The 2009 Three Peaks Challenge kicks off two weeks today. I always get so excited in the run-up that I'm sure to post more stories over the coming days.
It's an event steeped in history that has entailed thousands of holes over 34 different courses in England, Ireland, Germany and of course France.
The protaganists are:
Chris - big hitting, wild, competitive with a solid short game.
Tim - wonderful long irons, prone to the odd air shot with an air of "bad boy" Sam Torrance about him.
Steve - consistent, likes coming down the 18th all square, sartorially elegant.
Myself - fussy, easily distracted, good out of bunkers.
Our thoughts always seem to turn back to the great match of 1998. We were based in Chantilly, a beautiful town on the outskirts of Paris.
I was paired with Tim and we stormed into an early lead.
We held this throughout and going into the last day we had a one point advantage. We decided to take the short journey into the capital for a quiet dinner on the eve of an important last two rounds.
France were hosting the world cup and the streets of Paris were full of football supporters from all over the planet. Brazilian beauties were doing the samba while scandinavian blondes looked on and four (married) lads from England tried to keep their eyes from bulging too far out.
The last train back to Chantilly was around 11.30pm.
On our way back to the station Tim & I looked at each other and decided we simply had to stay and continue partying. The other two opted for an early night and a knowing smile.
The rest is consigned to the history books: a 6.00am taxi ride back to the hotel, straight out to the course for an 8.00am start, 36 closely fought holes and one missed eighteen inch putt on the last meant we lost by three and a half points to two and a half.
We'll never know if our late night antics cost us the match but it certainly brings a smile to my face every time I think about it.
I'm still owed 60 euros for the taxi fare home mind.
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