Andy and Al went all 18 holes in their battle for the President's Cup.  In a match that only saw five pushed holes, each player had his highs and lows.  After trading wins on the the first few holes Al went on a streak, ending with him up 3 after 10.  But Andy seems to live on the back.  He went on a run of pars and birdies that got him back to All Square - and then 1 Up.  In the end it took two great shots by Al on #18 to win the hole and seal the win.  

Amazingly Andy gave up a stroke on every hole - two on #3.  In many cases, par just wasn't good enough for the win.  And Al had to hold it together with a notoriously unpredictable swing.  To make matters worse, Al's driver broke on the front - the shaft snapped down by the hosel.  He played the balance of his round with a 3 wood - which may actually have helped him.  In any case it was final worthly of The Saxony Club; played with class and camaraderie; holes won with great shots and halved with some gritty saves.  Congratulations to both Andy and Al.  

Woody and Henry had a hot, humid day that just got tougher as the round went on.  Woody started very strongly with four pars in the first five holes - good enough for a 2Up lead.  Henry hung in, caught his breath and took three of the next four.

They both actually played very well on the front; Woody shot a net 34 and Henry a net 35.  But it was Henry who had the lead 1Up at the turn.  Then, after nothing worse than a double on the front, Henry hit a slump and struggled with his swing.  Woody ran off three wins in a row before Henry recovered to get one back on #13.

Both on their games, they pushed #14, #15 and #16, each player shooting net par over that stretch.  On the 17th tee Woody was 1Up and feeling the pressure knowing that there was no easy tiebreaker - a bad shot could lead to extra holes.  He put his drive down the left side, just clipping the trees.  For Henry it was the length - and that darned left turn on #17 - that caused the problems.  His tee shot flared out right and he had a long way back to the fairway.

Both punched up near the hole - each lying the same about 20 feet away from the pin.  Woody chipped to 2' - which Henry graciously conceded.  Facing a 20' putt Henry got a little aggressive and ran past the cup.  When he missed the 6' comeback it was over: 2 and 1.   You can view the final scorecard here.

Congratulations to our 2012 President's Cup Champion Woody Burroni.  This is reported to be the first time that the Club President has won the President's Cup.  And despite Ron Sanossian's suggestion to model the prize after a Viagara, we went with this visual for the tournament trophy:  The Woody.