THANKS, Bill! That was a great match - really enjoyed playing it with you!
To all who are reading, do not be deceived by the 9 (net 7) stroke difference - the match was really much
closer than our scores indicate.
Bill had cut my lead to net 1 stroke (-5 to my -8) after the 14th hole.
I was fortunate to get up and down out of the right greenside bunker to
save par with a 13 ft bender. In reality, I was incredibly fortunate to even
make it INTO that bunker when my meter decided to totally spazz out on my approach from 178 yds. Bill's approach left him a 9-foot birdie which he sank, and his crowd went nuts! Not only did I miss the ding line on the approach, but the stutter made me completely miss the line to the far right of the ding line! No idea how my ball even stayed in play - maybe it was the
12-14 mph R-to-L wind that saved me. In any event, that par was massive for me - could've easily been a double, and a totally different ball game.
On the next hole (15th), with his crowd still buzzing over the last hole, the meter bug unfortunately bit him back, and he ended up
in the right greenside trap, from where he salvaged a tough double. Despite a few of his hecklers chirping me on the tee box, I was able to squeeze my eyes tightly shut through impact and earn an 'auto-instant replay' with a tee shot that burned the
cup for a near ace. The tee boxes were more quiet on the remaining holes as his gallery hit the pub early for drinks.
Again, GREAT match, Bill. Keep rolling putts like that, and you'll be an absolute force in this game. Looking forward to a round with you in the future, bud.
Cheers,
Cort