2019 PUTTING COMP
Middle-aged wildcard Garry Bird has won a stunning upset victory against a strong field of highly seeded opponents in the annual Gala Day putting comp at Manly Leagues Club.
Garry sent putts gliding into the heart of the Jack Newton Putting Partner between drinks over a 3 hour period on Sunday afternoon.
The carpet was as good a surface as this reporter has ever seen over the history of this event. It was fast and true (10.5 on the Stimpmeter) and the weather was mild in the 1st floor bar.
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Garry easily knocked out a relaxed Jason Lawes in the first round. But then came up against the massive orange presence of Aaron, who was in a bumptious mood after beating Cam. But Aaron was almost silenced by Garry calmly gliding his balls into the device.
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Next, the fisherman/printer was up against an in-form Darryl who had sunk more putts than anyone up to this point, and had a record of unsettling his opponents through verbal abuse. But Darryl was no match for the steady handed Freshwater resident. Garry had booked a place in the final...
Now Garry is in the final, putting against Steve Hill, last year's champion. After 3 balls each, the score was tied 0 - 0. The atmosphere was electric, and the air had a sense of impending doom. No-one had sunk a ball. Conditions were difficult. The crowd were heckling and the carpet had deteriorated.
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A sudden death playoff was required. 1 ball each. Nearest the pin wins. Steve putted a conservative ball to within gimme range. Garry could have played safe, but instead he sent the ball towards the ramp with enough power to make it up. It dropped into the hole took the sharp right-hand turn and was shot back... and the crowd erupted, cheering and whooping, not just that Garry had won in emphatic style, but that this ridiculous event was finally over, and everyone could go back to the bar.
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