Thanks for all of the support everyone. It means a lot to me and it was great fun having a few of you follow me out on the course - extra thanks to those of you who did!
My opponents played well in all three matches. This morning I was able to make a couple of putts at the right time, especially that birdie/birdie exchange on 15 - that was about a 20 footer give or take. I also made one from 45 feet or so on 9 and a couple of other good shorter ones. My opponent gave a hole or two away (as happens in match play), but I did my part to take advantage of the opportunities.
This afternoon I just couldn't get it going. I three putted one, Garrett hit it to tap-in range on 2, and then I started giving it away with three short misses between 5 and 8. The annoying thing is that they were all the same putt, 4-6 feet just on top of the right edge. I basically putted well for 9 straight rounds and just lost it for 9 holes, but when your opponent hits it 310 and makes most of his putts, that's not going to cut it. I played reasonably well on the back nine but it was too much to ask from 5 down.
The week was quite an experience - one of those "peak experience" type things. I've played 8 rounds of golf in the last 6 days - five at Conway, 2 at Knollwood, and 1 at Exmoor. I'll remember at least two shots - the 30 footer I made on my last hole to get under the cut line, and the 8-iron I described yesterday - for a very long time.
To answer a few of the questions posed earlier...
Yeah, Garrett is really good and a nice guy. He drives it 30-40 past me. And if he keeps playing like he did today, he should probably win. But I know as well as anyone that sometimes the game can just slip away for a few holes. Hopefully he'll keep it up though. It always feels better to lose to the winner!
Nothing's wrong with the par-5 8th hole. It's just 595 straight into a 20-whatever mph wind. Some of the guys in the starting field would not have been able to reach the fairway today; I made it by about 15 yards max this morning. The layup isn't too hard, but the pin was right and the wind was blowing hard into us and to the left. The ball can be above your feet there too. It's just a hard combination.
Re: Garrett's eagle this morning, yes, it was real. He said he drove it over the back of #7 (it's 274 to the front into the wind) and then chipped in. He did the same thing this afternoon except he chipped it to 3 feet and made birdie.
OK, I'm tired. If any of you all have questions/comments, fire away. In the next few days I'll try to do a quick Knollwood/Conway thread.
Thanks again for all the good wishes.