What a difference a day makes by Dave Winkle
I know we all know that in golf we have some up and down days but I don’t think I’ve ever played two such different games in two days before.
There was no clue to it when on day 1 I had an average game with Mick Wassall and we went down to Penny and Kev – Mick played better than I did but I wasn’t too bad and I don’t think we’d have won even if both of us were on top form as Kev and Mike gelled well – they always do.
So on day 2 when Cooker and I drew Charlie and Mike I thought it was a good chance for a ROW point if I gave Cooker enough support. But as it happened I didn’t give him any support at all – none, nip, nadder, nowt, nothing, not a sausage, buggar all !
Well not quite but close enough. I got three pars on 6, 15, and the one everyone saw on 18 which were all good enough for halves but Cooker had two of them covered anyway so my sole contribution to the match was a 12 foot put on 15 to keep us 1 up with 3 to play.
We won the match by one hole so if I’d have stayed in bed Cooker would have got a half by himself – quite a marvellous achievement for an 11 handicapper against two players of Charlie and Mike’s ability. And there were no gifts to us with both Charlie and Mike on good form, Charlie’s chipped in birdie on 5, was followed by Mike’s chip hitting the flag on 7 but not dropping for his par and I think overall the three of them couldn’t have been more than a couple over par between them. I conservatively estimate I shot somewhere around 120. I’ve certainly never played as poorly and got a point and whilst I’d like to thank Charlie for saying “Classic Winky” when I held my put to make my only contribution to the match I’d like to thank Cooker a lot more for giving me what I consider to be my first (and hopefully last) underserved point.
So then to Day 3, I dunno where it came from or why but today was gonna be my day…
I certainly wouldn’t have guessed it when Rob Walsh came up to me on the first tee whilst he was waiting to get off and said “What I like about you Wink is you always look like I feel in the mornings”. Thanks! I thought – especially as you’ve normally had 3 pints before I even get out of bed - but he was right, I was feeling pretty rough. I’d been to the pro-shop to buy nurofen to add to the gaviscon I’d bought the day before and I’d already had 2 of each and a couple of cigarettes to try and ease myself into a day which I knew if I played anything like I’d played the day before was going to bring me an inevitable loss.
In fact I was worried about the size of the loss which was about to be inflicted on me and my waining reputation as one of ROW’s best fighters going completely out of the window. Let’s face it, I’m never gonna be one of ROW’s best golfers but I can try as hard as anyone – and do. I think it was Bobby Blair who said to me at some point during the weekend “you used to be the one we all wanted to beat” to which I replied “and now you all have” so I was really worried about suffering a heavy defeat at the hands of Jamie whom I knew to be completely capable of doing so and basically approached the day in my mind by trying to make sure I wasn’t humiliated.
In fact from hole 1 I was counting down the score by which I was going to get beaten. After holing a tricky little left to right downhill 3 footer on 1 for a half in bogey I said to myself well that’s 10 & 8 out the window.
Then after Jamie missed a fairly inoquous 3 footer on 2 for par and the hole I made a great regulation birdie on the third to go one up and whilst waiting on the 4th tee I calculated the maximum I can lose by now was 8 and 6. Better than Griff I thought (who I remembered lost to Jamie 8 & 7 last year), and then wondered whether Griff was as poorly last year as I felt this and then assumed (knowing Griff) he was a lot poorlier so I took another couple of nurofen to try and shake it off.
Anyway, Jamie held from 12 foot on 4 for par so I picked up my 3 footer for bogey and we’re back to all square going down 5. To my (and everyone else’s) surprise I out-drove everyone to about 30 yards short of the green from where I get a gimme for par and go back to 1 up at 6. I recalculated 7 and 5 and was a bit disappointed by the speed at which the defeat was reducing.
Especially when I left my tee-shot short and in the shit on 6 but fortunately for me Jamie shanked his off to the right and in even more shite and we were both 3 off the tee. I found my first but it needed a drop and Jamie’s provi was on the green so we halved in double bogey. 7 and 8 were halved in bogies and then I was a little unlucky on 9 when three of us went into the valley off the right of the fairway and mine was the only one in trouble. After taking a couple to hack it out I hit another couple of poor shots and was on the bank short and right of the green in five. Jamie had got his to the back of the green in 3 so I knew my chip had to go in to have any chance of a half and would you believe it – it didn’t - but it would of done if the flag didn’t push it back out the side of the whole as it rolled past. Jamie won with double and we were back to all square at the turn. So after my first triple of the day things were now gonna go Pete Tong and the score was obviously gonna be 5 and 4 I thought.
Not so – after my drive rolled just off the right of the fairway into a light bit of rough I played my favourite shot of the day. It was by no means the best but it was certainly my favourite as I had my nephew and a few others as spectators. Whilst approaching the rough with driver in hand (one of 5 driver off deck shots hit during the day) I could see Robbie looking at me and shaking his head, young Morgan had a look of surprise on his face, and little Pete was smiling at me. But with spectators watching and ball at around shin height I took one practice and then smacked it… great connection and with a left to right fade (come slice) around the side of the bunker to just short of the green. Super shot! And I heard little Pete saying to Rob “only Dave could do that” as they began to walk up their fairway again and I hoped he would remind him of this repeatedly during their 4 hour trip back in the car. Anyway 3 puts was good enough to take the hole in bogey and I adjusted my losing score again to 4 and 3.
After spanking my drive on 11 straight at the black and white marker post without deviation but with some distance I think I received my best compliment of the weekend when Jamie said to me it was like playing against Griff all over again who he’d been beaten by the day before in the fourball. And I know Griff hit’s a much bigger ball than I do so thanks Jamie. After a bit of scrambling from there 11 was halved in bogey.
On 12 I put my tee shot to about 8ft just off the green at the back and Jamie stuck his to much the same place in 2 after putting his first in the valley short of the green. One gimme put each won me the whole in par and then we all spanked great drives off 13 into the middle of the fairway. Me first and my 87 yard (right next to sprinkler) chip and run shot was left about 12 yards short of the green with the pin about 12 foot on. Jamie puts his to about 15 or 20 foot right of the pin on the dance floor. I walk up to my ball and after a few minutes walking around I still wasn’t sure whether to chip or put the ball. Cooker pulls up in the buggy and I ask him which I should do hoping he would give me a confident answer that I could draw strength from. Almost immediately he said “Putt it” in his deep powerful voice so I’d got what I wanted and put my 50 foot ish put to 6 inches to get my third and last gimme par of the day. Jamie’s 2 puts meant we halved the whole and after halving 14 in bogeys I was 2 up with 4 to play.
As we walked off the 14th I thought well at least I’ve taken him down the last but by the time we’d got over the bridge to the 15th tee it had occurred to me for the first time today that I might actually win…
And then I played my worst hole of the day with poor drive, poor 5 wood and poor 8 iron chip and run still leaving me short of the green and eventually giving Jamie a 2 footer for bogey as I’d just missed one for double. So back to 1 up with 3 to play but I was now not thinking of losing and I wanted to get the job done before going down the last as my record there speaks for itself. Before this weekend I’d reached the last hole 12 times out of 28 and only winning two of them. And other than the 20 footer I held against Jamie and Mike Whiteside on the last in Newquay the other two halves I got were full points lost on the last.
So after Jamie puts his in the rough on the left I put mine in the rough on the right. Jamie was then a bit unlucky as he got underneath his ball with a wood and only hit it about 100 yards into the ditch. I took three wood and stuck it into the bank at the front of the green. After a good chip I missed my put for par but still won the hole with bogey so was now going down 17 dormy two.
I still didn’t want to go down the last but for the first time of the day I played percentage thinking I’ll stay short and go for the certain 4 and force Jamie to par it to win. It worked in a roundabout sort of way although I think Jamie will be pretty disappointed with his first put as he knocked it about 15 foot past from 20 foot on the other side.
So match won with halves in bogey and the usual handshakes and genuine niceties that we all feel for each other. Penny said it was the best he’d ever seen me negotiate my way round a golf course and I said to Jamie that I thought it was the best I’d ever played in the Wyder - although on reflection (and after writing this) I think the previous time I met Jamie in the singles was better even though I lost.
On that occasion at Old Thorns having played like a muppet for eight holes to let Jamie go 4 up I finished the last ten holes 4 over par and had I been playing anyone else I think I would have scored a point on that day. But Jamie being Jamie he chipped in on 13 for birdie to go back to three up and held a put from the bottom ti
of 15 for par to stay two up and held his nerve on 18 after seeing me play a 1 in 100 shot to the green from all sorts of shite when he must have expected game over to win by one hole.
On this occasion I shot my handicap which although not bad on a course like Tenby is nothing really to write home about.
Even though I just have :-)
Excellent game again Jamie, you really do bring the best out of me. You’re a smashing fella and I really hope you make it next year and all future years – it wouldn’t be the same without you mate.
Thanks to Barry Frayne for helping us out for all three days. A deserved winner of the Sportsman of the Year Trophy.
Well done Rob Walsh for taking 3 out of 3 and winning Player of the Tournament – well done Superstar and Morgan for also taking 3 out of 3.
Well done Robbie and Morgan for going round together in level par and well done Morg for winning the toughest match out there.
Unlucky Daz – we can’t win em all !
Sorry to Spence for making him think he can’t run a fair book - I won’t get involved in rules ever again.
Good luck to Dave Silvester and Charlie Longbottom for next year. I have to say I’m a little more jealous of the kiss this time (although I’m sure if I ask Charlie nicely enough, he’ll give me one anyway – and a kiss :-)
And finally, Congratulations to Mike Jeffries and the rest of the Long Marston team for winning the Wyder Cup for the 5th time.
Dave Winkle
2010 ROW Winning Captain