When HARRY’s BLUE team posted a 48-43 lead over VINCENT’s YELLOW team on the first day’s singles matches at Kings Links and then followed it up with a 13-10 GOLD shellacking at Mayfair Lakes, the BLUES started celebrating. HARRY’s BLUES had all the big guns firing on both days.
SIMON, always inspired when playing against EL CAPITAN, trounced the latter with a margin of 11-5. JOE manhandled RORY 8-2, and HARRY squeezed by the YELLOW’s captain VINCENT 9-8. Only two of the GOLD’s posted winning scores: BILL unexpectedly humbled the swashbuckling, long driving, relative rookie of the BLUES, JOHN, with a 9-2 margin. SHUBASH took a point from LU 8-7. HORANGI against BRAD and MILES against CHANG HJ split their matches evenly. Game ONE belonged to the BLUES 48-43.
In the TWO-BALL-BEST-BALL, the BLUE’s continued to steam roller their opponents taking 13 points against 10 and increased their leads to 61 against 53.
Unexpected contingencies forced the cancellation of the 2-ball match. Nearly down and out, the YELLOW team were down to the SINGLES matches at RIVERWAY last Thursday. At MacDonald the two opposing captains conferred before the CHAMPIONSHIP match to determine the pairings. It was almost an unthinkable and improbable situation for the YELLOW team. Out-manned on the last day of the RYDER CUP MATCH, what chances are there for such raucous and inspired BLUE team to surrender their lead?
There was only one thing in VINCENT’s mind: “The Americans led until the very last day.
Olazabal reminded his team that this version of the RYDER’S CUP was to be dedicated to the memory of SEVE BALLESTEROS. It may be unthinkable, improbable, but it is never impossible.”
And so, in a fashion as dramatic as the EUROPEAN’s comeback on the last day of the RYDER’s CUP, the GOLD TEAM (with a capital G, and no longer the YELLOWs) roared back like a two-storey tsunami and took the BLUES to the deep blue sea with their captain, VINCENT, taking 9-2 from LU. ERNIE out-duelled the BLUE’s captain KING KONG 8-4. RORY was tough against SIMON 6-5. CHANG found his A game to dispose of our top-ranked MILES 8-5. However, what was most intriguing, if not surprising is the complete annihilation of HORANGI by BRAD with a 10-5 margin.
Thus, the GOLD tsunami silenced and humbled the BLUES with an incredible 41-21 difference when all the GOLD’s took every single match on the last day in an amazing comeback pulling in 94 points against 82.
TWO CROWNS AT STAKE
On Thursday, we will conclude our “formal” season with two trophies at stake – the MASTERS and the UPS. The top 7 players in the UPS have a mathematical chance to win it all on this last day.
The latest UPS statistics show HORANGI leading JOE and CHANG. However, anyone of the top seven could wrestle the crown if they could put it all together at Mayfair Lakes.
At the same time, the 2nd and championship game of the MASTERS will also be hotly contested. The MASTERS leaderboard:
VINCENT – 66.7
CHANG HJ – 69.0
RORY – 69.7
ERNIE – 70.3
SIMON – 73.6
LU – 74.5
BRAD – 74.8
HARRY – 76.6
MILES – 77.3
JOHN – 80.2
HAN – 81.2
“You’ll never know” goes the saying and that may be quite possible with this colorful group. For instance, how could the UPS leader possibly be at the bottom of the MASTERS’ ladder?
We tee it off at MAYFAIR LAKES starting at 8:45 am. Lunch party will follow at a select venue to be announced after the game.
BIRDIE HUNTERS 