North America Byrnes The World

Well, the Middleton Test moved to a different venue for round two as the lads teed it up at the remote and hilly fairways of South Head. From the beginning it looked like a repeat of round one, as it was all one way traffic with the North Americans still apparently asleep at the onset (Foltz didn't score a single point on the first two holes) and the World took a quick 2 hole lead. Such was the autopilot mode that The World gave one back when G-Mac unexpectedly conjured up a four putt double bogey on the 5th hole. Still the North Americans charity would not be deterred as Byrne continually duffed and scuffled his way to 8s and the world held a 2 hole lead at the turn.

Even though Byrne started to pick his game up on the back nine, things looked bleak for the North Americans after another 3-putt double for Foltz on the 11th gave the World a 3 hole lead. With Byrne seemingly more interested in learning how to hit a draw on the fly than winning the match, it looked like capitulation mode was locked and loaded. However, almost without warning the North Americans started making a charge with wins on 12, 13, and 16. Suddenly the match was all square. Nobody is sure what transpired during these holes, but there was a lot of Lee Westwood chatter (and some ridiculous wagers involving The Open) which may have flummoxed the normally mind-mannered internationals.

Despite another short missed putt from Foltz, North America managed to win the 17th and only needed a half on the last. The pressure was too much for Christie who after a mini-adventure in the pines, could not manage to score a point. Bubba's near birdie miss wasn't enough and the North Americans managed to square the test.

The next match appears almost unwinnable for the North Americans as, on top of his usual hangover, Byrne is bound to be jet-lagged.

Stay tuned.

Match Summary:

Front Nine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Turn
North America	1	3	4	3	5	3	2	1	2
The World	3	4	3	2	3	4	3	6	2	2-up
Back Nine	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
North America	5	4	3	2	5	4	6	4	5	2-up
The World	5	5	2	1	5	4	4	3	3

Individual scores (sub-par efforts all around - lets do better next time gents!):

The CEO: 32

Bubba: 32

Strick: 31

G-Mac: 30
Foltz

Middleton Cup Round One

The inaugural Middleton Cup Match Play Series got underway last Saturday between North America and The World. The result was a decisive 4 & 3 victory for the World pairing.

The match was all square through the 6th hole with two wins for each team and two halves, but two consectuve wins for the World pair through 7 and 8, and a halved 9th hole, gave the England/NZ combination a 2 Up lead by the start of the second nine. The Canadian / U.S. duo fought back to 1 Down at the 10th, with their combined 5 points (Par for Matt) v The World's 2 points from Graeme's Par and Rodge's thinned lob wedge lost ball disaster!! Never mind....press on.

From that point, the World combo could not be stopped - with wins at the 11th, 13th (including 2 amazing recoveries for Birdie from Graeme - and Par for RW!) - and then the 15th - the Match was over - 4 & 3 to the World!

No doubt the North American team will come back fighting at South Head Saturday week, and know that they will need to bring their 'A' game with them to halt the 'tails-up' World confidence!

Here's a photo of the inspiration for the internationals!