Time for Watson League "Jeopardy!".  The answer is, "One!".  The question?: "How many weeks out of the first seven did our league have good weather this year?"  Yes, we spent Week 7 walking through a cool, rainy mist.  Amazingly, 3 1/2 weeks from the longest day of the year our last foursome almost finished in the dark.  Afterwards in the bar, the attacks on Weatherman Ed were ugly and numerous.  Ed has been concentrating his efforts on his almost 2-year "No Rainout" streak, however members "encouraged" him to set his goals higher and to provide season appropriate weather for the rest of the year.  The consensus was that he has one week to produce!  Stay tuned.

Despite the weather the scoring this night was hot!  For the first time our average actual score was under 49, and only 8 members scored higher than 50.  With only two weeks left in the 1st half our members are on their games.

Most teams have roller coaster weeks, and John & Wendy's hot streak barely came to an end with a narrow 5-4 loss.  Bob Kearney & sub John Vergo took 3.5 of the first 4 holes, but John & Wendy didn't go down easily.  They battled back but the match ended on the 8th hole, where Bob & John both had bogie 5s.  Bob had his best night of the year with a 44, including a very nice par on #4.  John Thomas had a birdie on #7 and a par on #9, and continued his good shooting this week.  This win moved Dan & Bob to 4th place, with an outside chance at the 1st half championship.

With this result, the door opened for other teams to get into the running for the 1st Half Championship, and three other teams barreled through that door!

Chris & Colm had another impressive win vs. Adrian & Nick.  They have come on strong the last couple of weeks and are now only 4.5 points behind the leaders.  In this match they got off to an early lead and brought it home on #7.

Mike & Bob's narrow win over James & Cal puts them in 3rd place and only 6 points behind the leaders.  James Jung had his best night of the year and tied for low net round of the week with a 29.  Mike played very consistent golf and birdied #7.  This match was tied after 6 holes, but Bob & Mike both played well on #7 & #8 to win the match.  Could this be the time Cal & James turn it on?

Something has happened to Tony & Mark the last two weeks as they again had low team net with a 61.  They took 4.5 out of the first 5 holes from Scott & Ted and didn't look back.  Tony tied for low net of the week with a 29, including a par on #9.  Mark chipped in from 20 feet off the front of #8 for a birdie, and had a 36 after 8 holes before taking the 9th hole off.  Scott had the week's low score with a 40.  Mark & Tony still have an outside chance at the 1st half championship but will need help.

Bernard & Ed also had a low team net score with a 62 as they defeated Lynne and sub David Raines.  Bernard had an excellent night, including a birdie on #8.  Ed had his best night of the year as well.  Looks like a 2nd half strategy for them.  It was nice to see Dave out there again.

Finally our defending league champions Skip & George played very well (62 net team score) to take their match against Nicky & Lorraine.  George had bookends - a birdie on #1 and a par on #9.  Nicky & Lorraine will be ready for the 2nd half (especially if we get some fair weather).

Low Actual Score:   Scott Stetler with a 40 (he does it so effortlessly!)

Low Net Score:  James Jung & Tony Simpkins with 29s.

Hardest Hole: #4 at 2.1 over par.

Easiest Hole: #1 & #7 at 0.9 over par.

Week 8 Preview:  The first half championship is on the line, and as usual it will be an exciting finish.  Four of the six matches will have championship implications!  How will it turn out?

See you next week!