 2019! Meanwhile, Houston Turner's struggles (finishing 102 points below his rating) served as a reminder that even the most skilled wizards can fall victim to magical interference. 🏆💫

RAF Division saw Brian Bowling conjure up a spectacular -5 round, shooting 98 points above his 817 rating for a 915-rated performance. His back-and-forth duel with Corey Mecham (who also exceeded expectations by 54 points above rating) featured multiple lead changes before Bowling's clutch birdie on the final hole secured victory. The single-player divisions told their own tales of resilience: William Fetzer (RAG) finished at +6 but showed true grit with a recovery birdie on hole 9, while Casey Turner (RAH) and Scott Belchak (RAD) both carded -1 rounds, with Belchak setting a personal record and delivering his own dramatic final-hole birdie. 🌟🎪

The day's magical mishaps manifested in the extreme scoring variations across the field. While four players achieved personal course records with significant rating jumps, others experienced the harsh reality of magical overreach. Casey Turner, Scott Belchak, and Leif Smith all finished 25-102 points below their ratings, proving that attempting to circumvent natural challenges with raw magical power often backfires spectacularly. The pattern of immediate recovery birdies after difficult holes showed the resilience of these academy students, even when their hybrid spellcasting went awry in the desert heat. 📊🌡️

As Week 4 concludes and the academy reaches its midpoint, the Cultural Crisis Hotline reportedly fielded record calls about everything from proper disc selection in extreme heat to whether funeral potatoes could provide protection from wayward throws. With no CTP, Ace, or Super Ace winners reported (all pots carrying over to next week), the wizards clearly struggled to find that perfect balance between traditional technique and local magical enhancement. As they head into Week 5's "Cultural Convergence," the question remains whether they can harness the lessons learned from this week's mishaps to find harmony between wizardry and suburban survival. After all, any local wizard worth their funeral potatoes knows that true power comes from understanding, not fighting, the mystical forces of West Jordan. 🏔️🥔