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My son played in the final of the club knock-out tournament yesterday. Essentially he had to qualify through a medal competition, (64 to qualify) and then he had to play five rounds of knock-out matches to get to the final, played over the past few months. He's still a junior and no junior had ever reached the final before, so we were all pretty excited. His handicap is 10 right now and he hits a lot of good shots, he just seems to have 2-3 blow-up holes every round. But he is a good driver of the ball (long and straight) and he has been playing well recently.
I had a chat with him the night before about trying to remain calm and enjoying it. All the usual dad/son stuff, but he's a fiery guy (gets that from his mom) and he was adamant that he was going to win! I was probably more nervous than him.
The final was scheduled for 3pm and he was playing a guy I know, a really nice member, very laid back and relaxed, so I knew he'd be in good company. His friend was caddying for him and he had a few spectators, including my wife and father in law. I couldn't get away from work until 6pm, so I only got to see him coming down the 18th fairway, the match was all-square!
My wife had been texting me scores throughout the afternoon and it had been a close affair, but the last text I had was that he was two up after 14! So he must have lost a few holes and was now even playing the last. Tension!! The 18th is about 430 yards into a little breeze, it's a tough closing hole.
He hit a great drive (~250 yards) to the right side of the fairway and was 50 yards past his opponent, who had laid up short of the green in two. Cool as a cucumber, he proceeded to hit a mid-iron to the back of the green, pin high, about 25 feet. Jim chipped to about 15 feet, not bad, and then Seamus hit his putt aggressively and rolled by about 5 feet. Jim missed his putt but was down in 5 and Seamus then calmed rolled in the knee-knocker putt to WIN!!
Lots of high-fives, hugs, etc afterwards. Very proud parents. I've been lucky to win this tournament twice, but its been several years. It's so nice to get the family name engraved again by the next generation of IG. That's him with his friend and caddy Luke.
I had a chat with him the night before about trying to remain calm and enjoying it. All the usual dad/son stuff, but he's a fiery guy (gets that from his mom) and he was adamant that he was going to win! I was probably more nervous than him.
The final was scheduled for 3pm and he was playing a guy I know, a really nice member, very laid back and relaxed, so I knew he'd be in good company. His friend was caddying for him and he had a few spectators, including my wife and father in law. I couldn't get away from work until 6pm, so I only got to see him coming down the 18th fairway, the match was all-square!
My wife had been texting me scores throughout the afternoon and it had been a close affair, but the last text I had was that he was two up after 14! So he must have lost a few holes and was now even playing the last. Tension!! The 18th is about 430 yards into a little breeze, it's a tough closing hole.
He hit a great drive (~250 yards) to the right side of the fairway and was 50 yards past his opponent, who had laid up short of the green in two. Cool as a cucumber, he proceeded to hit a mid-iron to the back of the green, pin high, about 25 feet. Jim chipped to about 15 feet, not bad, and then Seamus hit his putt aggressively and rolled by about 5 feet. Jim missed his putt but was down in 5 and Seamus then calmed rolled in the knee-knocker putt to WIN!!
Lots of high-fives, hugs, etc afterwards. Very proud parents. I've been lucky to win this tournament twice, but its been several years. It's so nice to get the family name engraved again by the next generation of IG. That's him with his friend and caddy Luke.
