I Hate to Win Like That...

[SVTGolfer]

But a win is a win...

I played the 3rd round of my clubs "Presidents Cup" Match Play Tournament. Been playing some good golf, except for today. I played a pretty sad round today compared to my round yesterday, but I didn't expect to win the way I did.

I started the round with a one up on the 1st hole. Then pushed the 2nd, and then all hell broke loose on 3 when I somehow lost a ball in plain sight. Had to drop a ball, and finished with a 7 (its a par 4). Long story short, my opponent went up by three holes and kept that 2-3 hole lead the entire round, until I somehow managed to beat him with a par on 16 to get one back. So we are on 17, and he's 2 up with 2 to play, and to my surprise he hooks he tee shot OB and mine hit the fairway! "IM IN THIS", I thought. I won 17 and went to 18 one down. Hit the best tee shot of the round, and again he hooked it. To keep it brief I made par on 18 and he wasn't even on the green! He conceded the hole which made us all square! Then he just gives up! Says he doesn't want to play anymore, and quits! We were supposed to go into extra holes! But when he saw that the tee box was already backed up at #1 he just decides he's done. And he just gave up! It was hot, he was older, I could tell he was tired, but hell, to just give up!? Basically he conceded the match, but the club counted it as a "forfeit."

So now Im playing in the final match next weekend for the championship… CRAZY!!!

Im glad Im moving on, but nobody wants to win like that…

[Tomboys]

I agree a win is a win.  You're only responsible for your behavior, not your opponent's.  So, if he walks off, then it's on him.  BTW, congrats.

[lumpuckeroo]

First off congratulations, secondly, I would not feel the least bit bad about winning like that.  You stayed calm and made a great comeback, he lost his composure and gave up, Even though you don't know for sure how the match could have ended up, as you said, he had given up.

[TN94z]

Congrats!  I can see not wanting to win like that.  But you made a great comeback, so I would consider it a great win no matter what.  The guy probably knew that he was done.  Him being tired may be why the hooks set in and he may have known the next hole was going to be the same.  You can't control what he does, so don't feel bad about it.  You're in the championship match man!!

[NI4NI]

It's not a bad thing getting breaks here and there, especially given that it was in your third round.  Who knows what would have happened if play continued - you had mo on your side, but could have lost.  Heading into the 4th round was part of the goal, so take advantage of it.  Let us know how the final round goes.

[BrushCaddy]

His endurance ran out and you beat him.  That's a fair win in my book.

Congrats!

[jwrussell]

Originally Posted by BrushCaddy

His endurance ran out and you beat him.  That's a fair win in my book.

Congrats!

This.  He quit because he ran out of steam, hence the hooks on the last two holes.

Nice job coming back!

[ND Fan]

There is never a situation where a lost ball results in a drop.  But who cares?  you lost the hole anyway.  Quitting is strange though.

[SVTGolfer]

Thanks for replies guys, and the support. Much appreciated! I definitely felt great about coming back and, in the back of my mind (from the beginning) I knew that if I could just stay in it until the last few holes I might take him in the end from a stamina stand point. I gotta give it to him though, despite conceding in the end, he was the hardest guy to play against. He was consistent like no other player I had played against! Down the middle every time and rarely missed a putt. But Im sure glad he missed his par putt on 16, thats what gave me some momentum fro 17 & 18.

As for the lost ball causing a drop/stroke, maybe I don't understand the rule properly, but if you hit a ball and cant find it you must return to the spot where you last hit from and "re-hit" which calls for a drop, and a stroke, does it not? Same if it is hit OB, no? I don't claim to know all the rules or even most of them, so if Im incorrect please let me know. Thanks.

[Mattplusness]

Conditioning is part of the game. It's not just being able to swing a club.

Congrats on the win.

[jwrussell]

Originally Posted by SVTGolfer

Thanks for replies guys, and the support. Much appreciated! I definitely felt great about coming back and, in the back of my mind (from the beginning) I knew that if I could just stay in it until the last few holes I might take him in the end from a stamina stand point. I gotta give it to him though, despite conceding in the end, he was the hardest guy to play against. He was consistent like no other player I had played against! Down the middle every time and rarely missed a putt. But Im sure glad he missed his par putt on 16, thats what gave me some momentum fro 17 & 18.

As for the lost ball causing a drop/stroke, maybe I don't understand the rule properly, but if you hit a ball and cant find it you must return to the spot where you last hit from and "re-hit" which calls for a drop, and a stroke, does it not? Same if it is hit OB, no? I don't claim to know all the rules or even most of them, so if Im incorrect please let me know. Thanks.

I think what ND was referring to would be dropping near where the ball was lost, which would be incorrect.  Returning to the previous spot the ball was played would still require one to "drop".

[ND Fan]

True when I read drop I read dropped it where I thought it was lost but that was not the case.  I guess it's because most of the time I lose a ball or go out of bound its with a driver in my hands, whereas I re tee it.

Casual reminder....  I need to get a new driver!!  and some reading glasses or reading comprehension classes.

[Tomboys]

I think OP did it correctly on the lost ball.  He was penalized stroke + distance.

[SVTGolfer]

Originally Posted by Tomboys

I think OP did it correctly on the lost ball.  He was penalized stroke + distance.

Exactly.

[injury]

Good win in my book. I get your disappointment though since I'm one of those 'want to crush the opposition' personality types so not playing it out would be bittersweet.

I got a crappy win/gift myself in a scramble two weeks ago and it still bothers me. My club does a couples' scramble every couple of weekends. Wife and I had already established handicap with it for this year (we're the highest handicap of the field both being beginners), a pair of grounds crew were just establishing handicap that week. Wife and I had a great day for us and finished 5 under net, the other couple finished 5 under scratch. Hole card playoff puts me and the mrs in second, we're perfectly happy being pretty new to the game. As we're leaving, Pro Shop pulls us in and says the GM wants the employees to tear up their card. I get annoyed and let them know in no uncertain terms that was crap, the employees put up money like everyone else and should be just as entitled to win it as any of us. Left thinking it was settled and a bit peeved that they tried to give us a win like that. Next weekend we come in and were told they gave us first, apparently they had a meeting with all the couples after we left and someone pointed out that rules stated one person in the couple must be a member so they tossed out that other card. While technicaly correct that is stated on the sign up sheet, and the employees weren't members, I made damn sure they gave the entry money back to the employees. I'm still pretty annoyed over what I feel as being gifted a win. Even if the ruling is by the book accurate I feel like they shouldn't have been allowed to enter like the rest of us, only to be shot down when they did well enough to win.