Collars Cruises To Victory In Skins Game!

This year, 67 duffers participated in the late Thursday night Pro Golf tournament. As usual, Augusta National provided the initial challenge, with the top four performers reaching the championship Skins game, which is without a doubt the greatest spectacle of WBC sports. All desire to toss the 25+ year old big foamy dice off the stage of the Grand Ballroom, but only the top players after the opening round would be afforded that honor.

This year’s special award for the worst round in the event went to Rob Kircher, who posted a seven over par effort of 79. Despite scoring two birdies, he also scored nine bogies, which may be an all-time record.

Bryan Collars and Brady Detwiler led the field after the preliminaries with 6 under par rounds of 66, thus earning their spots in the Pebble Beach Skins game. Three other golfers scored 5 under par, but with only two more spots available in the grand finale, a sudden death playoff ensued.

On Hole #1, all achieved par. On Hole #2, Doug Kolpien sank a birdie putt to secure his invitation to the Skins game. On Hole #3, Glen Pearce earned a par, which was good enough to advance when Eric Chao suffered a bogey and was awarded fifth place overall.

The four finalists moved up onto the Grand Ballroom stage for the tossing of the big green foamy dice into the gathered crowd below. Joining them were their caddies, who were assigned to read their cards and their dice retrievers, as professional golfers, cannot be expected to perform such mundane tasks at 1:00 am. Two dozen or so others chose to watch, rooting for the occasional high die roll which led to the winning of a hole by our four intrepid sportsmen.

The action started on the par 4 third hole as Bryan Collars scored the only birdie to win three skins. Bryan then scored an eagle on the par 4 fourth hole to take a four skin lead on the field. Doug Kolpien answered with a birdie on the par 3 fifth hole to earn his first skin. After holes #6, #7 and #8 were halved, Bryan birdied the par 4 ninth hole to earn four more skins and secure the victory. Not only did Bryan earn his first Pro Golf plaque, but he earned 10 team points thanks to selecting this as his team event.

As Bryan was wheeled off the stage to join his adoring public in the gallery, the other three players fought it out for the minor placings. Glen Pearce birdied both the par 4 tenth and eleventh holes to earn second place. After Brady Detwiler birdied the par 3 twelfth hole, he and Doug participated in a closest to the pin contest, which Doug won to earn third place.

Be sure to join the fun again in 2026. The best way to prepare is to get in a little practice during the 2026 sixteenth annual PBeM tournament which should start in April (during the month of the Masters). See if you can dethrone 2025 PBeM champion Scott Nerney!