Friday Recap

The first full day was a typically busy one at AI-XVIII, chock full of excitement, sweat, hail, salt and beer.  When Gordon arrived at Bay Hill this morning, the field was complete and we were ready for the beginning of golf action.  The temperature/humidity combination of late June in Orlando sent the Heat Index soaring over the 100 degree mark but the players soldiered on, refusing to yield to the often oppressive conditions.   Gordon & Stan jumped out to a 1 up lead right out of the shoot when Stan drained a par putt on #1 and it looked to all as if this would be just another steam roller match for Gordon,  the nonpareil and often non-compos-mentis 4-Ball Champion. The lead stayed at 1 until Paze & Heimsch were gifted the 4th hole.  But when, Paze & Heimsch won 8 & 9, the lead was 2 up at the turn.  Play sharpened up quite a bit on the back, with both Heimsch & Stan shooting 40 and Paze adding a 42.  Gordon's par on 10 and birdie on 11 quickly brought his team back to even with the interlopers from Pennsylvania and Tejas.  Heimsch's par on 12 gave his squad a lead they would hold until both he and his partner 3-putted 17 and suddenly we were all even with 1 hole to go.  All the players hit serviceable drives, however both Heimsch & Paze ended up in the greenside bunkers while Gordon lofted high onto the hill left of the green.  Stan meanwhile stroked a 9-iron to about 20' above the cup. Heimsch hit a magnificent sand shot to about 5 feet and when he holed out for 4 after Stan had already done so, the result was the 2nd tie in AI 4-Ball History.  One need to go all the way back to the very first event, played at MetroWest where Jim and Gordon tied Mitch and Nick in a 9-hole match.  Given the heat index, and the looming first day of Lack of Skills, there was a unanimous vote to enter the air-conditioned Men's Locker Room for 30 minutes to drink beer, eat goldfish and nuts and not move.  Then just as the players' and Jim's body temperatures had dipped below critical levels, KT Marinari arrived ready for action in LOS.  So off we went.

We had 3 different winners in the first 3 categories as Kathi won the Long Drive, Rich the 70 yard shot and Wally the chip/pitch shot.  Gordon, wilting in the intense heat of both the Orlando summer and the pressure of the AI, finished last in all 3 events.  The standings after Day 1 have Kathi & Rich tied at the top with 12 points, Wally next with 10, followed by Stan with 8 and Gordon trailing the field with 3.  The putting, sand play and 40 yard shot remain.

Bowling For Sotweeds went to Kings Bowl America for the first time.  There were lights, but not the kind that help you see anything, huge video screens, loud music, lots of food and beer and some bowling.  Paze opted out pleading a fragile back; Gordon fought through an injured knee for 1 game but took himself out of the competition for Game 2.  The results?  Same as it ever was (almost):  Reef won the Boys Side and Edie the Girls BUT with her stirring performance and Reef's advancing age, Edie came within 4 pins of toppling Reef for the overall crown and family bragging rights at the upcoming STIFF weekend in a couple of weeks.  There will be crowing nonetheless.

A few more music videos, a vain attempt at Rickles and Seinfeld thwarted by a balky network, and one by one the group shuffled off to sleep with dreams of Day 2 and the beginning of the AI Championship on their minds.  More importantly, everyone was prepping for the highly anticipated debut of AI-Lip Sync.  Can anyone other than Sean, Kate and Emma remember the words to their songs?

And that's the way it was on Day 1 of AI-XVIII.