Hole 10: Mike saved us on this hole. My first tee shot sliced wildly down the hill (the hill that goes downtown!), so Mike stepped up and earned a tying bogey to keep us at two down. Thank you, Mike!
Hole 11: I returned the favor on this hole. My drive actually went to the right side of the green (a little dangerous due to the out of bounds), and I had a tough lie on my second shot, so I flubbed it toward the green. I recovered with a decent chip and a putt for a par, but Bruce earned a par, too. Still two down. We could have easily been four down, but Mike and I were playing well, taking turns having good holes.
Hole #12: I earned the only par by hitting the green and using up only two putts, but we also got a gift on this hole. Bruce should have had a par, but he had another putting malfunction and got a bogey.
He said that the time away from golf causes him to lose confidence with short putts, so he tends to want to peek to see if his golf ball is going in instead of keeping his head down and trusting his stroke.
Hole #13: Bruce and I tied with pars on this long, difficult par four. Still one down.
Hole #14: Bruce made a third birdie with a long putt, so we found ourselves two down again with four to go. Not the best position to be in.
I wondered if I should have gotten relief due to the sprinklers that were on my line of my putt from just off the green. Mike said he would do some research after our round to find out, but I bet he’s forgotten about it by now. I probably would have earned a par, or at least a bogey, instead of the double I got, but it didn’t really matter with Bruce’s birdie.
Hole #15: Mike and I both earned bogeys, and that was good enough to win this hole. C.J. and Bruce struggled to double pars with unbelievable and rare mental lapses. Bruce even shanked his tee shot into the bushes! Back to one down with two three holes to go.
Hole #16: After Mike hit his approach onto the green, I told him he could have a birdie if he wanted. I should have told him the same thing on all the other holes, because he drained his fairly long putt…for a birdie! Boy, did we need that. He also had an incredible drive, getting his ball to stop up on the top of the hill close to the 100 yard marker. Impressive! We were even with two holes to go. It was anybody’s game at this point.
Hole #17: I had another swell drive. I really drove it well that day, only losing that one shot down the hill on #10. I messed up my second shot with my 5-iron, though, barely getting it to the corner. My utility club, however, redeemed my lousy second scuffed shot with a smooth 200+ yard shot to the fairway just in front of the green. I then made a decent pitch and a better than decent putt for my par!
C.J., however, made a clutch and tricky four-footer from above the hole to match my par and Mike’s par to push the match to the final hole. Wow! What a putt.
Hole #18: It’s always fun to come to the last hole with a chance to win it. That just doesn’t happen very often. Before I teed off, I said as much, and I commented on the fantastic weather, too. Bruce concurred.
Then I hit another grand drive, right on the fairway and approximately 160-165 yards from the hole. Bruce went left towards the trees. Mike found the fairway, too, and then C.J. went farther left than Bruce, out onto the dirt actually.
Mike’s tee shot was just behind mine, so we talked while the other two struggled from behind the trees. He said we had a pretty good chance of winning this match from the way things started, but I knew better. Strange things can happen in golf, and I knew it wasn’t over until it was over. I accidentally said, “Never say never,” but that isn’t what I meant to say.
Must have been the stroke talking. I meant to say, “It’s not over until it’s over.”
Thankfully, I had an approach just short of the bunker. From there, I made a pitch that stopped to just to the left of the hole, leaving only two feet. I should have had a par, but I missed that putt. I could hear the small gasps escaping from everyone’s mouth (not really), but I made the putt that won the match after that. That one was only a foot away, and a bogey was all we needed to close it all out. Bruce and C.J. had continued to struggle, but C.J. managed a double, so to miss would mean we would have tied. Phew! We won!
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