I am not a gambling man.
Once, however, I did get in on an office World Series pool where you put your name in a square among hundreds of squares, and they cross reference your location via numerical latitude and longitude, and I ended up somewhere way out of the ballpark or Antarctica.
Well, as we now know, a certain confident dad stuck his neck – and wallet – out to take a foolhardy wager with 500-to-1 odds that his then-14-year-old-son would win the British Open in 10 years time. Across the pond, our ways, this kind of action synonymous with betting allegedly can keep the best of us out of a prestigious hall of fame.
Well, the wager paid off for the dad of the 2014 major winner – across the pond, their ways. It also paid off for the dad’s friends, who almost laid out the same bet that same year. But the friends were somewhat cautious (or faint of heart) as they waited one more year and placed the same bet after the young son, now 15, had won the Junior Ryder Cup and a couple of other regional events. This one-year hesitation proved costly, as the odds went down to 250 to 1.
This poses the question: Who buys the first round? Rory McIlroy, McIlroy’s dad or the faint-of-hearters?
Hillcrest Golf Club
From the British Open champion to Durango’s tried and true, the C.J.’s Diner/Durango Joe’s Coffee Hillcrest Men’s Senior Open was held Saturday and Sunday, and like the young McIlroy, wait until you get a load of these impressive scores.
50-A Flight
1. Michael Hannigan, low gross, 150.
2. Ken Kirby, 152.
T1. Chris Forrest, Steve Pease, low net 138.
50-B Flight
1. Robert Drum, low gross, 181.
2. Vicenti Mirabel, 182.
1. Pat Otero, low net, 145.
2. Fred Atencio, 149.
60-A Flight
1. Tim Walsh, low gross, 157.
2. Mick McDermott, 160.
1. John Siegrist, low net, 139.
2. Bill Malopolski, 141.
60-B Flight
1. Ken Van Zee, low gross, 159.
2. Russ Monell, 174.
1. Ray Sigwart, low net, 136.
2. John Ball, 141.
70-A Flight
1. Whitey Powers, low gross, 164.
2. David Broman, 170.
1. Richard Taylor, low net, 134.
2. Fred Washburn, 139.
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The Hillcrest Junior Club Championship will be played July 28-29.
There will be limited tee-time windows each day: Tee times will run from 10:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. July 28 and 12:30-3 p.m. July 29. This is to accommodate open golfing around the event.
H H H
Conquistador Golf Course in Cortez will host its Four Corners Junior Championship July 25-26.
Dalton Ranch Golf Club
The Dalton Ranch Women’s Golf Association 9-Hole Scramble, July 16:
1. JM Jones, Patti Lane, Sheri Teeter, 31.9.
2. Ann Emigh, Laurie Lott, Nancy VanMols, Debbie Wright, 33.4.
Fran Rusk had the longest putt of the day on Hole No. 5.
Dave Bray has been covering the local golf scene for 33 years. He can be reached at dbray3751@gmail.com.
