ReportAll reviews of a major golf tournament should generally be done in the days immediately following the event in the interest of fair and accurate journalism. With this in mind, it is safe to say that a review of the Spackler XII Invitational which was held a few months ago now, could well be littered with falsehoods. Let's call them embellishments.
Let us begin with a fact. Simon Cox won his first plaid jacket in a count back from Paddy. It was the second time a count-back* has been used to decide a jacket in the history of the Spackler Invitationals^. He pipped Paddy by a single shot on the final nine holes to be declared the winner.
Drapper, in his first Spackler Invitational had called himself in as the winner days before and given the ridiculous handicap he was given, most people had agreed. He finished with 42 points for the day but as he was on debut, he claimed the winners cheque only. The priceless plaid jacket would have to wait for another day.
Coxy was pleased for the extra layer of warmth on a cold, wet day. Dave Elms, as previous winner had pulled in with it on earlier (as opposed to Merce, who once pulled with it on) and most Spackler invitees were hoping it would be theirs at the end of the day.
One man who was not focussed on the jacket was Duncan. After rushing to the course, he panicked and locked his keys in his car. While AD read the terms and conditions of the Spackler event at the pre-round lunch, Duncan was anxiously waiting for the NRMA to arrive before his tee time. With the clubs locked in the boot, it was looking like he would have to caddy for Greeny for the day.
Other recollections include Dave Elms having no luck around bunkers all day. He proceeded to keep his head and plough on through the sandy maelstrom unlike another member of the same group. Spackler VI winner Chris Mercer and ditched the jeans and completed his opening nine holes in one over par if I remember correctly.
You could be forgiven for thinking Chris was playing like a man in jeans through 11, 12 and 13 though. He proceeded to power hook and fade his way into deep rough and out-of-bounds to throw himself firmly out of jacket contention. My lasting impression of him that day will be the forlorn figure strolling up and down fences and out-of-bounds lines as the rain set in, mumbling, cursing and generally feeling very sorry for himself indeed.
Deano attempted much the same stuff at one point who also set about looking for errant balls hit fairly and squarely out-of-bounds. The Mercer conditioning is easily contracted.
I'm sure there's more stories from more groups. If you have any I'll add it below. Remember, don't let the truth get in the way of a good story.
* The best score on the final nine holes is deemed the winner. In the event of a tie, the best score on 18 is used to determine the winner. If it is still a tie, the 17th is used, and so on.
^ Merce won on a count-back from Ben at Eastlake at Spackler VI. In jeans.
