From the desk of Owl P. Jackson, Esq.
March 19, 2025 by Owl P. Jackson, Esq. in Opinion, Recap
Along the banks of the Brazos, the winds of Waco begin to swirl. In the calm that follows, storylines emerge—returning champs, what-could-have-beens, and a mad dash to the finish. In my opinion, these are the top 10 storylines from the 2025 Waco Annual Charity Open.
1. The return of Kristin.
“How many seas must a white dove sail before she sleeps in the sand?”
One tournament into her 2025 tour and Kristin already feels inevitable. She kept things interesting for 2.5 rounds before birdieing 7 of the final 9 holes and cruising to her third straight WACO title. What more can be said about Kristin’s dominance these past 3 years? The rest of the field needs to hold on as long as they can, because with enough rounds, she will eventually pull away.
Following her 7-stroke victory, she remarked, “I’m feeling so good…To pull off another win here—I don’t know if I’m dreaming or what, but it feels amazing.” She did give credit to the improving skills of the FPO competition, saying with a smile, “Thank you, girls, and I will try to keep up the good work.”
2. Adam Hammes wins a close one.
“How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?”
MPO was a Texas-sized treat this weekend. Even with the wind keeping players honest for the first two rounds, everyone in the field had the ability to shoot low. In the end, it was Adam Hammes raising the trophy. After five straight pars through the middle stretch of the course, it felt like it might not be Adam’s day. But as others began to falter down the stretch, Adam got hot.
His approach shot on 17 will be replayed every year we return to the BEast—barely cresting the edge of the peninsula before hitting the pin and settling for a drop-in birdie. As he stared down the final putt on 18, there were three options: A) lay it up and head to a playoff, B) miss and risk rolling out-of-bounds and into second place, or C) nail it for the win. Adam went with option C.
3. Simon almost does it again.
“And how many years can some people exist before they’re allowed to be free?”
It feels so familiar…Simon near the 18th green, waiting to see if he had done it again. Simon finished with 6-straight birdies on his way to a final day -12 and the lowest total score in the clubhouse. It almost makes me feel a little bad for Hammes. It felt like everyone watching was hoping for Simon to come from behind and take it down. If the fandom scores are to be believed, that is likely the case. Simon has seemed relaxed and confident this year. Hopefully he keeps it up!
4. What could have been?
“Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn’t see?”
Speaking of a Simon win, many were left thinking of what could have been. During the first round, Simon misplayed his lie, thinking he had landed O.B. and cost himself a stroke by not calling a provisional (silly Simon). On the following day, Adam Hammes was determined by his card to be in bounds on 18, when the camera shot certainly looked as if he wasn’t. In typical fashion, no one wanted to be the one to make the call. Those two examples have been at the center of WACO discourse. Alas—it does not do to dwell on shoulda, coulda, wouldas. You could come up with 100 for each player in every tournament.
5. Calvin falls short…again.
“Yes, and how many deaths will it take ’til he knows that too many people have died?”
Ughhh, Calvin—to be a fan is to court pain. Before Adam and Simon were likely winners, Calvin led the way. His distance putting was great all weekend and once again Vinny found himself on the lead card going into the final round. A disastrous hole 17 left Heimberg out of contention. Calvin has now lost six straight tournaments in which he led going into Sunday. And yet, there is hope. The thing with Calvin is that he puts himself in contention so often that he must win a handful each year…right?
6. Henna’s putting.
“Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly before they’re forever banned?”
Speaking of pain, Henna’s putting. Henna was the one player to consistently keep pace with Kristin through the weekend. To be honest, it’s shocking how good she is at throwing the disc. She is so good that she was neck-and-neck with Kristin for 45 holes, even while putting 0% from C2 and 51% from C1X. Sometimes it makes me so uncomfortable that I need to look away from the screen. She could save herself multiple strokes per round if she just laid up whenever she was beyond 10 feet.
7. Why WACO is great.
“And how many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry?”
WACO is one of my favorite tournaments of the entire year. Here’s why.
There is history here. That’s important. We need things like Ella’s meltdown, early-season Luke Humphries, Paul’s perfect round, and Valerie Mandujano’s shot on 17. In a sport this young, a relatively unchanged, familiar course is rare.
Birdie-or-die is highly entertaining, especially when it stands out from most of the tour. I don’t like watching players play alongside gaping golf fairways. I do like watching pros play holes I have even the slightest chance of birdieing. And I love having 20 people within 2 strokes of the lead midway through the second round. 17 and 18 are the best finishing pair of holes on tour. I’ll even overlook the brutal hideousness of hole 15’s electrical box, knowing what is waiting around the corner.
8. How low can you go?
“Yes, and how many times must a man look up before he can see the sky?”
Birdie-or-die indeed. I gotta give a shout out to Jake Monn, who shot a blistering -15 during the final round. Sure, it doesn’t sound nearly as cool or significant as McBeth’s -18, but it was the same total score. The course has only changed a total of 8 feet since Paul’s record-breaking performance.
In FPO, I must show some love to Rebecca Cox. Her 1035-rated final round score of -11 led the way for the women and set a new course record by two strokes.
9. Paul McBeth is back.
“Yes, and how many years must a mountain exist before it is washed to the sea?”
Speaking of Paul McBeth, it turns out the rumors of his demise were greatly exaggerated. Last year was McBeth’s first without a win in more than a decade. To be honest, it seemed like he might just not have the juice to finish on top anymore despite finishing in 6th place in the Pro Tour standings. Well, shame on me. Paul is once again among the elite of the MPO field. Another win is coming his way, almost undoubtedly.
10. Two-tourney takeaways.
“The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.”
We are only two tournaments into the season and it’s still too early to know anything definitely. I don’t care. Here is what stands out to me through two:
- Only three MPO players have finished both events in the top 10: Adam Hammes, Calvin Heimburg, and Simon Lizotte. Adam got the win, but Simon has the highest average finish (4th) of any player.
- Nikko Locastro is ahead of Ricky Wysocki in Pro Tour points.
- Gannon Buhr is still searching for his first win on the tour this year. In fact, he is still looking for his first podium.
- Only 6 FPO players have finished top 10 in both events. One of those players is Cadence Burge!
- Picks for Austin: Kristin and Simon.
Thanks for reading, everyone. See you in Austin.
