Savage Awakening

The “Savage Awakening” trials roared to life beneath a sunrise as sharp as a wolf’s howl, with Valley Regional Park Disc Golf Course glistening under blue skies and a brisk 53°F chill. Nineteen warriors emerged, bags slung like hunting packs, ready to prove their mettle in the ancient grounds reclaimed by nature. 🥏🌄 Right from the jump, the morning buzzed with talk of Chris Fox’s near-mythic ace run in MA1—one stone’s toss from glory—and the kind of nail-biter finishes that set the primal tone.

In the MA3 den, the pack tussle saw Kalen Adams carve out victory at -4, holding off Andrew Nemelka (-3) and Matt Berman (-1) in a scrap as twisty as a snake in a rabbit warren. 🔥 The early miles belonged to Nemelka, wielding momentum after hole 2, but Scholle and Cain swapped blows until Adams seized control at 16. The true clincher was Adams’s clutch birdie on the final hole—threading the needle between two raging mountain lions, as old Skitter the squirrel might say. That’s grit you can measure in a day’s march.

Over in MA4, Matthew Sullivan (+4) ran a solitary race, holding court like a lone wolf under a full moon. 📊 His was the art of the steady hunt: consistent pars across the front, with a key birdie stretch from seven to nine that kept the rest trailing at a good stone’s throw behind. No major lead changes, just a lesson in patience and quiet supremacy.

MP40 saw Brian Hansen (-3) reclaim tribal dominance, managing the course’s trickiest par-3s and snatching a final-hole birdie to slam the door on any late comers. 🏆 He was bogey-free all day—smoother than Aunt Vera’s vittles after a sober Sunday—marking him as the alpha in the pack, with no challenger daring to nip at his heels.

In MA1, Chris Fox (-5) unleashed a personal-best barrage, surging ahead from hole 1 and never looking back, despite Craig Bennett’s thundercloud of a late push. 🥏 The drama reached fever pitch with Fox’s birdie on 18: not only sealing the win, but etching his mark among the fierce. And let’s not forget that epic ace-run on hole 8—a Firebird hyzer flirting with glory. The crowd’s roar could’ve spooked a grizzly. Fox walked away with the CTP prize, missing the ace by a whisker… the closest thing this side of the wastelands to divine intervention.

MA2 hosted a head-to-head hunt, with Eric Pearson (+4) clawing back after a bogey-laden middle stretch. 📈 Tied for the lead after hole 1, Pearson rebounded time and again, ultimately cashing in with a birdie on 18 to clinch the day. That’s recovery even my brother Runt would respect—if he didn’t eat the scorecard.

MPO belonged to Malachi Vazquez (-10), delivering a flawless, bogey-free masterclass that sent the rest of the tribe scurrying. 🚀 Early ties with Adams melted away as Vazquez lit up the brutal holes with exotic birdies and a clean card from start to finish. The only birdie on 17, he set a record round—faster than a greased hog on market day!

Notables aplenty: Vazquez’s (MPO) and Hansen’s (MP40) bogey-free brilliance, and over-rating feats from Vazquez (+91), Fox (+39), Adams (+29), and Scholle (+21). Still, the wilderness can be cruel—tough collapses befell Wills (-78), Bennett (-53), and Pearson (-37). Lone birdies shone like campfire embers in signature wilds: Wills on Neon Nomads hole 2, Cain and Lucero on signature Primal Predators holes 3, 9, and 13. 🎯

Special tributes go to Fox’s CTP on eight (294 ft) with a hyzer Firebird ace-run, earning a $42 bounty and nearly claiming the golden pelt. While no official ace or super ace broke the tribal banks, Fox’s near-miss left the pack howling—a warrior’s plate slung with more drama than the year the Johnson twins blew up the still.

The “Savage Awakening” set the hierarchy in motion, every throw and comeback fanning the Wild Force narrative, as old allies and new rivals circled beneath the watching mountains. As the ancient grounds stir, the tribal trials promise ever-wilder tales, with “Primal Challenge” looming—a crucible where only the fiercest, most adaptable survive. Next week, the wilderness will mutate, but so must its champions. 🌄🥏