by Malcolm Butler
Wide World of Sports coined one of the most accurate descriptions of competition.
For those who remember the opening to the show that aired decades ago, the voice-over bellowed, “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”
Truer words may have never been spoken, at least according to those who thrive on competition of any kind.
Those two polar sides of the spectrum were on full display during last week’s 23rd edition of the Robert Trent Jones Shootout played at Magnolia Grove in Mobile and Lakewood Golf Course in Fairhope.
As I wrote last Thursday morning, our group of 14 duffers headed east to Alabama to play 72 holes in just over 72 hours.
Dodging the forecast for rain each day – two of the four days the horn sounded due to lightning strikes as our final group was walking off the 18th green – we teed it up and competed for a little bit of cash, our traveling trophy respectfully known as “Clinchy,” and, most significantly, bragging rights for the next 12 months.
Brandon Norris now possesses the trophy, albeit minus its arms due to a slight mishap while loading the Suburban the final day, most of the cash, and most definitely the bragging rights as he walked away as this year’s RTJ Champion.
Nicknamed the Falcon – he gave himself that on one of our trips more than 10 years ago and it has stuck – Brandon flew high and straight as did his golf ball for the vast majority of the tournament.
His second RTJ Championship did not come easy though. He went into Sunday’s final round in a two-way tie with Matt Walker, the better looking of the Walker twins if you ask Matt, but he pulled away with a seven-stroke victory.
It may seem silly. A bunch of grown men playing for a stupid arm-less, club-less trophy, but for our group it has been such a quarter of a century tradition that it means something to each one of us. Trust me.
Our top five finishes this year were Brandon, Matt, Bob Burns, Chris Weego and Ben Haddox. Only seven strokes separated Matt to Ben and then only five strokes separated the next five (places 6 through 10).
Then there was me. Golf can be a cruel mistress.
One year after capturing my second RTJ Shootout title in 2023, I went from first to worst. Yep, as we like to call it … DAL. Dead A$# Last.
You can only miss so many three- and four-foot putts before you lose your confidence, and in my case, my desire to live (or at least to give a crap on the golf course). I did make history. We have never had a defending champion go from first to last in the span of 12 months. So, I guess I can claim a record-setting performance.
A few other results from our trip this year.
Team Malcolm won the Rolly Cup for the third straight year, defeating Team Mitch 11-10. It is our team competition (somewhat of a Ryder Cup style). Although I personally went 0-3 in my matches, I am claiming that I captained my group to the title.
In our first ever LIV Challenge, the team of Bob Burns and Phillip Thigpen came out of the first two rounds as the No. 4 seed and then defeated the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds to capture the title in that competition. Team Malcolm-Scott Walker did not fair so well due to my … well the aforementioned inferior performance of me on the course.
Phillip also was our Falcon Flight winner for the second straight year. After the opening 36 holes, anyone not in the top 10 of the standings (so in this case 11th through 14th) are relegated to the Falcon Flight. They competed over the final two rounds for a little payday and a medal presented to the winner by the Falcon himself.
And finally, the Calcutta was a big hit once again. Scott Walker, the better looking of the twins if you ask Scott, owned part of three of the four individuals who paid out in the Calcutta.
At the end of the weekend, a fun time was had by all. Well, at least by everyone except for me and my history-making performance on the links, and Clinchy whose arms are being super-glued back on as we write.
We can hardly wait for next year.
