A Bitter Pill

Today was the boys high school golf sectional.  Cal teed off at 8:50 and Dad was there to see him start.  Cal admitted to being very nervous and it showed as he bogeyed the first three holes.  He said that it actually helped him as he calmed down and realized that he would be ok.  He knew he hadn't had a double and by then Jayce, Cameron, Kyle, Gage and Elizabeth joined his gallery.  He relaxed and had nine straight fours after that.

Hole thirteen looked like trouble for him, but an "easy" chip in for par saved his score.  By the time Cam, my Mom, Meg and I showed up, Cal was six over and in a great mood.  Meg decided to wait out the five holes at the Fitzgeralds, but the rest of us hung around the putting green and scoreboard keeping track of team and individual scores.  Columbia City was the leader when we arrived at 303 with Plymouth a close second at 305.  The next best was Warsaw's 315.  Wawasee made the turn at 156 which put them at a great position to finish in the top three and move on to regionals next week.

Everyone in the Wawasee camp was excited as Mason finished with an 80.  That was a great score for the fourth player and we all knew Cal was playing well also.  I was never really worried about Warsaw.  I was sure that we would beat 315 without a problem as we won the Joe Harris shoot out with a 308.  Cal bogeyed four holes on the back, but made a knee-knocker putt on 18 to finish at 78.  All was looking great.  The only real concern was Culver Military Academy.  They knocked us out last year and I was very worried about the same scenario.  Tristen finished with a 77.  All we needed was Jeffrey to shoot a 79.  It looked like no problem as he was six over after 15 holes.  That was when the news came crashing in.  Jeffrey had triple bogeyed sixteen and double bogeyed 17.  Even with a birdie on the last hole Wawasee would still finish in the dreaded fourth place by the fifth man score.

I couldn't believe it.  Two years in a row finishing fourth - one place out of a regional birth.  There was still hope, however, as Cal was tied for third low for those qualifying as individuals.  There was only one team left that could have someone beat him out, so Cal and the guy he tied from Warsaw started practice putting.  As he and his friends got ready for the playoff I delivered the fateful news.  Someone from Northfield came in with a 71 putting Cal at fourth - one shot out of an individual regional spot.  It was heartbreaking to say the least.  Cal had had so much support from his friends and family.  He had practiced a lot over the past week or more, but in the end it just wasn't meant to be.  Cal handled it very well.  He knew he had played the best that he could and had put forth his best effort.  That made it a little easier to swallow, but a bitter pill none the less.