Oftentimes, golf, like life itself, can seem like a novel.
Sometimes it’s completely crazy (like Donald Trump being, um, well you know…),
other times, it’s prosaic as hell. Same old, same old. Such was the scenario at
the 2019 Arbuckle Golf Tournament; in an almost mirror image of the 2014 event,
Peter Straus edged out Rick, The Little Cat, Last by one
stroke at Leslie Park in Ann Arbor, to win his fifth event in the last eight
years. But, and it’s a huge but, there was one notable difference – more on
that later.
Go back and read the account from five years ago; the other golfers
– Ron Braun and Stan Pesick --had dropped by the wayside, so the last day was,
essentially, match play between Straus and Last. 2019 was the same; Last was
playing great golf; Straus was hitting fairways and greens. Slowly, the Cat’s
lead was getting whittled away; until the players came to the penultimate hole,
the beautiful 125 yard 17th over a pond to a waiting green.
In 2014,
Straus secured the win, by hitting to two feet from the hole; this time though with
a three stroke lead, he was taking no chances and hit safely into the hillside,
no watery grave for him.
In 2019, it was Last who hit a heroic shot, right at the
flagstick; on its way to the hole. The ball stopped just short; now there was pressure – a Straus bogey and a Last birdie would cut the lead to one; but, and
again, it’s a big but, it was not to be. Straus complied with a four, but
the Cat’s birdie try was left hanging on the lip.
The eighteenth then was perfunctory; the players provided flashes of comedy and moments of despair; indeed, Last left another putt short,
but in the end, Straus had won again; by a single stroke. “The gallery was enthralled”
texted Pesick after the match.
But, but, but; golf, like life can tie you in knots. If Hillary
had only spent as much time in Michigan as the Arbuckle crew. If Rick had not
left one, two, yes, three putts short. If, if, if…. but, putts, drives and clutch
shots don’t tell the story of this tournament. No, the real tale is that we all
make our way through life overcoming Trump-like obstacles large and small and Last had overcome
a doozy. In his case a stubbornly occluded leg vein – recurrent extensive deep vein thrombosis to be exact – that had seen
him in the Intensive Care Unit a mere seven weeks before the tournament. Less
than a month (!) before the tournament, on June 27, Rick sent the following
text:
Playing
golf in the morning. 9 holes (hopefully). I have no idea how it will work out
but swinging a club in the backyard was ok albeit a bit of an abbreviated
swing. Send good vibes my way.
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