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2004-2005 Match Play Championships
Final Match:
Chani Sawhney vs. Anees Ahmed - Anees defeats Chani 1 Up ---
details to follow
Semi Final matches:
- Tony Judge vs. Chani Sawhney - This was a match you just
knew was going to come down to the final holes. Tony was giving Chani one
stroke and the way Chani has been knocking opponents off, this was going
to be his toughest match as he was not getting a huge advantage against a
tough competitor who keeps coming back. So the battle was held at the
Bridges where the early advantage went to Chani as he had took the lead
after the first nine holes. He extended the lead to 4 up through 12 holes
and it looked very bleak for Tony. But then the bulldog started fighting.
He exchanged bites with Chani and fought his way back to one down going
into the final two holes. When Chani found trouble on the par 5, Tony had
a chance to square up the match. With the cheeks getting tight and facing
a long putt for PAR, Tony's ball came to rest 10 feet away. Chani got his
5th shot within 6 feet, but it was no gimmee. Tony had to make the putt to
have a chance and that was too much to ask as he blew his putt well by the
hole and then missed the one coming back...........so let's count.....1,
2, 3, 4 putt .........Chani made his putt to close out the match on
17..........4 putt to lose the hole............not the bulldog we know,
but then again, not everyone can take a bite out of a GIANT
KILLER>>>>>>>>>>>.Chani advances to the final!!!!!.........Congrats
Chani!!! - Chani advances to Final 2 & 1
- Raj Gautam vs. Anees Ahmed - This uneven match was also held at
the Bridges as they played with TONY & CHANI. In this match, Raj was
giving Anees 24 strokes..........that means on the 6 toughest holes Anees
got two strokes from El Presidente. So let the fun begin. Hole # 1, Raj is
on the green in two and two putts for Par.......Anees is on the green in
two and two putts for par, but he strokes........Raj is down 1......Hole
#2 Raj is on the green in three and two putts for bogey........Anees is on
the green in three and two putts for bogey......but he gets two
strokes........Raj is two down.........then Raj is three down.........then
Raj is four down.........then Raj is 5 down...........are you getting an
idea that Raj was in trouble............well not so fast..........so he
gets it to 3 down at the turn and is making a strong comeback.......till
he starts the back nine............well we won't make him go through the
pain again and simply tell you the obvious...........ANEES
rules!!!!!............Raj had no chance as Anees was knocking them down
the middle with his driver, getting them close with his irons, and sinking
them from everywhere with his putter. Raj was not falling apart by any
means.........he ended up shooting an 82, but he felt like he had shot a
100 as he was NEVER in the match. ANEES advances...............Congrats
Anees and nice representation of the Poppy Flight. -
Anees advances to Final 5 & 4
Round 3 matches:
- Vishal Wadhwa vs. Chani Sawhney -
This match took place at Cinnabar Hills. The weather was gorgeous and the
conditions ideal as Vishal took on the giant killer Chani. Chani's
consistency had knocked of many of our top seeds and Vishal was well aware
of the dangers that lurked. Vishal came out on fire and kept Chani off his
back for the first 9 holes on the Mountain course as they made the turn
with Vishal 2 up. The Lake course awaited which started out with a Par 5
and a Par 3. On both of these holes Chani did not get a stroke so things
were looking bleak for Chani. If you've played with Vishal, you know his
ability to hit it long and make Par 5's into Par 4's. It was no different
on the Lake course as he reached next to the bunker in 2, chipped on in 3.
This would put Vishal 3 up..........but, the golf demons
struck.........Vishal 4 putted the hole........that is correct.! ......HE
4 PUTTED!!!!!.........putting Chani back in the match only 1 down. Onto
the Par 3........Vishal hit his tee shot into the bunker and blasted out
onto the green.......from there, HE 3 PUTTED.......to once again give the
hole to Chani (without a stroke). The match was even and Chani stroked 4
of the next 7 holes.......UH, OH!!!!.........Chani started to take control
on the very next hole as he went 1 up. He then went 2 up on the next
hole.........UH, OH!!!!..........Chani was able to keep Vishal two down
with 2 to go. But, then the brilliance of Chani showed up on the short Par
3 8th hole. With a stroke on the hole, he decided NOT to go for the hole,
but rather bail out on the right, chip on and two put for a net Par. The
only way for Vishal to win was to hit it close and nail a birdie.......a
tough task on that hole. He did hit it on the green, but could not make
the birdie putt and the match ended on the 17th hole
- Chani advances
2 & 1
- Naresh Kapahi vs. Tony Judge - When
two bulldogs meet you can expect a bullfight and that is exactly what took
place at Wente last Sunday. At a neutral site, Naresh and Tony began the
battle on hole #6 during a shotgun. From the start Tony took the lead, but
would soon find himself even with Naresh as nobody was going to run away
from the other. Back and forth all the way around, BUT Tony never lost the
lead. As they made the turn and headed to hole #1 (their hole 13) Tony was
2 up with 6 to go. While Naresh is always tough and always in the game,
try as he might, he was unable to make a run at Tony for the last 6 holes.
Bottom line is that given the tough competitors, there was no way that
either was going to find a way to LOSE the match, the other would have to
win it.......at the end of the day, there were no major events or
highlights other than the tough match that was expected from our two t! op
bulldogs.........and the "upsets" continued as once again the higher
handicap player advanced as TONY ADVANCES to the semi-final
- Tony advances 2 &
1
- Abi Karigudduaiah vs. Anees Ahmed -
The match was played at the Bridges on 12 Feb. Abi giving Anees 4
strokes....The match started with Abi faltering at the start with a couple
of OB's and drives in woods....Anees goes 2 up in the first 2
holes....after that Abi stabilizes his game and recovers to level the
match after the 9th hole. The back 9 was Anees' all the way. He was 3 up
by the 14th and 2 stroke holes coming up.. Match ended on the 16th with
Anees 4 up and 2 to go. Both players matched bad putting for bad
putting....3 putting most of the time - Anees
advances 4 & 2
Round 3 Bye - Raj Gautam
Pebble Flight Round
2 matches:
- Nirav Agrawal vs. Chani Sawhney -
Our
Match Play defending Champion knew he was not going to have an easy time
of it with Chani The Terminator at Coyote Creek Golf Club. Chani had
gotten strong press from his first match against Shant and the word was
out to "look out for Chani, his slices go right down the middle". Having
to give Chani 13 strokes was a daunting task for Nirav. He found himself
down 3 after the first 3 holes. He tried to battle back by chipping away
hole by hole and got himself to 1 down after 13 holes. Unfortunately for
Nirav, Chani strokes on the last 5 holes.........and his slices were going
"right down the middle". With Chani playing for bogey every hole, Nirav
had to go for birdies. And to make birdies on the last 5 holes at Coyote
is an impossible goal. Chani sliced Nirav for the next few holes and took
on the title of THE Terminator as he knocked off the defending champion
after 16 holes and wrote in his update to me "FEAR THE DEFENDING CHAMPION
NO MORE"...Chani
advances 3 & 2
- Pradeep Bakshi vs. Tony Judge -
This was almost the match of the Match Play Championship (and therefore
gets the best media coverage)...........Mr. Talent vs. The Top
Bulldog................Mr. Talent was conceeding 10 strokes to Tony and
the venue was a neutral site of Coyote Creek.......EVEN THOUGH Tony tried
to BRIBE Mr. Talent to come to his home course RUBY HILLS by accepting
FEWER STROKES (Have you ever heard of anything like that......Tony,
c'mon!!!!) Well, Mr. Talent would have none of that and knew that if he
won under those conditions he would be deemed a weak competitor. So the
match was on at Coyote. And before the Bulldog knew it, he was 4 down (he
was definitely feeling the jet lag blues from returning from India a few
days before). With little hope in sight and some short holes coming, this
match was close to ending at the turn. But, Mr. Talent twitched and lost
the next hole, but was still three up at the turn......but then he lost on
the short par 4 278 yard hole to a birdie by the Bulldog.........uh,
oh.....2 up 7 to go..........and then Mr. Talent flew the green on the Par
3 14th with Bulldog getting a stroke .......uh, oh.....one up 4 to go with
3 of the next 4 holes being stroke holes.............on the tough Par 4 16
into the wind Mr. Talent misses the green again and the Bulldog pitches
from well off the green to 15 feet and drains the putt for a
PAR!!!!......uh, oh....all square going into 17...........a Par 5 with a
stroke...........uh, oh.......they both PAR....but the stroke
matter......uh, oh.....Mr. Talent is ONE DOWN.....ONE TO GO........The
Bulldog twitches....he's so excited....he drives into the water........Mr.
Talent gains confidence and booms one down the middle. Bulldog takes a
drop and hits onto the green but is 40 feet away.....guaranteed minimum
two putt for a 6. Mr. Talent is in the middle of the fairway, only 140
yards out with plenty of green to play with. All he has to do is hit on
the green, or around the green, and either two putt or chip on and two
putt and the match will go to a playoff (where Mr. Talent can shine and
recover). So, how confident is Mr. Talent that he will take this hole and
force the playoff.........THIS CONFIDENT.......He picks up his cell
phone.....BEFORE COMPLETING THE HOLE....HE'S STILL IN THE FAIRWAY WAITING
TO HIT HIS SECOND SHOT......and dials the Tournament Chairman's number
(that is me) to ask HOW SHOULD THEY PROCEED IF THE MATCH ENDS IN A TIE?
How do I know he did this from the fairway????....because I was not
available to take the call and so he had to leave me a message that says
"I'm in the fairway, about to hit my second, Tony is in the water and on
the green in 4, so I'll win this hole so call me back to let us know how
to proceed in the playoff, what do we do????? UH, OH............the
cardinal sin of golf has just occurred........he is not thinking one shot
at a time......he is thinking Playoff in the bag......UH, OH!!!! MEMBERS,
YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED NEXT, RIGHT????............Mr. Talent hangs up the
phone and proceeds to hit (you could almost say the "S" word....SHANK) his
8 iron to the right of the green AND INTO THE WATER........OH, MY
GOD!!!!!............HE HITS INTO THE WATER!!!!!!........Mr. Talent must
now drop and hit 4 onto the green, two putt and get his 6 while The Top
Bulldog is watching this Choke job happen right before his very eyes. Top
Bulldog calmly two putts from 40 feet for his 6 to HALVE THE HOLE AND
CLOSE OUT MR. TALENT 1 UP FOR THE MATCH........OH, MY GOD!!!!! I CAN'T SAY
ANYMORE other than to inform the membership that the IAGA committee has
met and reviewed the events that occurred in this match and have
determined for such GROSS NEGLIGENCE, Mr. Talent, who was our Club
Champion, MUST RETURN THE MAHARAJAH TROPHY AND HIS PICTURE WILL BE REMOVED
FROM OUR WEBSITE...Tony
advances 1 up
- Arif Janjua vs. Naresh Kapahi
- Naresh started off in pure bulldog fashion
and took the lead on the very first hole. He built that lead to three up
after 7 holes. Arif was shooting lights out with his driver and iron, but
could not find the hole on the green with his putter. You could almost say
he had a case of the "YIPS".......that is the disease that eventually
drove Johnny Miller out of the game........not to say that it will affect
Arif in the same way. But when you are missing two footers for ties or
wins all day, it could drain you mentally.........and the bulldog kept
biting away...........Arif got it down to 1 up after 9 and thought he had
a chance. But, the key stroke of the match came when Naresh refused to
concede an 18" downhill slider putt to Arif.............AN 18" putt WAS
NOT CONCEDED>>>>>DID YOU READ THAT????>>>>>WHAT A
BULLDOG!!!!!.........well, you know what happened. With Arif in mental
mush on the short putts, he MISSED it............it was a formality after
that........Naresh won the next few holes and the match ended with Bulldog
#1 winning 3 up with 1 to go...............NARESH ADVANCES (after not
conceeding a 18" putt........WOW!!!!) See you on the putting green
ARIF!!!!...Naresh advances 3 & 1
- Vineet Sharma vs. Vishal Wadhwa -
So it all started with this first match as Vineet the Evil brought his "A"
game to Coyote Creek to face off against Vishal and his self proclaimed
prowess of his game since he learned to hit his driver down the middle.
Vishal was getting three strokes. It was a classic battle from the first
hole as Vishal claimed an early 2 up lead after 4 holes. Vineet settled
down and evened the match after 7. Vishal once again got it to two up
after 9. Vineet battled back and took a 1 up lead after 13 which Vishal
quickly evened after 14. The battle was on as Vishal took a one up lead
after his stroke hole on 16. With both only 100 yards from the green on
17, the choking started. Vineet hit in the bunker, while Vishal hit into
the water. It required a miracle chip from across the water to "gimmee"
range from Vishal to half the hole, which he did. This led to a dramatic
finish with Vishal in the greenside bunker in two and Vineet safely on the
green. Another amazing bunker blast to within 2 feet from Vishal to secure
his par ended any chances for the Evil one and sent him home defeated ... Vishal advances 1 up
- Tochi Matharu vs. Raj Gautam -
This match
had revenge written all over it.........this was a much anticipated 2
round replay of the match play championship from last year. You will
recall that last year the match play was based upon Net Stroke play, not
hole by hole. A controversial ruling at Hiddenbrooke resulted in El
Presidente taking a 13 on hole #12 and knocking him out last year.
Although Tochi did give El Presidente a rematch to try to knock him out
before officially declaring himself as the one to advance, El Presidente
was not up to the task. In our true match play format, one hole was not
going to knock anyone out..........consistent play is rewarded. So the
stage was set at Coyote Creek with El Presidente getting one stroke from
Tochi. This again was a classic battle of back and forth. Raj was
determined to enact revenge but got off to a shaky start with two down
after the first two holes. He battled back with a furious charge to make
the turn two up. Tochi was not going to roll over and fold as he came
back on and closed the gap through 13 and it stayed 1 up through 15. 16
was the turning point as El Presidente makes a clutch par while Tochi
finds the hazard and loses the hole to be dormey after 16. It still
wasn't over as El Presidente choked the drive near the OB fence. His drop
left him hoping for a miracle or a major collapse from Tochi. Tochi did
not fold and won the hole. One up with one to go for El Presidente. Both
knock the drives down the middle. Tochi hit short of the green, while El
Presidente hit a smooth 8 iron to within 5 feet to close out the
match...El Presidente GETS REVENGE!!!! ... Raj advances 2 up
Poppy Flight Round 2 matches:
- Ranjan Bhasin vs. Anees Ahmed -
There were odds on this match ending by the 15th hole as Ranjan was giving
Anees 9 strokes which many felt was not enough. After watching Anees hit
his drive off the first tee at the Bridges GC, Ranjan knew he was in
trouble. Down the middle, on the green in two, two putt for Par.........Ranjan
one down. After the 2nd hole, two down. Ranjan settled down after the next
few holes and they made the turn with Anees taking a two up lead into the
back nine. The battle was back and forth through hole #15 with Anees
maintaining a 2 hole advantage. Three holes to go and Anees strokes on
all.......Ranjan worried??? Yes!!!!........But on a tough hole 16, Ranjan
closes the gap with a win and is only 1 down with 2 to go. Par 5 17th,
Ranjan in the middle of the fairway....Anees in the middle of the fairway.
2nd shot, Ranjan crosses the ravine to the middle of the fairway 120 yards
to the green. Anees hits into the ravine and must drop with a penalty.
Anees hits his third shot onto the hillside with bushes around and it's
muddy. He finds the ball. He is 150 yards away hitting his fourth shot.
Ranjan confidently waits to hit looking to even the match and go into 18
all square. Anees takes lessons from Vishal Wadhwa's miracle on 17 vs. the
Evil one and nails his shot to within 3 feet of the pin. As Ranjan watches
with his mouth open, the words coming out of his mouth said "If he makes
the putt, that will be a 6 net 5.....I need to birdie this hole to win".
There were some other words mixed in there that are not appropriate for
this update......Needless to say, the pressure and the likelihood of
Ranjan making a birdie, regardless of the situation, were slim and none
and he proceeded to hit his third into the hazard....he did the same with
his 5 shot.......and his 7th shot........and took a smooth 10 on a hole he
needed a birdie on ...
Anees advances 3 & 2
- Viraj Dixit vs. Abi Karigudduaiah -
The Poppy
flight's second match was expected to be a strong battle between two
closely matched players. This match took place at Sunol Golf Course.
This is where Viraj had good success in his first match and even drove the
green on one of the Par 4's and was looking to repeat the feat with Abi.
Abi was up for the challenge. The match started of in Abi's favor with
him going up 2 holes by the third hole. Now in all fairness, Viraj was
apparently under the weather for the match, but committed to
completing........being two down after 3 probably didn't make him feel any
better. But he was a tough match for Abi as he fought back and took the
match to even by the 5th. As they made the turn, Abi was only one up.
Viraj started his collapse at this point as he proceeded to lose 3 of the
next 4 holes. This put him 4 down with 3 to play and sent Abi onto Round
# 3 to face Anees Ahmed ...
Abi advances 4 & 3
Pebble Flight Round 1 Matches:
- Pradeep Bakshi vs. Brandon Cortijo
- Took place at the home course of our Club Champion.....Pradeep (Mr.
Talent) Bakshi vs. Brandon Cortijo..............how Brandon agreed to play
Pradeep on a course that has 5 par 5's will always be a mystery, but
nonetheless, the match was on. Brandon was getting 14 strokes, but the
news was bad from the start as on the first tee, Brandon was hitting 5
after two slices into the stuff. Before he could wipe off his clubs, he
found himself 2 down. He valiantly battled back through the first 6 holes,
but soon ran into Mr. Talent's strong holes and it was over. Brandon's
driving found the fairway often, but his short game abandoned him and
Pradeep took Brandon down 6 up with 5 to go...........the worst beating of
an underdog to date.............but then again, it was Brandon's first
match play event and given the progress he has made in the past two years,
he will be a force to be dealt with in 2006...Pradeep
advances 6 & 5
- Arif Janjua vs. Sandeep Bhasin -
Match took place at the Bridges Golf Club. Now Arif had a number of things
against him...giving up over 12 strokes, playing at Sandy's home course,
and the winds were howling. As the match progressed through the difficult
first 6 holes, it went something like this...Sandy one down, two down,
three down, four down, five down...after 6. Arif was smelling blood and
ready to finish off Sandy, but being the optimal optimist, Sandy saw a
light at the end of the tunnel as they made the turn and he was 4 down.
But Sandy couldn't take advantage of mistakes on #10 and #11 by Arif and
could get no closer than 4 down...and the massacre finished with 6 up 5 to
go...the worst defeat in the matches so far...Arif
advances 6 & 5
- Vineet Sharma vs. Kannan Ayyar
- This match
took place at Cinnabar Hills. Vineet was giving 11 strokes to Kannan. This
match was decided from 150 yards in as Kannan struggled with his short
game while Vineet was hot with the wedges, the chips, and the putts, and
proceeded to knock Kannan out 5 up with 4 to go.
Vineet advances 5 & 4
- Tochi Matharu vs. Sunil Bhalla -
We had a mini IAGA gathering at Coyote Creek
GC everyone wearing at least 3 layers of clothing in gale force winds and
extremely cold weather. But yours truely came well equipped with a lot of
Irish Creme and Baileys whiskey which became a necessity to stay warm.
Sunil started off strong for the first 6 holes and was down only 1 but
after that the nerves of first time match play experience got to him and
he went down 4 after nine holes. He started off by playing a better back
nine but after the 14th he was 5 down and the match was over.
Tochi advances 5 & 4
- Raj Gautam vs. Rao Vasireddy
- This was Rao's first match play event and so experience was favoring
Raj. While it was tight early on with Rao hitting strong drives at
Cinnabar Hills, his short game failed him as he fell behind 2 down on the
front nine. Recovery was tough against Raj and his consistent game and
this match ended with little drama as Raj won 5 up with 4 to go...but Rao
gained much experience and is determined to put up a stronger fight next
year...Raj advances 5 & 4
- Shant Singh vs. Chani Sawhney -
Match update comes from the Pebble Flight as the well known terminator
Shant Singh vs. Chani Sawhney. This match had tough, tough, tough written
all over it. It was held at the Bridges golf course which has a slope
rating of 146. From the start, Shant was in trouble...... but despite
Chani's strong and consistent performance of fade, after fade, after fade,
Shant made the turn 1 up.............then the fun began..........with
Shant looking to go 2 up on #10, he three putted for a bogey and let Chani
back into the match. From that point on Shant never saw the lead again as
Chani held on strong and took Shant down 2 up with 1 to
go................another major upset as the underdog takes this match and
terminates the terminator...Chani advances 2 & 1
- Vishal Wadhwa vs. Narry Singh - In
another classic battle to the finish, Vishal Wadhwa vs. Narry (pink shirt)
Singh, put some excitement into the final three holes at Cinnabar. Vishal
and Narry were back and forth throughout the match with neither being more
than 2 up at anytime. As they approached the 16th hole, Narry was one
down, but nailed a 340 yard drive on this dogleg left Par 5. This left him
with a 160 yard approach which he nailed to within 8 feet for an eagle
putt. Vishal duck hooked his second into the hill and proceeded to concede
#16 to tie the match going into the final two. With Narry again down the
middle with a 300 yard drive, Vishal's you know what tightened and he
hooked his drive into deep rough on the left on #17. Narry's approach was
left, but he chipped within 10 feet AND he stroked on the hole...but
Vishal pulled one out of his you know what and nailed his approach to
within 5 feet (miraculous shot). When Vishal made his birdie and Narry
missed his Par, Vishal was one up one to go. The depression of losing the
previous hole kicked in for Narry and he pushed his drive on #18, then hit
his approach into the bunker, and then flew the green on his blast out of
the bunker and ended up with bogey. No chance to beat Vishal who wrapped
up the match on #18...Vishal advances 2 Up
- Felix Solomon vs. Tony Judge - So another classic is in the
books. At Ruby Hills we witnessed a back and forth battle between Tony
Judge vs. Felix Solomon. Ruby Hills happens to be Tony's home course and
somehow he convinced Felix it would be a good idea to play there AND give
Tony 4 strokes. Well Tony started off by 3 putting hole #1 to convince
Felix he really didn't have an advantage and then the match was
on...........hole after hole, they tied.........it was all square with
nobody winning a hole till hole #8, where Felix cracked and hit into the
lateral on a par 5 and went one down. The next hole was a stroke hole for
Tony and he went two up..........by the way, on hole #4 Tony hurt his arm
severly and was doing his Tiger Woods impression of excruciating pain
after every shot (if any of you watched that tournament when Tiger hurt
his back and still played through it, you will get the picture). But Felix
did not rollover.........he got it back to one down on #10, but couldn't
sustain the comeback as Tony was relentless in his accuracy. They ended
the match on hole #15 (#1 handicap hole) with Tony 4 up 3 to go. So Mr.
Judge moves on to round 2 after a tough match with the pain. It's just a
thought, but something tells that Tony will try to conduct all his matches
at Ruby Hills. Tony advances 4 & 3
- Biri Singh vs. Naresh Kapahi - This
was a mystery match...........held between Biri (who do I play in round 2)
Singh vs. Naresh Kapahi...........This match was also held at the Bridges
golf course. What is most curious is that the match was scheduled for
Friday on the Thanksgiving weekend..........we waited anxiously for the
results....and waited and waited. When we tried to find out the results,
we heard that a game was played, but the match would be held on Sunday
instead................hmmmm. As it turns out, and as you all read from
Biri's highlights, not only did the match take place on Friday, but Biri
was eaten alive by the bulldog Naresh 6 up 5 to go...........and with such
an embarrassing display, Biri had the guts to ask for an extension of the
match into Sunday. Not sure what Naresh was thinking (probably felt sorry
for hurting Biri so badly), but he granted him his wish and the match went
to a 36 hole format..........all Biri did was delay the inevitable and
proved that once a bulldog gets a hold of your manhood, he looks to rip
out both, not just one...Naresh advances 6 & 5
Nirav Agrawal... First Round Bye (2003 Match Play Champion)
Poppy Flight Round 1 matches:
- Manik Bahri vs. Anees Ahmed - Manik
and Anees are true competitors in the business world and were taking their
battle to the golf course. Manik giving Anees 11 strokes. To date no
favorite had lost in the matches.........but at Sunol Golf Course, Anees
took Manik to the wire and with Anees stroking on the first seven holes,
Manik found himself 4 down in the first seven. Just when Manik was
starting to mount a comeback on the back nine........3 down 3 to go, Anees
pulls out his rescue club and rescues himself to victory with a terrific
par on a 197 yard par 3 to knock Manik out 4 up with 3 to
go................so our first upset of the matches was delivered by a
tough competitor in Anees.............Anees advances to round
2..........but guys, who wins the business battle????? ...Anees
advances 4 & 3
- Ranjan Bhasin vs. Praveen Sharma -
This match
was held at Cinnabar Hills. Ranjan was giving 8 strokes to Praveen.
Ranjan started out hot and took a commanding 3 up with 6 to go
lead.........then the fun began. It became 2 up with 4 to
go..........then 1 up with 3 to go.........then 1 up with one to go. On
the final Par 5, the pressure of the chase got to Praveen and he hit two
balls off the tee that were lost. With Ranjan in the middle of the
fairway, the match was pretty well decided...........EXCEPT Ranjan
proceeded to hit his second shot into the bushes (potential lost
ball).......he then proceeded to hit his provisional into the bushes
(potential lost ball again). With this renewed hope, Praveen took the
cart back to the tee to hit his 5th shot off the tee..........but with the
foursome behind putting pressure, Praveen once again hit another ball that
was lost.........Ranjan DID find his first ball in the bushes and from
that point on Praveen conceded the match..............Moral of the
story.......when all you have to do is FINISH the hole to win it, don't
hit 3-wood from the fairway trying to make a birdie!!!!. Ranjan
advances 1 up
- Harmeet Chauhan vs. Abi Karigudduaiah
- In this match, there was a little gamesmanship right from the start with
Abi, freshly returned from India and suffering jet lag, called in with an
excuse to cancel his match for that day because his back was hurt. Well
Harmeet chooses to show up at the course anyway, and lo and behold, Abi is
at the range hitting balls.........I guess his back was feeling better
after all. So given that both were there, the decision was made to play
the match (good try Abi)............boy was his back feeling better when
he proceeded to shoot a 44 on the front nine and take Harmeet 2 down at
the turn. As Harmeet would tell you, Abi was on fire with par after
par.........His 46 on the back nine gave Harmeet no chance of closing the
gap and he got closed 4 up 3 to go.............Harmeet's advice to Abi's
next opponent.........bring the Ben Gay.......not for Abi's back, but for
your own backside.................Abi advances 4
& 3
- Viraj Dixit vs. Jeff Hug -
Battle took
place at Sunol Golf course between Viraj Dixit vs. Jeff Hug. Jeff has
been a strong opponent throughout the year, but Viraj has been the hot
golfer in the Poppy flight over the past few months. This match was a
very even match with one stroke being given to Jeff. The front nine was
tied at even and the close competition continued till hole #14 where Viraj
went two up. Viraj's strong 41 on the back nine set the stage for a 3 up
with 2 to go win...Viraj advances 3 & 2
Match Play Championships Rules
- All matches must be completed within the allotted
time and reported to Vineet Sharma
- Results can be called in or emailed in……..please
provide details of the match so we can have some fun with it
- This is a true match play………hole by hole
- Winner of the match is player who has won more holes
than holes remaining
- All 6 month low indexes must be converted to course
handicap PRIOR to start of match
- The difference in strokes must be provided to the
player with the higher handicap
- The strokes are given on the hardest handicap holes
starting with the #1 handicap hole and so on…….Example…..if player A has
handicap of 10 and player B has handicap of 12, player A must give two
strokes to Player B on the two most difficult holes (handicap holes #1 and
#2 as shown on the scorecard). The player with the fewest NET strokes is
the winner of the hole. Player with most holes won is the winner of the
match.
- Pebble flight plays matches from Blue (Championship)
tees
- Poppy flight plays matches from White (Regular)
tees
- In the event a Pebble Player is playing a Poppy
player……Pebble plays blue, Poppy plays white However, Poppy player must
provide the stroke differential to the Pebble player (this is the
difference in course rating between Blue and White)……ie..Course rating
from Blues is 73.5 and Course rating from Whites is 71.8…..Difference is
1.7……..Poppy player must give Pebble player this difference in strokes.
Check with pro shop on how to apply the differential PRIOR to beginning
the match.
- All matches must be decided on the day of
play…..cannot reschedule
- In the event of a tie, must continue to play extra
holes to decide the winner
- If darkness prevents extra holes from being played,
must use scorecard for tie breaker
- If using scorecard, start with the first hole……first
one to win a hole is the winner of the match
- Players must contact each other to set up the
match……email addresses are included in the attachment
- Players must agree on the course they are playing
for the match
- Players are responsible for their own green fees,
except for the FINALS match….IAGA will pay for the FINAL Match
- Players unable to meet the deadline for submission
of results will have to forfeit their match
- It is a request that the matches be conducted with
other IAGA members present. Try to set foursomes and invite other IAGA
member to play so that they can help officiate the match. If this is not
possible, each match is responsible for declaring the winner AT THE
COURSE…….
- All issues and controversies MUST BE DECIDED PRIOR
TO LEAVING THE COURSE…….use the Pro Shop to establish final rulings
- If any doubts, play two balls and gain ruling from
pro in pro shop
- For Round 1 a Bye is being given the 2003 Match Play
Champion (due to uneven # of players)
- For Rounds 2 & 3 a random bye will be given…..all
advancing players are eligible for the bye. Any player receiving a bye
will automatically advance to the next round
- AND REMEMBER, THIS IS IN THE SPIRIT OF FUN
AND COMPETITION………KEEP THE INTEGRITY OF THE IAGA IN MIND AT ALL
TIMES…………….
- MATCH PLAY CHAMPION WINS $500………RUNNER-UP WINS
$250
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