**Thirty-Five Under and Still Only a Share — Welcome to the Lado Ranch**

The Lado Ranch V2 handed out low numbers like confetti at a wedding on Matchday 13, and still it couldn't separate the top two in the Premier Division. When a man shoots -35 and has to share first place, you know the course played soft. That's where we are. That's the world we're living in.

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PREMIER DIVISION

daddyjules10 and skyline_time513 both carded -35 on the day, sharing the spoils at 11 points apiece in what was a spectacular — if inflation-heavy — top of the leaderboard. Credit where it's due, that's exceptional scoring on any course, but when there are two of them doing it, you start wondering whether the Lado Ranch V2 has any teeth left in it at all. iluvJEEZUS and Jack-Mac21 weren't far behind at -33 each, picking up 8.5 points. Austin at -32 keeps himself relevant at 7 points, and he needed that result after a tough few weeks.

Now. Padraig1501. Not a show. Not a single shot played. -2 points, and he handed XXYXX13 a walkover worth a result at -30. That's poor stuff now, and with the standings as tight as they are in the middle of that division, a -2 hits harder than people realise. Rundownman leads the Premier Division standings on 521 points, with iluvJEEZUS breathing down his neck at 507. The top two are pulling away from the pack, and anyone not posting scores is only watching that gap widen.

Down at the bottom of the day's standings, sk22underthehill posted -20, which on a course that gave out -35s reads like a difficult afternoon out. TheDutchman101 and Conradius593 both managed -28 and walked away with zero points. Harsh, but that's the format.

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DIVISION 1

The_Milkman_Bot and War Eagle 1910 share the top spot on the day at -27 each, both banking 11 points. ArfaBubble, Sirarchibal0803, and BigJim_564 all came in at -25 — a three-way tie for third worth 8 points each. Solid, honest golf the lot of them.

Three no-shows this week in Division 1 — Wheelman, PazzoWBA79, and Benji23_150 — and Alamo Kid and halborn13 both picked up -2 penalties for failing to appear. Five players absent in one division is a problem. Asthmatic Cat at -11 still picked up points simply by turning up against a no-show halborn13. That's the shape of it.

In the standings, TurnAndBurn69 leads on 207 points despite losing on the day to BigJim_564 (-25 vs -20). plunk21 is just one point behind at 206. That is an incredibly tight race with presumably weeks still to go.

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DIVISION 2

TAGROCKET and Holytattie share top spot at -24 and pocket 11 points each. Flaggy1981 was excellent in third at -22 for 9 points, and DirtyBishop1 put in a decent shift at -21. The problem for DirtyBishop1 is that Holytattie beat them head-to-head, which stings.

isosaku77 posted +7 on a day when the rest of the division was throwing up -20s and -24s. Seven over par on a course playing this soft. Where did that come from? Poortybhoy took the head-to-head win there and will have enjoyed that one.

In the standings, Holytattie is absolutely running away with Division 2 on 331 points. Flaggy1981 is second on 191.5. That gap is enormous and it's only Matchday 13.

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DIVISION 3

HunkerDownHound leads the day with -16 and 12 points, and does so the hard way — beating Admosis head-to-head despite Admosis shooting -13 themselves. That's a quality result. YesImRob was second on -14, and the H2H results tell an interesting story here too: Admosis beat Pilsner23 (-13 vs -5), which is one of the more convincing wins of the day across any division.

Six no-shows in Division 3 this week — Ball2_Skew, BlayNay, GolfGriffin, Ipoopedyikes, Wizardplum, and Zize1970. Half a dozen of them. The Lado Ranch didn't agree with everyone, seemingly. In the standings, Hoplinkz leads on 135 points, with DanLovett85 at 133 and Pilsner23 at 129. Three players separated by six points — that one goes right to the wire.

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NEWCOMERS DIVISION

cfcgolf_ttv_yt is setting the Newcomers Division alight. -28 and 12 points on Matchday 13. That's a Premier Division-level score, and he now leads the standings on 60 points — a full 33 ahead of bjgolfer3324 in second. At some point someone is going to have to have a conversation about whether this person belongs in a Newcomers division at all. MamasClunker and AppleWifi are showing up and competing at -22 and -21 respectively, which is encouraging. KineBuds and DakotaB23 were no-shows again and sit in negative territory. At -12 and -10 points in the standings, they're only codding themselves at this stage.

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STAT INSIGHT

The scoring average at the top of every division this week was notably low, with Premier Division producing a -35 co-winner and Division 1 topped by -27. Yet the points spread in Premier Division is still compressed in the middle — fourteen players earned just 1 point or 0 points on the day. High scores don't guarantee points when everyone is scoring high. The format punishes mediocrity harshly, and the five no-shows in Division 1 alone cost those absent dearly in what is a one-point race at the top of the standings.

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CLOSING THOUGHT

A course that gives up -35 will get found out eventually. The Lado Ranch V2 gave up plenty this week, and the players at the top are eating well. But look at the standings in Premier and Division 1 — the real race is between the players grinding out 1s and 2s every week, not the ones firing at flags. Consistency wins tours. Always has. Some of them haven't figured that out yet.

*— The Man in the Stands, Enniscorthy*