OK ... i promised a recap of the RC singles match between Imcoola and myself ,Jeffdos924, here it is ..... and it was a real battle.
1st Hole: Both hit 2 nice shots, leaving birdie putts. J missed from 17' ... C didn't miss his 9 footer .... Coola 1 UP
2nd Hole: Coola finds the fairway and then was 37 yrds short in the rough and a great pitch put him close on his 3rd shot..1.5 feet.. Jeff went even more adventurous .. right rough off the tee, then way short in the greenside bunker.Out of the sand, but still short of the green in the rough... chipped kind of close, but missed the putt. Coola makes an hilarious, but effective driver putt for par to win the hole...Coola 2 UP
3rd Hole: Both players in the rough, Coola 9 yrds short, J 8 yrds long. We both chip close, and halve the hole with pars ...Coola still 2 UP
4th Hole: Again, 2 diffrent roads to the green , with Coola going fairway and me going thru the rough, but we both got there with 17-foot putts for birdie. Once again, J missed and Coola didn't ... Coola 3 UP
5th Hole: We both found the fairway on the drives and both played 2nd shots into the front left greenside bunker. J hits 5.5 feet long, C hits 1.6 right of the hole ... 2 pars for the halve ..Coola still 3 UP
6th Hole: Both easily find the greens in regulation. Coola just misses his 18' foot birdie putt and I makes my 6-footer to win my first hole in this RC competition. ...Coola still 2 UP
7th Hole: My elation over winning a hole lasted for almost 1 whole shot, as my drive went wildly right and landed short in the bunker, hacked it back onto the fairway, laid up, then stuck one close for a bogey putt. Coola went fairway, laid up nice and left 16 feet or so for par., but his putt just slid by the hole , and we halved with bogeys... Coola still 2 UP
8th Hole: Nothing special ... 2 pars to halve the hole ..Coola still 2 UP
9th Hole: Both of us in the fairway .. then Coola was short in the rough, while i was on the back fringe. Both of us got close and missed easy par putts. 2 bogeys to halve ...Coola still 2 UP
Then came a little intermission as imcoola asked for a break between the front and back after 20 minutes or so, the battle resumed ...with one unforseen hitch that I'll get to later.
10th Hole: Both drives in the fairway, but this is one hole where length off the tee helps. Coolas 2nd shot finds the rough short of the green, and mine was pin high and 8 yards wide, but on the green. Coola pitched to about 8 feet then I made the 23' birdie putt to win the hole ...Coola still 1 UP
11th Hole: Coola drives the fairway and gets the GIR, leaving himself a 15' uphill putt. I ( as usual) find the right bunker off the tee, but with a good lie. Hit my 2nd short enough that it rolled back off the green. Coola 2 putts and i got up & down for a pair of pars again ... hole halved ..Coola 1UP
12th Hole: Length helped again as coola had to lay up on his 2nd shot, while i could go for the green, leaving a 14 footer for bird. Coolas pitch was 17' past the hole and his par putt got nivlipped and left him with 2.8 feet out. My birdie putt also got lipped out, but i made the comeback for the par to win the hole....AS
13th Hole: Nice drives in this narrow fairway. Coola lays up at 103 yrds, mine was 46. Coolas 3rd shot was wide, leaving him a 24' putt for bird. Mine was 4 feet above the hole. C's birdie putt looked good, but turned hard in front of the hole and I just barely got mine to trickle in for the bird. Jeff 1 UP
14th Hole: My tee shot is 23 feet left of the hole. Coola comes just short of the green leaving an 8 yard chip that he almost holed, leaving a 1 footer for par. I made the big sweeping putt for birdie and the win ... Jeff 2UP
15th Hole: Good drives ...Coola lays up perfectly at the end of the fairway, 50 yrds out. I took the chance from 196, but couldn't get there, catching the rough left and short about 9 yrds from the hole. A poor chip shot caught the slope and stopped 6 feet under the hole. Coola's 3rd shot was also short, catching the rough 8 yrds away .. but WOW .. he chips it in for the par!!! ... ( you should have seen it). I have 6 feet for par, but don't convert .. Coola wins the hole....Jeff still 1UP
16th Hole: Thought I was in the driver's seat here with a 314 yrd drive, but Coola hit an awesome 2nd shot about 13 feet past the hole .. my 2nd went right, leaving 9 feet. Coola missed his birdie putt, I didn't ...Jeff 2 UP with 2 to go
**** This is where our problem came in ... b/c we played the front & back seperately, WGT ended the back here b/c i was 4 & 2 on the back. At Coola's suggestion, and after conferring with both captains, we opted to play random holes for the last 2 holes. Time was the main factor for this, as Coola couldn't play the whole back side again. ... and nivlac, seve, and I all agreed to this option.
17th Hole ( randomly picked was #2 ) : Both drives in the fairway this time around. Coola's 2ns is again short in the rough 36 yrds. My 2nd is on, but 23 feet wide. Just like the first time here, coola makes an awesome pitch shot to get close, then makes his par. I had 2 putts to win, missed from 23, but got the tap-in for par. Hole halved .. Jeff wins match 2 & 1
That was absolutely one of the toughest matches that I have ever played. Hats off to Imcoola .. the difference here was a couple of putts. The couple of times that I thought I made great shots, you answered right back with shots just as great. It was an honor to play with you, my friend ... and hope we play much more in the future.
Big thanks go to Seveking, though ... what a tournament this has been from beginning to this, the end of the RC for me. I know this had to take up a lot fo your time, and I sure as hell don't want you think it was unappreciated. It was a real honor to make this squad, and regardless of the outcome, this has been a great experience for me. I've made some new friends and got to rub elbows with some of the best players on WGT ... and mostly held my own :)
Thanks to nivlac , as well. You're a good guy, and a great captain. Thanks for the practise rounds and the advice along the way ...i surely needed it.
oh yeah .... one more thing ..... GO USA!!! .. 9-9 now .. let's bring it on home!