Victory
Into the quarter finals of the summer seven day knockout after an excellent 2&1 win over a guy I was giving six shots to (18 vs 24 course handicap). Thankfully I picked up where I left off yesterday and played my best golf in ages, needed to as well as my opponent got off to an electric start (net 4 under through three!).
1st: Played it safe with an iron off the tee looking to make no worse than bogey. Opponent bombs a drive down the left, thought it may have gone OB but it stays in. They knock their second inside 6ft and make par. I'd made bogey as planned, 1DN.
2nd: Longest par 4, SI 5. Opponent on in two, makes comfortable 4 net 3. I'm stranded making 5, 2DN.
3rd hole halved in pars. 4th par 3, opponent leaks their tee shot right of green. I hit a nice 5i to the middle and get one back with a par, 1DN.
5th hole: Stroke index 1, long par 5 lined with water both sides. I get a good drive away and opponent pulls one left onto the 17th of the other course. I play the rest of the hole without error to win, back to AS.
6th I win with par after making a great up and down from 40ft or so. 7th I'm giving away a shot, decide to play safe with an iron off the tee and play it as a three shoter like the first, which I do. Opponent hits a great drive but then puts his second left of the green in the long stuff. To my amazement he finds it and gets on the green close to the hole for 4 net 3. I hole a lovely put up the slope from around 12ft for par, hole halved. I then win the 8th and 9th thanks to some wayward shots from my opponent. 3 up at the turn.
10th halved in pars. 11th lost after I can't find my second shot to green in time. Of course I find it just after 3 minutes while my opponent finishes off. Wouldn't have mattered as they'd made 4 net 3. 12th halved with a little scruffy play from both of us. Par 3 13th I win with bogey after opponent puts their tee shot in the drink. I'd found the greenside bunker. 14th giving away a shot and I lose after a poor tee shot sees me having to chip out onto the fairway. 15th I win in a mirror of the 13th hole.
At this point I'm three up with three to play. Comfortable you'd think but giving away a shot on 17, the scene of many a blow up in the past, and with the tricky 18th to come I wasn't about to get complacent.
16: A short par 4 playing into wind which had really got up throughout the round. I hit a solid 5i to the fat part of the fairway. Opponent pulls driver! Hits a good one leaving a wedge in. I hit a 3/4 8i to the middle of the green, couldn't have hit it better to put the pressure on. Opponent hits a worldy to 5ft. I hit good putt to secure par, opponent knocks theirs in for birdie. Back to 2 up, two to play.
17: another short par four which plays parallel to the 16th. OB right and water left. Stunned to see my opponent pull driver given they were getting a shot. Sends it straight down the middle lake separating the two holes. Neither of us see it down. I knock a nervy 6i into the middle of the fairway. Opponent plays a provisional from in front of the lake where their tee shot crossed, thought they'd put this one wet but turns out it ended up left of the green just short of trouble. I knock a PW to the front of the green, middle flag. No sign of my opponents first ball and in the confusion of working out how many they were there for nett I thought I had three putts for the win. Luckily I hit a great first put up the slope to tap in range as we then worked out that they were in place for 3 nett 2, which meant they had a chance to chip in and take it up the last. They hit a great chip which was right on line but thankfully it grabbed in the fringe and came up short!
2 & 1 victory secured. I was nottionally 4 under nett at that point to give you an idea of how well I'd played
. Did drive one close to 300y on the fifth, downwind and extremely firm fairway 
