2025 Rapture - Draft Results

Jack Willie's turned out to be a decent spot. It's a dump, for sure, but the food was good and we had plenty of space to operate. Not that we needed much, as only 5 players attended the draft.

 

Those who did were first tasked with picking their roommates at the Sebring hotel. Since it's double-occupancy, roommates don't need to be team specific. If you don't like your roommate... you should have attended the draft:

 

Chandler / Melberg

Moostie / John

Gorecki / Geoff

Troy / Casey

Billy / Ho

Brendan / Reid

 

These names have been given to the hotel. You pay for your room and golf-package when we arrive. And you pay for your bar tabs only if the soy-boy Asian bartender can catch you.

 

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This year's draft felt like a real crap-shoot. Without Dave and Faz — two Rapture stalwarts — choices of actual "good" golfers were lacking. Moostie predictably went with Melberg, a sensible and reliable option who was at the top of both Captain's list.

Chandler was quick to select Reid - who has never been picked as a team's first overall choice. Reid was down in the golfing dumps for awhile, but has drastically turned things around after Geoff correctly pointed out Reid was the "worst" golfer on the Southern Pines trip in May.

Next was Chandler's most difficult selection. His pre-draft rankings had Brendan listed #3. If you take away the +35 (net) disaster at Crescent Oaks, Brendan actually averages a ton of net pars and birdies. His handicap is also near a 52-week high... so there could be some upside in a match-play format as extreme blow-ups don't ruin your round. But looking into Moostie's beady little eyes, Dear Leader could sense that the Crescent Oaks stench still lingered on BD, and might make him available in later rounds. Chandler reached deep into his list to select Geoff, who partners well with most golfers.

Now Moostie was up with two selections, and milked the clock well beyond our unofficial arbitrary time limits. Ultimately, he drafted Casey and Troy with confidence. Both are solid options with lots of ways to plug them into a line-up. But there are some concerns. Casey only played two events last season, and is starting to look like someone who lives in a remote Montana shack, hiding from the impending alien invasion. Troy has some nagging back issues, but will hopefully be fully rested by the event.

Chandler's gamble paid off, and he was able to snatch Brendan with the 6th pick. He then scanned the far reaches of "The Spectrum" to find Ho sitting there... talking to himself about the differences in ball compression between the Chrome Tour Triple Diamond and the Bridgestone e6. Ho hasn't won a Rapture point since 2021 (6 matches)... and the Red Team will need to invest in Ho-Cancelling Headphones... but it was impossible to pass on his overall skill.

Moostie went back on the clock, and once again took an extraordinary amount of time. When pressed on why selecting two of the three remaining golfers was an issue... he said Billy was obviously in the 8th spot. It might seem like a slight to our reigning Champ, but Billy's Index has dropped 4.6 points in just two months. The math is the math, but obviously there could be some concern with keeping up that level of excellence. It's also his first ever Rapture so there's no tape on if he can handle the constant stupidity of his peers.

There was still much internal debate in Moostie's head, as the entire world waited with baited breath on the next selection. John is the better golfer, but has played terribly lately with the exception of the very easy Roost course at Cabot Citrus. Gorecki's game makes Old Tom Morris spin in his grave, but he comes with a shit-ton of strokes. The final decision was eerily similar to the first ever Rapture — also at Sebring — when Faz selected Gorecki over Tall Mike in 2014. In similar fashion, Tall Mike took Gorecki and the strokes.

Chandler then selected John.

1 - Melberg
2 - Reid
3 - Geoff
4 - Casey
5 - Troy
6 - Brendan
7 - Ho
8 - Billy
9 - Gorecki
10 - John

Chandler's team will sport the Sun Day Red for the first time since that inaugural Rapture. Meanwhile, Moostie still hasn't made an official decision on their colors.

Tall Mike and Gorecki rocking the "Dutch Skins" look.

Here are the pairings and handicaps for each day:

 

Round 1 - Sun N Lake (Deer Run) - Four-Ball

1 - Moostie (6) / Troy (5) vs. Chandler / John (8) 

2 - Casey / Gorecki (13) vs. Reid (2) / Geoff (2)
3 - Melberg (2) / Billy (10) vs. Ho / Brendan (9)

 

Round 2 - Sun N Lake (Deer Run) - Chapman (Alt-Shot)
1 - Moosite / Troy vs. Brendan / Reid
2 - Casey / Melberg (2) vs. Ho / Chandler

3 - Billy / Gorecki (6) vs. Geoff / John

Round 3 - Sun N Lake (Turtle Run) - Singles
1 - Casey (6) vs. Ho
2 - Troy vs. Brendan (1)
3 - Billy (6) vs. Chandler
4 - Gorecki (11) vs. Geoff
5 - Moosite vs. John (2)
6 - Melberg vs. Reid (6)

Practice rounds have been scheduled. More to come as the event gets closer!