2008 Deepwoods Champion

The final round of the 2008 Deepwoods Tour was held at Willow Valley Golf Course, located in Hamilton, Ontario. Going into the final round, I was in fourth place, two points behind a pair of co-leaders and one point behind the third place contestant. It was likely that the 2008 champion would come from this group of players. Eighteen holes of golf would decide which one of us was champion.

It rained something fierce that day. The rain was so steady that our tee times were delayed by almost three hours. A few players dropped out due to the lengthy delay, including one of the co-leaders. Needless to say, conditions were pretty soggy once we got out on the course. However, considering the amount of rain that fell, I thought the course held up very well.

There was no warm-up before the round began, and I felt it on the first couple of holes, where I collected a pair of triple-bogeys. I fared a little better on holes 3 through 5, where some nice shots helped me save a couple of bogeys. On hole #4 it was an excellent second shot from the #3 fairway bunker. On hole #5 it was a nice approach from 130 yards out and an even nicer chip from the back of the green that almost found the cup. On hole #6, an excellent second shot from behind the #7 tee deck allowed me to save par.

With one third of the round complete, the championship was still up for grabs. I had moved into second place, just one point ahead of the third place contestant. However, the first place contestant had built his lead to three points. On the seventh hole, a par-5 measuring 465 yards, I took the lead outright, thanks to a well-executed birdie. My tee shot found the middle of the fairway, as did my second shot. My approach from 135 yards out cleared the bunker guarding the front of the green and stopped pin-high about seven feet from the cup. I calmly drained the putt to establish a lead which I would not surrender.

On holes 8 through 12, I played quite consistently, stringing together a bunch of bogeys. This was enough to build my lead, as my competitors must have noticed that things were slipping away, and they began to make too many mistakes. I played atrociously on hole #13, but by then the lead was too great for them to overcome. On hole #14, a par-3 measuring 185 yards, I hit a beautiful 5-wood pin-high and that put me back on track. I closed out the round with three bogeys and two pars, including a spectacular chip on hole #17. With the last five holes of the round, I basically ran away with the championship.

So, I am the champion of the 2008 Deepwoods Tour. Woohoo!

Score: 95
Par: 72
Putts: 33
Fairways: 3
Greens: 4