Divot Bahlmacher Wins 2008 Hangover Golf Championship
Hangover Golf veteran Divot Bahlmacher claimed his first championship on September 7th at a course he was very familiar with: Rivière Rouge.
Thanks to the Friday draft, Divot kicked off the event on the Saturday at Bellveue and never looked back taking the lead after Day 1. Coming down the final 9 of the tournament, things tightened up but as fellow competitor, Masher Softspin notes below, Mr. Bahlmacher went to town with a spectacular finish.
Here's Masher's account:
For a brief moment I imagined that the glory would be mine. Going into the back nine I was three shots behind both Nassau and Divot, but the momentum was beginning to swing my way. The golf gods were smiling down when I went par, bogey, birdie, par on the first four holes of the back nine.
Suddenly Nassau and I were tied and Divot was two shots back. On the 14th hole, Nassau and I both hit our tee-shots just shy of the green, while Divot's ball landed well to the right. His chip shot looked impossible and I was certain that the Hangover Golf Championship was now going to be a race between Nancy and myself.
As Divot walked towards his ball his head was hanging. And for good reason, he was looking at a very tricky wedge shot. There was a trap between himself and the pin and a sloping green that was running away from him. I figured that he'd be lucky if he could stop his ball within ten feet of the hole. But to his credit, Divot still had some magic up his sleeve.
He played a lovely flop shot that floated through the air before it parachuted softly onto the green. The weight was perfect and ball began following the slope of the green, rolling straight towards the pin before plunking into the cup for a birdie.
Nassau and I both made bogey and I knew, right there, that I was in trouble. We were in a three way tie, but Divot's confidence was back: he was walking proud again, head held high. His drive on the par-5 15th was a monster and his second shot stopped some ten feet from the hole. He went on to card his second birdie in a row and suddenly the tournie was slipping away from me.
The final nail in the coffin came on the par-3 17th where he carded yet another birdie; his third over the span of four holes. It was a magical performance and one that everyone in that final foursome will not soon forget.
Congratulations Divot! You deserved it.