|
|
GAINESVILLE, TX After a long and strenuous tour,
Floridian Zippy Fleming was named this year’s Senior Putt-Putt Champion. This year’s
tournament was definitely a challenging one—and the champion went unnamed until the very
final round, which was held at the Gainesville Putt-Putt and Pizza last Saturday. The
tournament, which was televised on ESPN12, proved to be breathtakingly
intense.
The fierce competition began right from the first hole, where
tournament leaders Fleming and Buster Stevens cautiously planned their strategy on a
difficult Par 3. The crowd was hushed as Fleming lined up his shot, hoping it would go
through the dancing hamsters, into the mouth of the Chuckling Chipmunk, out its
ever-moving tail, and straight into the hole. Neither competitor succeeded on the first
putt. Instead, both were forced to take the second shot—and the tournament began with a
tie.
The two continued in constant battle throughout the entire
tournament. And while each of their 12 competitors put up a good fight, none were quite
capable of catching Fleming and Stevens.
Stevens made a number of
impressive shots during the day, including a hole-in-one on Hole 4, a challenging Par 4
that included a live weasel that had to be coaxed into allowing the ball to pass.
Stevens, who had once owned a chicken farm in Iowa, had a natural advantage on Hole 4,
considering his previous experience with the persuasion of wild
vermin.
But Fleming took irreversible control of the tournament on the
16th hole, which required the composition of poetry in iambic pentameter while putting
through a wind tunnel. Fleming composed a beautifully moving verse and putted perfectly.
Unfortunately, Stevens had forgotten what iambic pentameter means—a critical mistake
that cost him the championship.
So, at the end of 18 grueling holes,
Zippy Fleming was declared the champion, and he returned home victorious with his giant
Spinning Clown trophy and matching party hats.
|
|
|
|