2008 SHELL'S WONDERFUL WORLD OF GOLF
JEFE VERSUS JIMBO
ARCADIA BLUFFS GOLF CLUB
16th Hole: Par 4, 459 yards
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The 16th tee sits right next to the clubhouse. There was a swarm of people around the carts, getting ready for their 5 1/2 hour adventure. One guy saw me riding on the back of the cart, and when I walked by, he asked, 'So you're not playing?' I immediately said, 'No', but the voice inside my head was telling me to say, 'Dude, I have a video camera in one hand and I'm wearing a headcover on the other...what does it look like I'm doing?'
While riding over to the tee, I realized that we needed to have some kind of trophy presentation on the 18th green. So I figured I would go into the pro shop and see if they had any hardware that would make a good Wannamaker wannabe. About half way up the stairs, I realized that trying to explain exactly why I needed to borrow a trophy would be difficult to do, and when I entered the pro shop and didn't see the guy who helped us out the night before, I knew right away that I would have to quickly figure out a Plan B. And that's when it hit me. I looked across the room and saw this stupid 10-inch aluminum candle holder that was a decorative item in the pro shop. It was perfect, albeit a little on the small side. Hey, every two years the Americans and Euros duke it out over a tiny little Ryder Cup for nothing more than bragging rights and nationalistic (or contentinalistic) pride. What's wrong with a little metal candle holder and family bragging rights?
It was at this point when I realized that explaining the trophy thing would've been a million times easier than trying to explain why I needed to borrow a decorative candle holder. So I did what any red-blooded, middle-aged American male would do in the situation...I shoved it in my pocket. And yes, Mom, I put it back where I found it after the round. After all, my iPhone had been sitting in the pro shop charging up all morning unnoticed...I don't think the candle holder would be missed over the next 45 minutes or so. And that's the story of how the Colton Cup was born.
Being the great friends that they are, Jefe and Jimbo waited for me to resurface from the clubhouse heist, so I wouldn't miss any of the action (plus, I had to change tapes so there was quite a delay). The 16th is one of the better par 4's on the course, a long, downhill par 4 with a huge fairway but well-protected green with nasty bunkers down the right side. The long wait didn't impact Jimbo, as he hit one down the right side of the fairway (but again well back.) And in an amazing turn of events, Jefe turned into Calvin Peete, finding his second fairway in a row, a good 20 yards past Jimbo.
Playing with the Tang brothers, you see and hear just about everything. They are perhaps best known for their post-shot moans and groans. Jimbo is best known for his patented 'God...Bless America' after an especially bad shot. Jefe's made a living on groans and body language, mixed in with an occasional club throw. Both players hit groaners for their second shot...Jimbo leaving it out to the left and well short of the green, and Jefe pushing another shot from the fairway right, this time into the greenside bunker.
Jimbo then hit what initially looked to be an excellent chip, starting it well short of the green and letting it roll up. However, it kept rolling and rolling past the hole, than rolled further down the slope to the next tier beyond the flag. A two-putt would be no bargain from there.
Jefe had a very delicate shot from the bunker, and if Lanny Wadkins were with me instead of Bernie, he definitely would've said, 'He'd tried to get too cute with that one, Jim' (just about the only thing Lanny ever said in his 3-4 years in the booth) after Jefe advanced his ball about half-way to the green. Instead, all we got was a 'Hah-Ha!' from Bernie. Remarkably, Jefe again followed up a horrible chip with an excellent one, nearly holing it out for par, but running it about 3 1/2 feet by. Dare I say that Jefe is one of the 10 best second-chip chippers in the game today, which is a backhanded compliment if there ever was one.
With a two-stroke lead, Jimbo didn't need to get cute with anything, so he cozied his lag putt up the ridge to about 2 feet short of the hole. Nothing wrong with bogey here. He shrewdly putted-in first to put the pressure on Jefe. Jefe made the crucial up-up-and-down to salvage bogey to still give himself a chance with two holes left.
Jefe: I did just what I wanted to do, hit a bomb down the left side that funneled right a little. With Jimbo way back and with not a good angle I thought that I could get a stroke back here. Of course, though, I pushed my second right, the one spot you can't go on this hole. Far below the green's level and in the sand I was just trying to get it on the green and make bogey. I chunked it, but the lie for my fourth was very good, the ball was sitting up and I was able to hit a chip that I thought for a second had a chance of going in. From here I knew I had to make every makeable putt or the match would be over, and I managed to get the bogey putt in.
Jimbo: Jefe bombed yet another drive down the left side of the fairway while my drive was further left. The second shot at 16 is one of the more intimidating shots at Arcadia. The one place you cannot be is short and right, as deep bunkers can be found there. I tried to fade a five wood into the green but pulled it left and found myself with a difficult chip down to the green. Two large humps just short of the green complicated matters. I actually executed my chip just like I wanted to, but watched the ball roll down the slope and to the back of the green. Good execution, bad plan. Two putts later and I had yet another bogey. Meanwhile, Jefe got stuck down underneath the bunker on the right and made a remarkable bogey.
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After 16 Holes: Jimbo +7; Jefe +9
