2017 Matches
SATURDAY MATCHES - PLAYER
Solaas/Burke vs Turner/Cawdrey
Solaas and Burke bring an undefeated career Saturday pairing record into this grudge match against the physically intimidating Bluffer duo. The big question mark will be how Solaas' body responds after a gruesome golf cart incident in March that took him off the course for 2 months. Turner and Cawdrey can both pound the ball off the tee, but they will need to hit more fairways and fewer houses to walk away with a point. Vegas likes the successful track record of the unflappable Burke and his steady lefty partner.
LINE: DUFFERS -1
Frazier/J. LaTour vs Girod/Orr
Duffer captain James Sailhamer thinks long and hard about who can respond well to the intensity of Steve Frazier. Veteran Jac LaTour gets the nod this year for his calm and positive demeanor that masks a sneaky competitive streak. For the umpteenth time, the Bluffers will look to the Girod/Orr pairing to get a Saturday point. Will LaTour be able to keep Frazier from coming unglued at Orr's gamesmanship antics? Will Girod shake off the rust and find his patented heat seeking missiles off the tee? Oddsmakers lean towards the veteran pairing against a first time partnership.
LINE: BLUFFERS -1
Foster/Miller vs Johansing/Duffy
This matchup features 2 of this year's 3 rookies, but both are more than comfortable with their day 1 partners. Familiarity should help calm the proverbial D&B nerves that nobody can quite prepare for or understand until they are over their first tee shot Saturday morning. Derek Foster and Mark Miller have similar all-around games and should be in the fairway more than their foes even if they have a club or two more in their hand on most approach shots. Duffy looks to repeat last year's MVP magic while guiding his lifelong friend Johansing through his first D&B round. This one promises to come down to the final holes and a putt or two here or there may make the difference.
LINE: PICKEM
Kalma/Pearson vs Young/Pierro
Captain Duffer paid the price last year when he went away from the trusty Kalma/Pearson duo on day 1 so this was rumored to be a shoe-in pairing in 2017 before the ink dried on last year's disappointing results. Team Bluffer responds with a first time pairing of 2 vets that know each other's games well and are more than comfortable doing battle with their day 1 opponents. Kalma's game is in good form so far in 2017, while Pearson professes to be re-tooling his swing. Young has a knack for holing huge putts and Pierro brings a boar hunter's nerves to the proceedings so they will be a tough out. Vegas knows that both teams sport the exact same total handicaps so they will let the bettors decide who to favor here.
LINE: PICKEM
J. Sailhamer/Hobbs vs Ollivier/Brookman
4 of the self-glossed "Bandon Brothers" look to mix it up in this matchup of veterans paired together for the first time. Ollivier has a 2-1 record vs Sailhamer in their showdowns in the past, but the Duffer captain looks to build off of last year's Sunday victory and even the score. Brookman and Hobbs are the wildcards in this match, and whoever can summon their A game is likely to carry their team to a point. Sailhamer and Hobbs will have to ham and egg it off the tee to keep pace with Ollivier's relentlessly reliable 3 wood. Team Duffer has the slightest of edges here based on handicap index, but the Vegas sharps are too aware of Brookman's 9-3-2 career D&B match play resume to favor one side too heavily.
LINE: DUFFERS -.5
Plahy/Dailey vs M. Sailhamer/Jones
For the second straight year, captain Bluffer (aka Chubby Fowler) finds himself squaring off against an imposing figure in his own right in Jason Plahy. After last year's brutal slog through 117 degree temps, Plahy began preparing his body for 2017 and became a connoisseur of all things green and healthy before a job change took him to Texas early this year. Big Tex has spent more time on the ranch than the golf course of late but will be called upon to herd rookie Devin Dailey through his first D&B round and will need to quickly develop good vibes with the laid-back surfer from the mean streets of Carlsbad, CA. Jones looks to improve on his 2-7-1 lifetime record (2-2 when paired with Sailhamer) after missing last year's tournament and ensuing Bluffer's celebration.
LINE: BLUFFERS -1
Olson/Tarka vs Cervera/Mann
Team Duffer is asking the Olson/Tarka pairing to find the magic again after last year's impressive debut. In their path will be a couple of Bluffer stalwarts who will be teaming up for the first time. Olson will need Tarka to give him at least 6 solid tee shots and good first-putt reads on the greens. Cervera will hope Mann can run into a few big drives that will allow him to pull his patented gamesmanship move of staying in the cart after his partner pipes one, as if to subtly remind his opponents they are beatable with less than a full effort. Based on the strength of their win over a solid Ollivier/Johnson duo last year, Vegas gives the slight nod to team Duffer here.
LINE: DUFFERS -.5
Howell/S. LaTour vs Dunham/White
Howell and White have a knack for finding each other in the draw over the years, with White holding a 3-1 career edge in their showdowns. Dunham and White teamed for a point on Saturday last year, and captain Bluffer is asking them to do it again at the expense of an opponent that came away empty a year ago. The Duffer duo will try once again to find their childhood magic that in theory should allow their whole to be greater than the sum of their parts. Captain Duffer has put his foot down this year and insisted that LaTour puts some cavity backs in his bag in favor of the 1986 Lee Trevino blades he has attempted to play in years past but it will take more than an equipment change to pull off the upset.
LINE: BLUFFERS -1.5
Mariani/Pieper vs Rosenthal/Timmins
Sources claim that Mariani put in a request with his captain to be the "A" player in a pairing for the first time in his career, and this new Duffer pairing suggests that his captain obliged. However, Mariani will have his hands full with his vastly improved rival Brandon Rosenthal, who is playing much better than his index would indicate and is capable of stringing together some pretty decent golf between crooked numbers that are fewer and farther between than ever before. Meanwhile, Pieper and Timmins face off for the second straight year but this time Pieper hopes to be the one hanging a point on the board for his team come Saturday afternoon. Timmins and Rosenthal teamed up ever so briefly in last year's Friday horse-race before being promptly eliminated on the first hole, but the Sophomore version of Timmins promises to be ready to take down his neighbor with a point on the line. Will Pieper be as focused on winning a point as he is on winning the Fickie Rowler award? Oddsmakers aren't so sure.
LINE: BLUFFERS -1
SUNDAY MATCHES - DYE
Solaas/Howell vs Cervera/Duffy
Cervera and Duffy look to thwart a Solaas/Howell duo that was successful in their only previous match back in 2015. However, Solaas hasn't forgotten that his only career loss came at the hands of Duffy on Sunday last year. Will the reigning MVP find the same chemistry with Eddy that he did with Kevin Price? Or will Solaas get back to his winning ways with his attorney at his side? Can you say "billable hours?" The smart money says this match won't feature many bogeys and will probably be decided on the greens.
LINE: DUFFERS -1
Frazier/Foster vs Turner/Girod
Theres no denying that big Rod's 1-4-1 lifetime record is a disappointment to his captain. Theres also no denying that Turner boasts a streaky game that could start firing on all cylinders at any time. The Duffers will look to Phil Girod and his 10-5-1 record to bring the best out of the enigmatic Turner against a Frazier/Foster duo that won't give their opponent many openings as long as Foster adapts quickly to the unique challenges of Sunday morning at D&B. It will take birdies to win holes in this match that should go down to the wire.
LINE: DUFFERS -.5
Olson/Hobbs vs Ollivier/Young
Olson and Hobbs laid one of the all-time D&B beatdowns on their Sunday opponents a year ago, so you could bet the house that captain Duffer was going to roll them out again this year. The enemy responded with another new pairing of old vets in Ollivier and Young. Team Bluffer should have the slight edge in ball striking if Ollivier's swing is on point, but the Duffer tandem is a ham and egg threat from tee to green. Based on the slight index advantage, oddsmakers are sticking to the numbers until proven otherwise.
LINE: DUFFERS -1
Plahy/Pearson vs Dunham/Johansing
Bluffer sophomore Josh Dunham will be asked to play the role of crafty veteran as he chaperones his team's only rookie on Sunday. The forgiving fairways of the Dye course should give Johansing a green light to let the big dog eat. The Duffers roll out another one of last year's winning Sunday duo's where "team JP" will ask Jason Plahy to do the heavy lifting and Jonathan Pearson to come up big in key spots like he has in 6 previous career wins. This is another match where the index favor one side by a wider margin but experience and intangibles forecast a close one.
LINE: BLUFFERS -1
J. Sailhamer/Mariani vs M. Sailhamer/Rosenthal
It's been 2 years since the captains squared off head to head, and when they did the J.Sailhamer/Mariani team cruised to a relatively stress-free Sunday point against M.Sailhamer/Rosenthal. This time promises to be different, however, as Rosenthal has put a little distance between himself and Mariani on paper. With the sibling rivalry in full bloom and Mariani/Rosenthal locking horns for the second day in a row, this promises to be one of the testier matches of the weekend. Don't expect to see many putts conceded or much of a lead opened up for either side.
LINE: BLUFFERS -1
Miller/Burke vs Brookman/Cawdrey
Mark Miller may be 1-7 in his D&B career but it certainly isn't an accurate reflection of his game or effort. In fact, after a couple of drinks the gentile Miller will give you all kinds of reasons why his partners have screwed him over the years. The hard-luck Miller will team up with Burke for the third straight year even though they are looking for their first team win. It won't be an easy task as they face two of the Bluffers strongest veterans. Cawdrey is coming off a 2-0 effort last year and is full of as much piss and vinegar as anyone on the Bluffer roster. Brookman just tested his game at the challenging courses at Bandon Dunes so the Dye Resort course is going to seem relatively tame in comparison. The oddsmakers see this one as pretty even on paper but when push comes to shove they are siding with the better track records.
LINE: BLUFFERS -1
Kalma/Dailey vs WHITE/ORR
White and Orr have proven to be quite the tandem when it comes to swimming pool antics over the years, but this is their first venture as teammates on the course. Their free-wheeling nature should lead to strong chemistry against a Duffer duo that will also be pegging it together for the first time. Kalma will need to continue his strong form if he wants to put the rookie Dailey on his back and find a way to scratch out a key Sunday point. This one is hard to predict as rookies can be wildcards so the oddsmakers are playing it safe.
LINE: PICKEM
S. LaTour/J. LaTour vs Mann/Pierro
There are a few things you can bank on for a Sunday at Duffers & Bluffers: Sleep will be at a premium, Chubby Fowler will order the Lava Burger, and the LaTour boys will be paired together. Once again, Mt. Horeb's finest will put their 1-2-2 career team record on the line on Sunday in the name of father/son bonding. Standing in their way will be the sandbagging Mike Mann (9-3 all time) and the gritty Dan Pierro (2-3-3) who has halved Sunday matches against the LaTour's the last 2 years. Will Mike Mann be the difference between a half and full point? Oddsmakers think so.
LINE: BLUFFERS -1
Pieper/Tarka vs Jones/Timmins
If you like matches that feature clutch bogey putts to win holes, this one is for you! All joking aside, they are handing out a full point for match #18 so its just as important as the other 17 and could very well decide who is drinking from the cup come Sunday afternoon. The Pieper/Tarka duo are 1-1-1 so something has to give this year and they would be wise to get a full point if they expect their captain to keep running them out there every year. Meanwhile, Jones and Timmins will have to put aside their Fireman/Sheriff differences for 4 hours and unite under the brotherhood of team Bluffer. Not surprisingly, Vegas is stumped by this match.
LINE: PICKEM