⛳ NHGL Week 13 Recap — July 14

Through 13 rounds • The league leader just lost to a part-timer

Thirteen rounds in. The standings got weird. Orlando Flores — the man who has led this league wire to wire, the guy with the best points-per-round average and the most consistent net scores all season — walked off the course Monday with a loss. Mike Keefe beat him. Andy Dean shot 38 gross again. Dennis Candelaria did something to Jason Maxwell that probably shouldn't be described in a family newsletter. Todd Sewell won his card match. The scoreboard looks different now. Let's get into it.

📊 Week 13 Results

Andy Dean 7.5 Paul Rael 2.5
Brian Shields 5.0 Jeff Kardas 5.0
Dennis Candelaria 7.5 Jason Maxwell 2.5
Tom Pehr 7.0 Doug Baird 3.0
Joe Olson 6.0 Thomas Jaramillo 4.0
Mike Keefe 6.0 Orlando Flores 4.0
Todd Sewell 6.5 Jason Maxwell's card 3.5
† Todd Sewell played as the odd player this week, competing against Jason Maxwell's card score. Jason played his actual match against Dennis Candelaria.

🏆 Prizes

🎯 Closest to Pin — Hole 2: Todd Sewell
🎯 Closest to Pin — Hole 8: Andy Dean
Longest Putt — Hole 9: Joe Olson

🔥 Nuggets

Mike Keefe just beat the league leader. Keefe shoots 48 gross (net 37) and takes down Orlando Flores 6–4. Orlando shot 44 gross (net 40), which by his standards is a rare bad ball-striking day. Keefe is playing just his fourth round of the season and has now beaten the first-place man. Whatever the opposite of sand-bagging is, Keefe is doing it — showing up sporadically and making noise when he does. Orlando still leads at 72.0 points (with his Week 1 absence adjustment included), but this loss is the first real crack in the armor.
Dennis Candelaria put a 7.5–2.5 beating on Jason Maxwell. Candelaria shoots 43 gross (net 38). Maxwell shoots 48 gross (net 43). That's a five-stroke net gap on a par-35 course — about as lopsided as it gets in this format. Jason came in tied for 4th. He leaves the week sitting 5th at 65.0, which technically is the same number but with a different name occupying it above him. Candelaria, meanwhile, climbs to 11th with 51.0 points but is playing some of the best golf he's played all season.
Andy Dean shot 38 gross again. Season low for the second consecutive week — both times it was 38. Dean beats Paul Rael 7.5–2.5, with Rael shooting 48 gross. Andy now sits 8th at 58.0 points, up from 9th, and his best-gross (38) stands alone at the top of the leaderboard this season. He's averaging 42.8 gross over 10 rounds, which is quietly elite in this field. If he's healthy and shows up the rest of the year, he's a threat to crack the top five.
Tom Pehr is becoming a regular problem. A 7–3 win over Doug Baird moves Pehr to 4th with 65.0 points — tied with Jason Maxwell. Pehr's net 39 against Baird's net 43 wasn't even his cleanest round of the season, just steady enough to win comfortably. He's gone 6.5–3.5, 7–3 in his last two weeks. Quietly, Tom Pehr has won 6 of his last 7 holes played against opponents in the top half of the standings. He's the name people are sleeping on.
Brian Shields and Jeff Kardas played a war and split it. Both shot net 39. Brian fires 48 gross, Jeff fires 43 gross — both net to 39 on their respective handicaps, and the match ends in a 5–5 tie. These are the matches that feel frustrating in the moment and end up mattering because neither player blinked. Kardas stays at 67.5 (3rd), Shields climbs to 53.0 (10th).
Todd Sewell wins the card match. No live opponent this week — 13 confirmed players, so Todd plays against Jason Maxwell's card score. Todd shoots 44 gross (net 40) against Jason's net 43, takes the match 6.5–3.5, and picks up the low net bonus to boot. He wins, collecting points and extending his own streak, while the standings reshuffle around him. Todd is now 2nd overall at 68.0 points, behind Orlando (72.0). The gap is four points with plenty of season left. If those two ever actually tee it up against each other in a live match, it'll be the biggest matchup of the year.

📈 Standings (Through Week 13)

1 Orlando Flores 72.0
2 Todd Sewell 68.0
3 Jeff Kardas 67.5
4T Tom Pehr 65.0
4T Jason Maxwell 65.0
6 Jimmie Rains 61.5
7 Paul Rael 59.0
8 Andy Dean 58.0

Full standings and stats at the league site.

Seven points from 1st to 5th. Jimmie Rains didn't play this week and is being caught from below. The middle of this field is a genuine mess — in the best way.

📅 Week 14 Matchups — July 21

Matchups will be posted once the confirmed player list is set.

See everyone next Monday.

— Jason