The weekend of darts in Augusta was somewhat of a mixed bag, but given that I normally have disastrous results I reckon I fared pretty well overall.

I was featured on the local news broadcast covering the event.  And by featured I mean I appear in the background at the 0.13 second mark (I’m the one wearing the blue jersey that says “John “the Walrus” McCrarey on the back).  You can also glimpse Jee Yeun at the 0.29 mark.  It is actually a pretty nice little news story and good for the promotion of darts.

Bottom line up front, I did not qualify for the Nationals.  In my bracket I faced the following nationally ranked players: Joe Chaney (#7), Danny Baggish (#14), George Alvarado (#17) and Jerry Hilbourn (#57).  Highlights for me were throwing a 180 and taking a leg from Chaney (a first for me!).  Lowlights were everything else.  But honestly, throwing against some of the best players in the country was a great experience and I’m sure I came away with some lessons learned.

I will tell the rest of the story in pictures (ok, in picture captions):

In the Friday night blind draw I made it to the final four (with an able assist from my outstanding partner Joe Giordono of course).

Saturday morning brought a top 16 finish in mixed doubles. I was once again blessed with a great partner, Kay Hoover of Cleveland, OH fame. The highlight was beating Robbie Phillips (ADO rank #4) and his partner which was quite the thrill. I met him again that afternoon in men’s doubles and he destroyed me. Still, I can truthfully say I won half the matches I played against Phillips this weekend!

Saturday night saw a thrilling top 4 finish in mixed triples. It was the first time I played that particular event and kudos go out to my partners Megan Hoover and J.R. Heffington for a great night of darts!

I didn’t play worth a damn on Sunday, but the weather was perfect for sitting outside and enjoying the view of the Savannah River…

So, there you have it.  Augusta was the first U.S. tourney I played when I came back from Korea in 2013 and it will be my last in the States until this fall.  It was a helluva lot of fun and that’s about all you can hope for.