Release
Well, there is a history with that guy. I played with him on numerous occasions in friendly's last season, and there were a couple of episodes I vividly recall when he played great early on, then, from seemingly out of nowhere, would struggle to just get the club on the ball. Then about 2/3 through the round, he would quit, citing a nagging elbow or back problem. What we always chuckled about was how he would quit with about 4 holes left, complaining about his elbow or back, but we'd see him up at the range hitting balls after we finished. So you tell me....
I played with him on Saturday... he played well, he hung in there in a tight match against his opponent and ended up winning. He never trailed, he was either tied or 1-up most of the way, closed his opponent out out on the 17th. Both he and his opponent played very well, it was a nice win.
So going into Sunday's match against him - I knew if I could get out to an early lead, wear him down with keeping the ball in play and making pars - history would probably reveal itself once again.
And it did. He's 4-down going into the green on the 11th - and he's had enough. Says he's just not feeling it today, doesn't want to continue in the oppressive heat... says that the match from the day prior just really took it out of him, that he's in no shape to continue. And that could very well have been the case. The guy is a really good player, but he's also 70 years old (although he hits it better than most 20-year-olds). So I'm guessing it was a bit of both that got the best of him... his age, certainly, but also the fact that he has a history of going in when the chips are down.
I encouraged him to continue, telling him that I really took no joy in winning like that. He replied, "Look - it's obvious that I'm not beating you today. I don't need to stay out here another hour in this heat, only to end up with the same outcome. As much as I'd love to give you a match - I simply can't. I wish you well in your next match - you're clearly the guy to beat next weekend."
And that was that. But oddly enough, he was up at the range hitting balls when we finished. LOL...
Oh well. Not the way I wanted to win, but a win no less. I continued to follow the other match playing with us yesterday, of which I would be playing next Saturday in the semis. It was a poorly played match from them, neither player played well... I saw nothing from either of them that would give me cause for concern next Saturday, they were winning holes with bogey.
But at the same time... I also know how difficult it is to ignore a struggling opponent and play your own game in those situations. Matchplay can be very situational... if an opponent isn't playing well, the tendency is to become overly conservative, and then a lack of focus can easily set in.
That being the potential - I'll stick to my game plan of trying to make as many pars and birdies as I can. Keep the ball in play, keep the pressure on my opponent by hitting greens and making putts. At our level, particularly at our level, we'll win more matches playing our normal game versus feeling like you need to be overly cautious or overly aggressive.
Old man par is still a tough guy to beat. And if you end up losing to a birdie? Well... that's okay too. It ain't gonna happen all that often, not at our level anyway.
