On Friday July 24th the Defending Champions, Bob and Nick took on the powerhouse team of Tom Terrific and GMcD. In this match, the Challengers learned that
                                           IT'S NEVER OVER TIL IT'S OVER!

First the headlines
TT/GMcD START STRONG THEN CRASH AND BURN EARLY ON THE BACK
TT/GMcD 13 OVER JUST ON 10-13 WHILE BOB PARS THEM ALL - AND 14 AS WELL
THEN NICK BIRDIES 15 FROM 35 FEET
GMcD GOES AWOL ON THE BACK
The Challengers never really had a chance. Or did they...?

Now the highly abbreviated details:
#1 TT gets up and down from 50 feet for net birdie. Challengers 1 up.
#2 TT two putts from 65 feet to tie pars by both Champions.
#3 TT and Bob both go left and are never seen again. Nick misses par putt from 22 feet. GMcD makes par putt from 12 feet and it's Challengers 2up.
#4 Three less than fabulous bogeys leave Bob a three footer for par and the win. It doesn't fall. No blood.
#5 Bob makes well-played two putt par. Nick and GMcD make net pars. TT is also stroking and he makes the most of it. Sinks a six footer for net birdie. Challengers 3 up.
#6 GMcD three putts his way to a net par. TT two putts his way to a par. Good enough. Challengers 4 up.
#7 TT has a good shot at birdie but no luck. A push thanks to a fine long putt by Nick.
#8 TT makes a solid two putt par. That's all it takes to put the Challengers 5 up. But things were about to change. Big Time.
#9 TT and GMcD both well inside the 100 and both miss the green with their thirds. Ouch! Nick makes par but GMcD gets it up and down for the push. And that's the last we'll hear of him. The Defending Champions are about to go on a huge comeback roll while the Challengers fall apart. It's never over til it's over - even with a five hole lead.
#10 Challengers both double bogey. Bob makes par. Nick makes net birdie and The Great Comeback has begun. Challengers 4 up.
#11 TT three putts to match GMcD's and Nick's bogeys. But Bob makes a solid par. Challengers only 3 up and fading fast.
#12 GMcD goes just into the long stuff. TT goes deep into the long stuff. Bob is able to three putt his way to a bogey and a win. Challengers only 2 up and can't hit a good shot.
#13 Bob continues his torrid pace. Has a 15 footer for birdie. Tom barely clears the pond. GMcD doesn't even do that. TT gets his chip to 10 feet and makes the crucial putt to salvage a tie. The bleeding is temporarily stopped. But Bob isn't done yet.
#14 Bob hits a masterful second. From the fairway looks like a kick-in birdie. It's actually about 12 feet past the hole. Tom then hits a clutch shot to 10 feet above the hole. Bob grazes the top edge of the hole. Then TT rolls his in. Birdie!! Challengers back to 3 up. But not for long.
#15 Bob and GMcD go right. Their seconds are never seen again. Nick hits a drive short and left. Anyone else would lay up. But Nick crushes his three wood and gets it to 100 yards right. He puts his third on 35 feet short. TT is 95 yards away, also right. He hesitates. He steps away. He re-composes himself. He skulls his shot. Hard. It rolls up the fairway to the green then keeps going - all the way to 24 feet from the pin. Looking good for the Challengers. Then Nick pours in a BOMB for birdie, TT doesn't and it's back to Challengers 2 up and suffering from shock.
#16 Nick follows up his birdie with...a ball into Nickland Right, never to be seen again. TT and GMcD both stroking and leave their thirds well short of the hole. Bob gets his third to 5 feet. TT putts from 25 feet below the hole hoping to get it close. He does that and more. The putt drops for an astounding net birdie. And that is where the match ended - 3 and 2. Phew!!
TT makes HUGE putts on 13, 14 and 16 to save his team from the ignominy of blowing a five up lead.

Bob 43-40 83 net 75
Nick 43-46 89 net 76
Tom 40 - 41 81 net 71
GMcD 43-51(!) 94 net 79