Chris Z
|
Record: 15-9-0
Scramble: 8-5-0
Best Ball: 3-0-0 1 v 1: 4-4-0 |
Yearly Summary
2014: Zale had a very impressive performance as a newcomer to the Ryder Cup. He posted a perfect 3-0 performance on the weekend against some of the best the Cobra Kai has to offer. He took down the leadership of the Cobra Kai in the 2 man scramble, then dismantled the Kendziorskis in the best ball. He had a little bit easier of a go in the 1 on 1 getting the distinct pleasure of destroying Kevin Dever.
2015: Zale continued his unbeaten streak through 2015. He took down the misfits of Zach and Gordon on Friday afternoon and then spent all day Saturday beating up on Mel to bring his Ryder Cup record to a perfect 6-0.
2016: 9-0!! Unbelievably Zale had his third consecutive perfect year at the Ryder Cup. This one was relatively stress free. He took down Andy and Case with the help of Junks on Friday and then dismantled Brandon and Steve despite having Eckles on his team. After that, “The Tortoise” demolished Steve in the 1 on 1 and was basically done after hole 11. The key must be 10 solid hours of sleep every night.
2017: Zale was off to another great start, winning Friday afternoon. The illustrious career coming down to a Saturday morning match with Dano against Casey and the Cobra Kai captain, only to find out Dano had taken a copious amount of bubbler shots the night before. Zale played out of his mind, but it wasn’t enough to keep the team afloat as Dano was unable to do anything, at all. It was a sad morning for Zale, and one that Dano surely forgot. No surprise, Zale quickly rebounded as soon as he was able to shed off the baggage and take Luke down late in the Saturday afternoon match. Zale continues to be a force to reckon with on Team Lombardo. He quite possibly could be the only force at all.
2018: Zale wasn’t able to make Ryder Cup this year, but he’s looking forward to avoiding Dano as a partner and continuing to be the star of Team Lombardo.
2019: Zale was back in action in 2019, although the year off must have given him some cobwebs as he wasn't able to start the Friday Afternoon scramble off with a win. Saturday morning was a different story, matching up with Searge to take down the Rick/Barkeley duo. Zale was hoping to keep the momentum going in to the 1v1 matchup against Luke. Zale took the first 2 holes out of the gate, but Luke was able to battle back, with Zale up 1 at the turn. Luke took 10 and 12, moving 1UP. Zale took 14, bringing back to even. While the score was Luke 1UP, the scorecard still resembles that the match was AS. Yet another controversial Cobra Kai ploy to keep them from losing and Luke controversially getting the MVP trophy.
2020: Zale did not attend the COVID Cup, but plans to be back in 2021.
2021: Zale's return was a tough one in the 2021 Ryder Cup. Starting out with Dan M, he was able to take down the Gordo/Casey Cobra Kai duo and started the weekend off right. However, that was the last win of the weekend. Saturday morning, he was paired with Searge in what ended up being the match of the morning. The front nine was back and forth, however they found themselves down 2 at the turn. Losing 10 they started seeing their hopes slip, until they were able to win 11, 12, 13, along with a skin along the way. Down 1 going in to 17, they had hopes to close out with a win or AS, but weren't able to win either 17 or 18 and lost by 1. Saturday afternoon 1v1 was against the new Cobra Kai team member, Poet. The match was over as soon as it started, as Zale found himself down 6 at the turn. Poet took the match 7&6. Zale will be back in his MVP form in 2022.
2022: Zale was paired in the opening round Dan M, with high hopes and was absolutely slaughtered. enough said. Saturday morning was a different story, as he was paired with the Lombardo ace, Searge. They were able to dominate the Poet/EB duo, however it was the beginning of the end for Poet's time on Cobra Kai as Zale's partner fell in love with the enemy. The 1v1 matchup against Patty was pitted as a tight matchup, and indeed it was. Zale fought hard in the front nine, but found himself down 2 at the turn. He won a few on the back nine, but was never able to overcome the front nine and Patty was strong to hold on in the end as Zale fought back. This was a tough pill to swallow for Zale as Patty gave him opportunities that he wasn't able to capitalize on.
2023: Zale had high hopes coming to 2023, and certainly contributed to the Lombardo win, however I know he would have wished for better results personally. On Friday afternoon, he joined the Lombardo Captain, who decided to not show up, and were utterly defeated by Dever and Marc losing 5&4. On Saturday morning, he joined forces with Staten against Clo and the Boss. Zale and Staten knew this was a 2 v 1 match and just waited for Clo to make a mistake, which took him 14 holes to do so. They were able to win the round on the 17th hole. Zale was then matched up against Casey on Saturday afternoon. The first two holes started out fine, with the match All Square. Casey then decided to play golf, winning 3, 4, 6, 7 & 9, taking the lead by 5 holes at the turn. He also won 10, putting Zale on a rough path to victory. Zale did battle back a bit, but wasn't able to come back all the way losing the match 5&4.
2015: Zale continued his unbeaten streak through 2015. He took down the misfits of Zach and Gordon on Friday afternoon and then spent all day Saturday beating up on Mel to bring his Ryder Cup record to a perfect 6-0.
2016: 9-0!! Unbelievably Zale had his third consecutive perfect year at the Ryder Cup. This one was relatively stress free. He took down Andy and Case with the help of Junks on Friday and then dismantled Brandon and Steve despite having Eckles on his team. After that, “The Tortoise” demolished Steve in the 1 on 1 and was basically done after hole 11. The key must be 10 solid hours of sleep every night.
2017: Zale was off to another great start, winning Friday afternoon. The illustrious career coming down to a Saturday morning match with Dano against Casey and the Cobra Kai captain, only to find out Dano had taken a copious amount of bubbler shots the night before. Zale played out of his mind, but it wasn’t enough to keep the team afloat as Dano was unable to do anything, at all. It was a sad morning for Zale, and one that Dano surely forgot. No surprise, Zale quickly rebounded as soon as he was able to shed off the baggage and take Luke down late in the Saturday afternoon match. Zale continues to be a force to reckon with on Team Lombardo. He quite possibly could be the only force at all.
2018: Zale wasn’t able to make Ryder Cup this year, but he’s looking forward to avoiding Dano as a partner and continuing to be the star of Team Lombardo.
2019: Zale was back in action in 2019, although the year off must have given him some cobwebs as he wasn't able to start the Friday Afternoon scramble off with a win. Saturday morning was a different story, matching up with Searge to take down the Rick/Barkeley duo. Zale was hoping to keep the momentum going in to the 1v1 matchup against Luke. Zale took the first 2 holes out of the gate, but Luke was able to battle back, with Zale up 1 at the turn. Luke took 10 and 12, moving 1UP. Zale took 14, bringing back to even. While the score was Luke 1UP, the scorecard still resembles that the match was AS. Yet another controversial Cobra Kai ploy to keep them from losing and Luke controversially getting the MVP trophy.
2020: Zale did not attend the COVID Cup, but plans to be back in 2021.
2021: Zale's return was a tough one in the 2021 Ryder Cup. Starting out with Dan M, he was able to take down the Gordo/Casey Cobra Kai duo and started the weekend off right. However, that was the last win of the weekend. Saturday morning, he was paired with Searge in what ended up being the match of the morning. The front nine was back and forth, however they found themselves down 2 at the turn. Losing 10 they started seeing their hopes slip, until they were able to win 11, 12, 13, along with a skin along the way. Down 1 going in to 17, they had hopes to close out with a win or AS, but weren't able to win either 17 or 18 and lost by 1. Saturday afternoon 1v1 was against the new Cobra Kai team member, Poet. The match was over as soon as it started, as Zale found himself down 6 at the turn. Poet took the match 7&6. Zale will be back in his MVP form in 2022.
2022: Zale was paired in the opening round Dan M, with high hopes and was absolutely slaughtered. enough said. Saturday morning was a different story, as he was paired with the Lombardo ace, Searge. They were able to dominate the Poet/EB duo, however it was the beginning of the end for Poet's time on Cobra Kai as Zale's partner fell in love with the enemy. The 1v1 matchup against Patty was pitted as a tight matchup, and indeed it was. Zale fought hard in the front nine, but found himself down 2 at the turn. He won a few on the back nine, but was never able to overcome the front nine and Patty was strong to hold on in the end as Zale fought back. This was a tough pill to swallow for Zale as Patty gave him opportunities that he wasn't able to capitalize on.
2023: Zale had high hopes coming to 2023, and certainly contributed to the Lombardo win, however I know he would have wished for better results personally. On Friday afternoon, he joined the Lombardo Captain, who decided to not show up, and were utterly defeated by Dever and Marc losing 5&4. On Saturday morning, he joined forces with Staten against Clo and the Boss. Zale and Staten knew this was a 2 v 1 match and just waited for Clo to make a mistake, which took him 14 holes to do so. They were able to win the round on the 17th hole. Zale was then matched up against Casey on Saturday afternoon. The first two holes started out fine, with the match All Square. Casey then decided to play golf, winning 3, 4, 6, 7 & 9, taking the lead by 5 holes at the turn. He also won 10, putting Zale on a rough path to victory. Zale did battle back a bit, but wasn't able to come back all the way losing the match 5&4.
Player Bio
Zale is known as more of an overall athlete than a pure golfer. One of the few (possibly only) golfer in the Ryder Cup to have a Hole in One in his lifetime. Keep in mind, this did come from a rocket into the woods and bounced back onto the green and in the hole. His talents have been described as "I once saw him shoot a basketball clear over the backboard...translate that skill to the golf course".
Ryder Cup Highlight
Zale's Ryder Cup highlight was the shot of the weekend in the 2014 tournament. Holing out a shot from a little over 100 yards away. Possibly even more impressive than that, was the fact that he was able to shut down and more importantly, shut up the Kendziorskis. That shot and that match was definitely one to remember.
Fun Fact
Zale is very conscious of other golfers on the course and has been known to wait on the tee box until golfers on neighboring fairways have cleared. Zale is always the most rested golfer as he averages 14-16 hours of sleep per night.