2008 SHELL'S WONDERFUL WORLD OF GOLF
JEFE VERSUS JIMBO
ARCADIA BLUFFS GOLF CLUB
14th Hole: Par 4, 340 yards
YouTube version:
The 14th at Arcadia is a pretty ho-hum, short par 4. The fairway is super tight. And at 340 yards, it's not a hole that you can try to go at. It would probably be a better hole if it were 30-40 yards shorter, daring the long-hitter to go after the green.
Instead, we get Jefe hitting 3-wood way off to the right. He's definitely got the post-shot body english down pact. We've seen a little bit of everything. On the other hand, Jimbo continues lacing it right down the middle. How boring. Where's his sense of adventure?
It looked like Jimbo was in cruise control after hitting his short-iron approach on the green, only to be bamboozled by the false front. His ball rolled off the surface and a good 20-25 yards back down the fairway. A lackluster chip left him with 25 feet for remaining, and left the door open for Jefe.
It certainly didn't appear that Jefe was going to take advantage. From the side of the faux dunes off his drive, he left his approach about 25 yards short of the green. He took a drop (reason still unknown...David Fay couldn't make it for the match at the last minute), but that didn't help much since his next shot still didn't reach the putting surface. But staying true to his bad shot-bad shot-good shot routine that somehow seems to work for him, he followed it up with a chip to gimme range. Jimbo's par attempt never had a chance, and both players walked away with bogey. After a see-saw first 11 holes, we have three halves in a row.
Jefe: Historically a tough hole for me due to its tightness. I hit 3 wood for accuracy and put it in a mound, and with Jimbo in the fairway I was feeling the match get away from me. I had a horrendous lie and managed to get the ball short of the green, but with a hairy lie I flubbed another chip before getting my fourth close.
Jimbo: I hit a short but straight drive at the 14th, which is all you really need on this narrow hole. I had 8 iron up the hill and into the wind. I caught it thin, but watched the ball jump onto the front of the green and curl over the ridge. Or so I thought. Walking up to the green, I noticed my ball had come back off the false front some 30 yards and was now resting in the fairway. This entire episode was similar to watching Wego sing on Rockband; very unsettling and very, very wrong. I couldn't get comfortable over the ball and hit probably my weakest chip of the morning. My par putt from some 40 feet never got there and I walked away from 14 with a bogey, when I thought at worst I would make a par.
After 14 Holes: Jimbo +7; Jefe +8
