Congratulations!

During our golf week last week, we had our second junior 'major'. It was the Western Isles Open and it's what everyone wants to win after our Club Champ. The qualifying round went poorly, bad weather meant the course was playing tough but just managed to qualify as the 4th of 4 qualifiers. It was close because it only one shot in front of the dude in 5th place.

So it's 1st qualifier vs 4th qualifier, 2nd vs 3rd. The 1st qualifier was in form and he's considered the best junior in the club so I knew it would be a good game. As usual he was being his somewhat arrogant self but I ignored it. He calls it confidence but it's all cóckiness. So we're to tee off first playing off the medal tees which the juniors aren't really used too. The 1st is the hardest hole on the course so it's always a scary task, especially when you sleep in and have no time to warm up, yikesss.

He's up the green in three and me in two and it's me to go first. I had a difficult chip, played it well but a little hard, it hit the pin and stopped by the hole. I got the usual, 'your just lucky' hiss but I didn't care, 1 up after one hole. The second a par 5, was lost because of a terrible 3-putt, good mood gone now but soon re-discovered after nailing another chip on the par 3 3rd to a foot - refuses to concede any putt so far so our usual small petty talk becomes a silent hike to the next tees. My iron play was a bit off but thankfully, and FOR ONCE, my short game was good. Another chip stuck to a foot and even a pro would have been proud of it. Similar scenario on the 5th, short game wins another hole. The 7th and 8th were won in a similar style and I ended up 3UP after 9.

I was feeling confident up until 10. It's a long par 3 and I was just off the edge with my tee shot. He was short of a bunker and ended up duffing into it. I was thinking 4UP at this point, surely. He played out and it was still a good 15 foot away. I played my chip to about 5 foot and started thinking about the next hole. Typical that though, he makes that putt and I end up missing mine so it's halved. I go onto lose 2 balls on the next 2 balls which puts me back to 1UP after 12. It was after 12 that everything clicked. I parred my way in, 13, 14, 15 and 16 to win 4 & 2 and get to my first final.

The final was different. I played awful. My competitor wasn't near as good as my previous opponent. After a terrible start I began to get into it and started to win holes. I made some stupid mistakes and my caddie joked that if I could putt then the final should have been over after the 11th. Some caddie he was though, couldn't be bothered helping me read putts and hogged my umbrella when the scottish weather came down on us. I ended up winning 5 & 4 and celebrated my first junior 'major'.

The only things I wish is that it was the first of many. That can't possibly be, because I turn senior next year !

I've also been renamed the bandit again. Being off 19, you wouldn't think I'd be coming close to winning scratch competitions but it's surprizing the difference between my compeition golf and my bounce round/matchplay golf. Once I get over the mind barrier, that handicap will plummit.

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