Hole #10-This hole was a perfect example of it’s not over until it’s over. Eric’s tee shot landed right in the middle of the fairway. My tee shot landed even farther ahead of his and also in the fairway. Bruce’s tee shot went into the desert on the right side, and C.J. ended up in a patch of thick, tall grass over there, too.
Eric was confident we were going to win this hole, and I was cautiously optimistic. When we saw Bruce’s ball (we rode in carts, and they walked), we both gained a bit more confidence. His ball looked dead to me. He could not go forward. The bush was between the green and his ball. We thought he might want to pitch back to the fairway, though.
C.J. remained trapped in his long grass prison after a couple of swings, so it was down to Bruce vs. us. Eric, sadly, straight low-pulled his shot into the deep rough left of the green. I was only a 3/4 swing pitching wedge from the green, but I pulled mine, too, and it bounced left into the bunker on the left side of the green. We found Eric’s ball, but he could not escape from his prison either, so it was down to Bruce vs. me. Somehow, I don’t know how, but Bruce escaped and put his second shot just below the green. The flag was on the back left side. When I started to climb down into the bunker, I saw his third shot settle within a foot of the hole. It was clear he was going to get his par. I had to get up and down to tie his score. I thinned my shot out of the bunker, though, and my ball sailed over the green and sank into a bush past the cart path. Sigh. C.J., Eric, and I all ended up with triples. They won the hole, so we started the back nine by going three down. A hole is not won or lost until everyone has holed out. I knew this, but it was made painfully clear again on this hole. Never underestimate what Bruce can do!
Hole #11-I was the only one to get a par, and it took so long for us to play this hole that a couple chose to pass us and go to the next hole. When it was finally finished, though, my par got us back to two down.
Hole #12-Eric really stepped up and made a putt from 20 feet for a birdie! It was amazing! We were back to one down and gained some momentum.
Hole #13-Our momentum was squashed when Bruce made an incredible birdie from the rough left of the fairway. His ball was sitting up on a tiny patch of grass, but he still made a smooth swing to get his ball on the green and just ten feet away from the hole. We were back to two down.
Hole #14-Despite Eric and I both earning pars, Bruce got a second birdie, so all momentum was destroyed now. We were three down again and running out of holes.
Hole #15-It was now or never. We started a charge to begin a rally. We both got pars on this par three to crawl back to two down.
Hole #16-Gaining a bit of that momentum back, I managed a third par in a row to scratch our way back to one down. With two holes to go, we had a shot at winning it all still. On this hole, Bruce and I ended up in nearly the same location on the right side of this green. He went first and actually chunked his chip. Before he went, I was thinking that I did not want to follow a chip shot from Bruce. I managed to not chunk mine, though, and my ball ended up five feet below the hole. I made that to keep the match going. Eric cheered. Phew!
Hole #17-C.J. really stepped up and made a birdie here to end the match two and one. My ball was on the green, but it was on the front and the hole was cut on the back. I left another putt short, but it didn’t matter. Even if I had made my bid for par, C.J. had sealed the deal with his birdie.
Eric and I didn’t feel too bad about losing. Don’t get me wrong; we hate to lose, but Bruce shot a phenomenal 77, and we only lost 2 & 1. C.J. made a tough birdie to get rid of us, so we played respectably, especially since we both had not played in a long time. I ended with an 87, C.J. shot an 88, and Eric earned a rough 97. He wants to practice before our big summer vacation to Cancun, and so do I.
Until next time…
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