OK Colin, I'll tell you this story because I know that with your devilish Scottish/Australian sense of humor, you will think it's funny...
The captains lined themselves up to play a critical singles match in the last round. Brightly for the MacRaynors vs Powelll Arms for the Minimalists. Because the MacRaynors lost their two point lead with poor play Saturday morning, I knew I had to take 3 points from Powell in the afternoon.
I played decently on the front nine and was three up at the turn. (Thanks to Powell going walkabout on holes 8 and 9, forgetting he had shots and scooping up two putts, conceeding the hole when he had a chance to tie.
)
I was in good shape after the 13th, one up. Playing downwind on the par 5 14th, I hit my best drive, only to watch Powell hit his about 60 yards past me. Rather than go for the green, I wisely hit a nice draw with a 3 rescue, avoiding the waste area under the hole, but not too far to reach the high right bunker, leaving a simple chip below the hole.
Going for the green in two, Powell (one of far too many lefties on this trip...) fanned his iron about 100 yards in the air and 30 yards left into the waste area. Lucky to even find the ball, he flubbed one about 2 feet, then skulled the next one 30 yards over the green. I hit a really good 7 iron bump and run to 5 feet past the hole. I would have preferred below the hole, but it really was no problem. The BEST Powell could do was an up and down bogey for 6 and I lag for par, right?
Wrong. For about the 100th time Powell avoided his wedge and putted from far off the green. (How does a parkland player from Philly learn to hit 50 yard putts?) It wass a downhill snake that rollled over all kinds of bumps and knobs, missed the sprinkler heads, lurched onto the green, broke sharply left and tracked right for the GD pin. Into the cup it went for 5...
Now as a seasoned match player, this should NOT have rattled me. I had no choice but to lag my downhill breaking putt to ensure a 5. But standing over the putt a little voice in my head reminded me that I could still win the hole with a birdie 4, so I took some of the break out and hit it firm... My return putt, longer than the first one... never sniffed the hole. I lose the hole, back nine squared.
I had to give Powell shots on 3 of the last 4 holes, each one dead into a strong wind and he is much longer than me. He won the back one up to salvage a point, and the Minimalists won 39 1/2 to 36 1/2.
You happy now?