For all of us who have been Tommy's friend over the past ten years, watched him go through a very difficult time in his life, and then, a year ago, come to grips with all of it and take positive steps to make true lifestyle changes this will be a post that will make you feel really good.
Tommy and I played Rec Park in Long Beach today. We played the ball down, match play (Tommy got 4 a side), no concessions, no mulligans, just real golf. We were playing for a valuable prize which can't be mentioned on GCA. Here's a summary of the match:
#1 (short par 4): Tommy middle of fairway, 80 yards from green, Mike in right rough, 30 yards from green, Tommy makes par, Mike bogie, Tommy 1 up
#2: (short uphill par 4): Tommy middle of fairway, 110 yards from green, Mike in fairway, 80 yards from green, Tommy makes bogie, Mike par, match even
#3: (downhill par 4): Tommy fairway, Mike in right rough, Tommy makes an up and down par, Mike makes bogie from front of green, Tommy 1 up
#4: (uphill par 4): Tommy and Mike in fairway, both make bogie, Tommy 2 up (gets stroke)
#5: (uphill par 3): Tommy makes par from off green, Mike bogies after 3 putt, Tommy 3 up
#6: (long par 4, terrific golf hole): Tommy makes bogie, Mike makes par by one putting from 15 feet, Tommy 3 up
#7: (dogleg right par 4, excellent golf hole): Tommy makes double bogie, Mike pars, Tommy 2 up
#8: (dogleg left par 4): Tommy makes bogie, Mike just misses birdie, Tommy still 2 up (stroke hole)
#9: (uphill par 5): Tommy and Mike both make par, Tommy still 2 up
#10: (dogleg right par 4, wonderful golf hole): Tommy double bogies, Mike pars, Tommy 1 up
#11: (dogleg right par 4, reverse Redan green, Tommy's personal favorite): Tommy double bogies, Mike pars, Match square
#12: (short par 3): Tommy on green, Mike stiffs an 8 iron to 4', Tommy par, Mike birdie, Mike 1 up
#13: (short par 4): Tommy and Mike both miss birdie putts, Mike 1 up
#14: (dogleg left par 5): Tommy routine par, Mike up and down par, Match square (Tommy strokes)
#15: (short, tight par 4): Tommy great up and down par, Mike in trouble and makes bogie, Tommy 1 up
#16: (uphill, blind par 3): Tommy pushes tee shot, Mike's 8 iron looks like it's stiff-we walk up to the green and Tommy is just off the green pin high, Mike behind green. Mike chips to 4', Tommy make BIRDIE!!! and goes Dormie
#17: (good par 5): Tommy gets in trouble off tee, winds up in front of the green in 5 and almost sinks the chip shot for double bogie, Mike leaves birdie putt just short, Tommy now 1 up
#18: (great finishing hole, dogleg right par 4, 395 yards, fairway slope like Olympic Lake #17, uphill approach shot to shallow green) Tommy strokes here-Tommy down middle, Mike hits it on right side and gets the world's luckiest bounce down to the 100 yard stake. Tommy hits second shot in deep front bunker, Mike hits 9 iron to about 30 feet, pin high. Tommy hits wonderful bunker shot to about 8', Mike leaves birdie putt just below hole, Tommy 2 putts and wins 1 UP.
So there you have it, Tommy played a complete, competitive match and beat me 1 up. If you notice, I played the last 13 holes even par and picked up only 2 holes, and, when it counted most, Tommy went 1 under par for 5 holes to turn a 1 hole deficit into a 2 hole lead.
A little over a year ago, Tommy and I played together and he was barely able to play a few holes out of the entire golf course. Today he played 18 holes and looked like someone I wouldn't want to give 8 strokes to on a regular basis unless I was in a charitable mood.
I can't tell you how proud I am today to be Tommy's friend.
