December 24, 2007

GROVE CITY, PA — The 2007 Virtual Tournament is two weeks away from the history books. The very long season has resulted in two top golfers in a tie for first place. With cold temperatures and snow on the ground, it appears that Jason Ridgeway and Kyle Marti will ride out the season with 75.0 points per round.

The question that remains is the tie breaker. "We have never discussed a tie," says Jason Watson, Vice President of Awards. "It is almost hard to believe that both of them have the same average to one-tenth of a point."

Watson was asked to decide the winner. He decided to hold a press conference to discuss the tie and release my decision.

"I have been asked to decide on a winner," says Watson. "I have compiled some statistics, opinions, and notes regarding the tie. I would like to share that with the tournament.

First, there is no question who has more golf skill. Ridgeway wins this by a landslide. RIDGEWAY 1, MARTI 0.

Second, the Leaderboard is made up of the last 10 rounds for each golfer. The 11th oldest round for each golfer is 75 points for Kyle at Conewango Country Club and 64 points for Jason at Players Club at Foxfire. RIDGEWAY 1, MARTI 1.

Third, the goal of the Virtual Tournament is to identify the most improved golfer of the year. Kyle Marti is clearly the winner of the Virtual Tournament when handicapped by the USGA Handicap System. RIDGEWAY 1, MARTI 2.

Fourth, the USGA Handicap Index for Ridgeway has dropped 36.3 percent from January 1, 2007. The same index has dropped just 26.7 percent for Marti. RIDGEWAY 2, MARTI 2.

Fifth, Marti likes Michigan University more than his family. Ridgeway has the same thoughts about Ohio State. Ohio State beat Michigan in football. RIDGEWAY 3, MARTI 2.

Sixth, Marti took lessons and NOTICABLY improved this golf game. He is still a hacker, but not an obsene hacker. Ridgeway won the Dublin, OH city championship, but needed a playoff to win it. Advantage Marti. RIDGEWAY 3, MARTI 3.

Seventh, Ridgeway has an elevated point target, over Marti, because of his golf skill. RIDGEWAY 3, MARTI 4.

Eighth, Ridgeway placed 16th in the 2006 Virtual Tournament. Kyle finished in 38th position. RIDGEWAY 4, MARTI 4.

I would like to see a playoff in Grove City, PA. That is about half way between University Park, PA and Columbus, OH. Obviously that is not going to happen.

I am going to declare this Virtual Tournament a tie. I am very impressed with both efforts this year. I am also very impressed with Matt Davis and his 3rd place finish. His ability to shine with 6 good fingers and 4 bad fingers is amazing.

The 2008 Virtual Tournament begins on January 1. Fresh handicaps for the season-long tournament will be available on January 1. Kyle Marti and Jason Ridgeway will receive the largest changes in point distribution.