The Rest of the Round at Duck Creek in Dallas

Written on 6-16-24.

      It’s Father’s Day, and I am watching the U.S. Open.  Bryson is leading at -6, but he is in some trouble off the tee on #8.  I have spoken with Danielle, Dad, and Kyle so far, and I have had many well wishes from texts, too.  It’s been a great day.

Danielle graduated from Albuquerque Fire Academy on Thursday, and that was a special day.  She did it.  It’s done.  A surprise (though, not really to us) was that she won the Leadership Award.  It was unexpected, but we knew that she had been the liaison for multiple weeks, more than anyone other cadet.

*Bryson just made an incredible save for par.  I believe he will win it, but anything can happen.

We have had many wonderful things happen lately.  We got a tour of James’s new office, and we learned more about...

what he is doing for his new job.  We met many of his co-workers, and they were very complimentary.  Kyle has survived rounds of lay-offs, too.  When we spoke with him today, one of his superiors said he was never an option for being laid off.  Once again, not surprising.  We had that entire week with Matt, Becca, and little Ben. And, we just witnessed our daughter graduating.  

B and I are going camping this Thursday, too.  Wow!  Life is good.

On to golf…

I want to finish writing about my round with Eric, and I want to write a little bit about The Puttshack in Dallas, too.  Also, Greg invited me to play in Durango, and I played decently and even earned a birdie there.  I also played nine forgettable holes with Herman (not his real name), and then we went shopping together afterwards for Danielle’s turquoise earrings, part of my gift for her for graduation.

When I wrote last time, I was leading Eric, but we had five holes left to play.  On #14, I earned a par, and Eric’s tee shot went low and left…and then disappeared.  That was the last par I would make for that round, and I won that hole easily.  

On #15, I had a real fortuitous tee shot.  The creek splits the hole into two sides: the fairway on the right and a rougher, but still grassy area on the left.  My tee shot came out low and headed directly towards the creek.  My golf ball then hit some rocks and shot up into the air super high (thirty or forty feet?) and out to the left.  It could have gone anywhere, and it would have most likely ended up right back in the creeks, so this was a good bounce for me, for sure.  

Eric had more trouble off the tee on this hole.  He hit two shots towards the out of bounds (houses were all along the right side), so he didn’t end up even finishing the hole.  I managed a bogey, so I now had $200,000.00, but Eric could still win the last three holes and steal the victory from me.

*Rory just scored a birdie to tie it up with Bryson at -7 on hole #12.  It’s like LIV vs. the PGA.  This is fun to watch.

The 16th hole at Duck Creek is the #2 handicap hole.  It’s not really long at 382 yards from the middle tees, but it’s narrow.  My tee shot ‘narrowly’ missed going out of bounds on the right side.  Eric hit a stinker, so I felt I had the advantage.  He got his second shot up to a spot on the left side in the trees where he could get his fourth shot on the green, though.  I had to use my 8-iron to lay up over a tree that blocked my approach, so I was planning to get on the green in three.

*Rory is now leading by two after getting another birdie.  Bryson got a bogey after hitting into the rough again.

I did manage a bogey after getting onto the green in three shots, and Eric missed his long bogey putt, so the match ended.  Phew.

What stood out to me was how different the two nines were.  I struggled on the front as much as Eric did on the back.  That’s golf.  

After winning the game, I relaxed, and Eric won the last two holes.  The final score was $270,000.00 to $180,000.00.

*Bryson just won the 2024 U.S. Open.  Rory missed two short putts for par on the back nine (ouch!), and Bryson made an incredible par save on the final hole.  I didn’t realize that Payne Stewart is one of his heroes, and it was played at the same place, Pinehurst #2, where Payne won in 1999.

Eric and I went to the Puttshack as our last golf outing in Dallas.  It was a fancy, indoor, arcade-like putt-putt course.  Eric had been there before, and he really enjoyed it, so he wanted me to experience it, too.

To be continued…