Today qualifies as ridiculous, coming on the heels of a big payday last week.
For starters: After a review of my first two seasons, I went into this golf season with one guiding principle in the outrights, and that was to make fewer plays before the event starts, and make more plays in-running. There were simply too many times in a field of 150 or so golfers that I was kicking myself over a play I would never have made based on something that came out PDQ after the proceedings began, while picking up all sorts of useful stuff early on about players I was leaning toward but lacked something decisive to really hang my hat on. Already this year I've hit Mickelson(14/1) at the Bob Hope and Montgomerie(14/1) in Singapore, on just a handful of in-running plays, which is exactly what I had in mind . . . In addition, my most disappointing no-play from last year was failing to pull the trigger on Westwood(66/1) at the BMW, when I knew his time was close and the opportunity was right after just getting back from the States, and then I went and compounded the error and dropped the ball again when Westwood, after basking in the glow of celebration with Clarke after his simultaneous win at Firestone, rolled and romped along at 50/1 to win the Dunhill Links in his first event thereafter back in Great Britain, with his manager as his partner, no less. To borrow a phrase from Roberto DeVicenco, "What a stupid I am!" Hands down those rate No. 1 and No. 1(A) as my two biggest misses from last year, along with taking Levet(50/1) rather than Bjorn(50/1) in-running during the second round of The Open, but then again, Bjorn forgot to win. I wanted that Westwood moment, and not getting it made me want even more to be leading the parade when Monty and Mickelson emerged from their wilderness (and the same with Faldo and Van de Velde, if their time comes), so Monty this morning gave me a ride that felt a lot richer than 14/1.
Then along comes Chad Campbell this afternoon, with an assist from Arnie. Incredible. That one feels like it has my name on it.
The day isn't over. My efforts on the two main tours have left me with almost no time for the Champions Tour, and since Stan has been in a groove there, I coattailed all his picks, and Tom Purtzer(20/1) of all folks finds redemption at the end. And for once I knew better than to speak up and jinx it . . . And I have a long, long way to go with the ladies, but that didn't stop me from coattailing the forum with Mi-Hyun Kim and Lorena Ochoa(40/1), and kind-of threatening a sweep of all the events before earning a tie for third.
Oh, yeah. For about 12 days I've had the right touch in managing my funds while coattailing Hellah's friend in the basketball forum. Just shaking my head in disbelief on that one, too.
O.K. That's it. Ridiculous. And I needed all that just to stay ahead of the curve that was being set in the forum this week.
I'm off to go buy about four lottery tickets.
GL
