If you're not a golfer, you might want to skip this cause it's about golf. Lots of golf. Lots of golf that came down to one putt on 18. Lots of golf that came down to one putt on 18 and I was right there when it happened.
What a fantastic tournament this year. In the final round, we had 5 golfers at 20 under with the leaders still on 15. Ryan Palmer nearly drains a 40 foot put for Eagle on 18, which would have put him at minus 22. He hit it to the lip of the cup...and it stopped. I thought the crowd noise would have pushed it in, but nope, it wasn't to be. Palmer finishes at 21 under for the tournament. I think we had 3 guys in the clubhouse tied at 20 when this happened. Talk about disappoinment.
The last group is Fred Funk, of the Ryder Cup team, and Chris Couch, who has to win to keep his card. Couch has had a great tournament, but is not going to win. Fred, on the other hand, birdies 16 to tie Palmer at minus 21, and then pars 17. He hits a great drive then flies the green on his second shot. This takes balls, in my opinion, and not the golf kind. There is water directly in front of the 18th green and quite a few guys had landed in it. Not Fred.
His putt for eagle falls about 4 feet short, so he's still got a putt for birdie, which'll put him at 22 under and clinch the win. Couch putts out and now it's all Fred. To say this was exciting is an understatment. Of course, Fred sinks it and becomes the second two-time winner of the Southern Farm Bureau Classic.
The exciting part for me was that I was almost right on top of the finish. I was doing ShotLink on the 18th green and got to see all of it up close and personal. Not only that, I was on the green for the check and trophy presentation, and was also able to get Fred's autograph. All in all, my friends, it was a truly excellent golf weekend.
That is truly awesome!
Posted at October 5, 2004 11:05 AM