Passenger Seat

The Passenger Takes the Wheel 👨‍✈️

adjusts spectral headset Welcome back to the booth, where the Deadlands are running double-or-nothing and the passenger seat just got a lot more crowded. Eight souls braved 62.6°F and 15.5 mph winds at The Arena for Week 6, and the stakes doubled before anyone threw a single disc—this is a DOUBLE SERIES POINTS event, meaning every stroke carries twice the weight toward the culling. The "Passenger Seat" theme isn't just atmospheric window dressing this week; it's a warning that the demon in your head is demanding a bigger cut of your scorecard.

When the Demon Drives Into the Ditch

Over in RAD, Kent Moos decided the demon could ride shotgun but not drive. He posted a clean -1, good for a 946-rated round that significantly outperformed his player rating and secured the division win. The podium battle came down to Craig Bennett and Skyler Kunz, both finishing at +2 with 917 ratings—but Kunz made it interesting with a late back-nine charge, including a clutch birdie on Hole 17 that played +2.0 average for the rest of the pool. Craig showed resilience too, bouncing back from OB on 15 and 17 to birdie the following holes like a man wrestling the passenger back into the trunk. Meanwhile, Jonathan Lang (+10, 839 rating) and Taylor Thilo (+16, 780 rating) had rounds that felt less like disc golf and more like letting a demon drive a stagecoach off a cliff—Lang dropped 135 rating points from last week's 974, and Thilo cratered 94 points. The passenger doesn't just whisper; it takes the wheel when you're not paying attention.

Malachi's Wire-to-Wire Reign

In RPA, Malachi Vazquez went wire-to-wire with a -1 (946-rated) round to win the division solo, seven strokes clear of the field. More importantly, he successfully defended the Spectral Ledger—the #1 Pool A tag—marking his first "Still Standing" defense of the season. In a week where the passenger sent others spiraling, Malachi kept the demon on a short leash and the ledger in his bag. The eternal record-keeper stays warm, and its pages remain unwritten by failure.

New Blood, Old Rust

Welcome to the Deadlands, Jared and Logan Cloward—the frontier's newest drifters who showed up and immediately started making noise. Jared Cloward won RAE with a +3 (907-rated) round, seizing the #1 Pool B tag—the Rust Crown—and earning the "King of the Hill" achievement in his first week. Logan Cloward wasn't far behind at +5 (888), but his highlight reel came in the form of a three-hole birdie streak that earned him the "Birdie Bonanza" badge. Both Clowards managed the rare "How Did That Happen?" moment, carding bogeys on holes shorter than 160 feet—because even new blood can catch the frontier's curse. The Rust Crown has a new owner, and it's already starting to corrode someone else's grip.

When Ratings Go Ghost

The rating swings this week were supernatural by any standard. Skyler Kunz gained +45 rating points over expectation, Logan Cloward added +37, and Kent Moos picked up +32—all three outperforming their ratings like they'd made a pact with something darker. On the flip side, Taylor Thilo lost 94 rating points and Jonathan Lang dropped 55, their rounds reading like a possession log rather than a scorecard. Skyler's birdie on Hole 17 deserves a second mention—that hole played as the hardest on the course for Pool A, averaging +2.0, and he walked away with a circle hit like he'd seen the line through the passenger's eyes. The "Sole Birdie" moments across the card tell the same story: when the demon cooperates, you walk away with a trophy. When it doesn't, you walk away with a 780.

The Pot That Wouldn't Pop

The Super Ace Pot remains untouched, growing to a staggering $3,498.00 split balance. The eight players contributed $16.00 to the collective this week, keeping the "LETS GOOOO" energy alive despite no chains shattering. The pot is starting to look like a bounty that might outlast the season itself—the frontier's cruelest joke, dangling three grand in front of anyone who can thread a needle through 15 mph gusts.

Tag Defense and Crown Theft

The AllIn reshuffle played out exactly as the Deadlands intended: no tag is safe, and absence means burial. In Pool A, Malachi Vazquez defended the Spectral Ledger with a wire-to-wire win, keeping the eternal record-keeper bound to his bag for another week. The Ledger—a tome of bleached bone and barbed wire, glowing faintly with the golden light of remembered scores—watched every throw and found Malachi worthy of continued custody. Over in Pool B, Jared Cloward claimed the Rust Crown in his debut, jumping to #1 and reminding everyone that the frontier doesn't care about seniority—only scores. The Crown's corroding gold now sits on fresh shoulders, and the impermanence of these tags means next week's reshuffle could bury anyone who rests.

Leather Skin and Sharp Eyes

Week 6 closes with the passenger's grip tightening across the leaderboard. Some players—Moos, Vazquez, Kunz—suppressed the demon and walked away with trophies. Others—Lang, Thilo—let it drive and are now picking pieces of their rating out of the bottom of a canyon. The "Coming Next" warning echoes through the Deadlands: the physical transformation begins. Your skin will start feeling like leather. Your eyesight will sharpen unnaturally. The demon isn't satisfied with just the scorecard anymore—it wants your body next. See you in Week 7, partners. Try not to mutate before the first tee.