2008 SHELL'S WONDERFUL WORLD OF GOLF
JEFE VERSUS JIMBO
ARCADIA BLUFFS GOLF CLUB
10th Hole: Par 4, 424 yards
YouTube version:
Holes 10-13 are probably the Amen Corner of Arcadia Bluffs. After a pretty ho-hum 9th, the course gets interesting to start the back.
The fairway is partially blind on the 10th...the correct line is over an aiming stick on top of the mound guarding the right 80% of the fairway. Jefe's needs a lot more than an aiming stick to find the fairway on this day...if golf only had an equivalent to bumper bowling. His drive started a little right of the stick, then drifted further right. Contrast that with Jimbo...who hit one right over the stick with a little fade.
Part of me thinks Jimbo expected that John Solheim would stumble across this match on YouTube and offer him a sponsorship deal. How many times can one golfer use a hybrid in one round? This has to be some kind of record. Jimbo hit it right at the flag (thanks to his Ping G10 hybrid) but left it a bit short (thanks to his 75 mph swing speed) and on the upslope fronting the green. All in all, it's not a bad place to leave it. You want nothing to do with the front left bunker. Unfortunately, Jimbo followed it up with a very pedestrian putt from the turf, leaving it six-feet long and left on what should've been a routine up and down.
Meanwhile, Jefe continued his trademark style of living on the edge (Titleist and Callaway disavowed any knowledge of manufacturing Jefe's clubs). His drive did come down off the mounds a little bit so he was only in the rough. Then he missed the green to the right, short-siding himself to the second worst place you want to be on this hole. Jefe hit a remarkable chip shot that landed on the fringe and trickled down, and he got the best that he could hope for from that spot, running it six feet past.
Dueling six footers can make or break a match. Jimbo was away and made a clutch par save. Jefe risked another MOB violation, but this one was center cut all the way. That put the pressure squarely of Jefe's shoulders, and we've seen what pressure can do to a putting stroke. Jefe yanked it a little bit and it slid by wide left. It's all tied up after 10!
Jefe: I hit a little bit of a better drive on 10, still right but in a position where I could go for the green. Knowing this was a very tough hole with a lot of trouble and a nasty bunker in front I just wanted to give myself a decent shot at par. I hit a good six iron but it drifted right a little and I was short sided. I hit a really good chip, landing it in the fringe like I was trying to and the ball scooted about 5 feet past. I was pretty surprised when the ball did not drop for a par but I did tug it a bit.
Jimbo: I faded a drive directly over the directional pole to start the back nine of Shell's Wonderful World of Golf. My ball was in the fairway but I still had something like 190 off a downhill lie, with the menacing 10th greenside bunker on the left, guarding the pin. I tried to run a shot up onto the green but didn't make it to the top of the false front. Jefe was in a similar position, just off to my right in two. I made a pretty decent chip but the ball wandered away just a bit from the hole. I made a solid putt for par and then watched Jefe shockingly miss his par putt of similar length.
After 10 Holes: Jefe +5; Jimbo +5
