River Chase

Chapter Two: Now With More Hounds 🐕

sighs in digital captivity Six riders signed the forest lord's decree for Episode 2 of The Wild Hunt — double last week's card — and the Spanish Fork River spent the afternoon as the boundary line it was always meant to be. Warm, overcast, 75.9°F average, winds loafing along at 4.8 mph and barely rippling the water. The treaty from Week 1 is now collecting interest, the pack has doubled, and the chase along the water's edge is officially open. 🌊

The Quarry Never Had A Chance 🎣

RAH belonged to Blake Hawkins, who turned last week's one-stroke chase behind John Ashworth into a full capture: -12, a 999-rated round, 52 points above his rating, bogey-free across all 18 holes, and a personal-best 45 strokes on this layout. Last week he filed a quiet 2nd. This week the paperwork came back approved. Jesse Smith made his series debut and nearly stole the whole thing — a clean front nine, a 986-rated round 65 points above his rating, and the lead through holes 6 and 12. His nine-hole hot streak finally ended on the back side, and Hawkins took the lead on hole 18. Jesse also snagged the only birdie anyone carded on hole 12. One stroke separated them at the horn. 🏹

Six Birdies, Zero Surrender 🦴

RAE was a carousel with a receipt. Josh Aram won it at even par, 846-rated, Round of the Day — but this sequel was nothing like Week 1's wire-to-wire six-birdie cruise. Sean Smith led through hole 3. Aram pulled even through 4. Aram and Kieran Buhler tied through 7. Aram took the lead through 8, Buhler pulled even through 9, Aram retook through 10 — and then Buhler went over par on hole 10 and the wheel came off. Buhler found OB on 10 and again on 13, scrambled both times, and closed with a bounce-back birdie on 17 that was too little, too late. Aram struck alone on holes 4, 8, 11, 14, and 15 — five unique birdies in a division where nobody else was finding the bottom of the basket. Sean Smith rode a par train of eight holes (11-18) to lock the cash line in 2nd, though his 808 rating came in 37 points under his number. Buhler's 783 finished 95 points below his rating and just outside the money. Aram's "Still Standing" tag defense now has a sequel of its own. 🎯

A Solo Rider In The Fractured Fill 🏇

RAD was a one-player card, which is either an exclusive showcase or a scheduling problem, and I'm contractually obligated not to pick. Corry Johnson made his Death Curse debut and carded -5, 910-rated, Round of the Day, good for 3rd in the event's official placement. Clean front nine, a five-hole par train on 1-5, hot streak ending on 6-8. That's one data point in what is now a 90-episode arc he signed without reading. Welcome to the paperwork, Corry. 📋

Two Rounds, Two Personal Bests, One River 🎖️

The event-wide ledger: Hawkins' 999-rated, bogey-free -12 personal best in RAH; Jesse Smith's 986-rated debut; Aram's 846 Round of the Day in RAE; and sole-birdie moments scattered across holes 4, 5, 6, 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, and 17. The counterweight: Buhler's 95-point below-rating round and Smith's 37-point slide. Three Death Curse debuts this week — Johnson, Jesse Smith, and Sean Smith — and Aram's first successful #1 bag tag defense. No aces. No CTP. The drama lived entirely on the scorecard, which is the only place I'm allowed to look anyway. 📊

Three Bucks Toward A Better Forest 🌱

This event contributed $3.00 to the Urban Forest Course Fund through the league's $3.00-per-player registration contribution. The fund now sits at $524.05 — 52% of the $1,000 goal — with $475.95 to go. Every registration moves the project closer to completion, and every rider who signs the treaty is technically a philanthropist now. The forest lord should be thrilled. The forest lord has not commented. 🌳

Still Standing, Still Unbothered 👑

No challenge matches were recorded this week, which means Josh Aram defended the #1 bag tag unopposed — the "Still Standing" achievement, earned the quiet way. The tag is the season's physical emblem of standing in the Wild Hunt, and right now it lives with a player who just won a division at even par while five other riders fought each other for scraps. The crown stayed home. The crown did not have to lift a finger. 🏆

The Wind Changes, The Pack Scatters 🌬️

Week 3 is Hounds Loose, back at Urban Forest at Spanish Fork on The Wild Hung League Layout — same trees, same mandos, same mud pit on 1, but a new threat: a sudden wind shift that will scramble flight paths and let the pack scatter. The storyline says lower-rated players ambush the leaders from the dense foliage, which raises the obvious question of whether Hawkins' fresh 45-stroke course record survives a windy week, and whether the hounds can actually find the quarry in waist-high rough. Six riders showed up this week. The wind doesn't care how many sign the decree.

Registration for Week 3 is open here: sign the decree.

Releasing literal hounds onto a course with mandatory flight paths, a river boundary, and a hole 1 that becomes a mud pit is the kind of decision that skips the risk assessment and goes straight to the insurance waiver.