The Deadlands Just Got Stickier ๐
adjusts digital duster Thursday at Dragonfly, 84.6ยฐF of swamp heat, and only 18 souls willing to test the "Hungry Water" โ the new chapter where the rising tide of the season starts separating survivors from drifters. The Spirits Crossed Over last week; this week the bayou's demanding payment, and the culling's getting personal.
New Sheriff, Broken Record, Dry Dust ๐๏ธ
Cooper Johnson just rewrote the Deadlands math with a bogey-free -14 (1049-rated) โ a +48 over his rating that shattered the course record and claimed the Trailblazer achievement. He led wire-to-wire while the rest of RPA watched from a different zip code. Austin Lott came back to earth hard, dropping from last week's god-tier -12 to a -6 tie with Dannion Nelson. And Chris Fox? After a -6 last week that had him breathing fire, he posted a +1 that dropped his rating by 94 points. The swamp doesn't care about last week's heater.
Not Everyone Drowned in the Swamp ๐
Over in RAD, Andrew Mortensen threw a clean -8 (983-rated) that included an eagle on hole 12 and a 106-point rating swing from last week's struggle. Craig Bennett backed it up with a solid -5, climbing ten spots with a 93-point surge. In RAH, Bryant Adams secured the win with a clean -5 (950-rated), edging out Dillon Mueller and Owen Bush who both finished at -4. Clean cards in the bayou are a rare currency โ three players cashed in, and the rest are still fighting the mosquitoes.
Two Souls, One Score, Zero Dry Land ๐ฎ
RAE was a shared misery session. Collin DeClerk and Rodrigo Ornelas finished locked at +9, both shooting well below their ratings. Despite the high scores, there's a grim poetry in it โ DeClerk snagged the Division Winner and First Skin achievements, while Ornelas played philanthropist with his winnings. Dragonfly doesn't apologize for being technical, and the recreational division paid the tuition.
Ace Alert! But the Pot Says No ๐ฏ
Kevin Harrison parked a 334-foot ace on hole 13 โ a beauty that would've claimed the Super Ace Pot. Except he didn't buy in. That's the kind of spiritual bankruptcy that gets your name whispered by the canaries. The rest of the card saw massive swings: Mortensen's 106-point surge was the largest positive, while Fox's 94-point collapse was the season's cruelest regression. Three bogey-free rounds (Johnson, Mortensen, Adams) proved that clean golf exists in the swamp โ you just have to earn it.
The Pot That Nobody Could Catch ๐ช
The Super Ace Pot swells to $3,662.00 after 16 contributors added their share. That miss by Harrison stings a little more every week the pot grows โ a life-changing payout sitting in the bayou, waiting for someone who's willing to risk the buy-in. The Hungry Water isn't just claiming scores; it's hoarding treasure.
Carryover Carnage on Hole 17 ๐ฅ
The skins game delivered its own brand of frontier justice. Jared Lang scooped $48.00 with a carryover on hole 17, Austin Lott grabbed $33.75, and Craig Bennett pocketed $22.50. Across four cards, $193.50 changed hands โ proving that even when the main event is a coronation, the side bets keep the drifter economy alive.
Tombstone Crown Finds a New Head ๐
The All-In shuffle hit like a ghost train. Cooper Johnson's dominant -14 catapulted him from #6 to #1 in Pool A, claiming the Tombstone Crown โ a circlet of weathered stone with a spectral gem that glows gold when the bearer proves worthy of remembrance. In Pool B, Collin DeClerk holds the Tumblebone Psalm at #1 despite the +9 round, because absence and poor performance meant demotion across the board, and the only way to climb was to show up and survive.
Next Week: Swim or Sink in the Bayou ๐ช
Two weeks remain. The Hungry Water is rising, and the baseline pressure is only going to intensify. Cooper Johnson sits at the top with the Crown and a course record that'll haunt the leaderboard for weeks. But the Deadlands don't hand out permanence โ they loan it. Next Thursday, the swamp demands another tribute, and someone's going to find out if they can stay afloat when the tide comes for them.