Rubber Duck Game Report
There were some boos from the sparse crowd watching this final duel in Pro Group A that no longer had any practical significance. An utterly out-of-gas Faterson opened his round with going 4 over par on the first 3 holes, and 7 over par on the first 7 holes. Scott13570 did not even have to bring his best game to preserve the lead comfortably to the end, beating Faterson handily by 5 shots after 18 holes. Both players were an even and lackluster 1 over par on the last 11 holes, but the first 7 holes did the damage and secured the final 3rd place in Pro Group A for Scott13570.
Asked by reporters about his awful performance (some of the crowd were saying Faterson reminded them of a deflated rubber duck throughout the round), Faterson said, "It's probably no good playing two full 18-hole tournament rounds on the same day. I played my best game in the early morning, and my worst game in the late evening. When you average two putts per hole, you can't compete on this level."
The only mildly interesting fight occurred on the back 9 (counted as a separate Ladder 9 game). The game was even after the first 6 holes. On the par-5 hole 16, Faterson misfired his approach shot that put him into deep greenside rough, while Scott13570 birdied that hole. That clinched the back 9 as well, although an unexpected dramatic moment was still to come at the very end. Scott13570's approach shot on hole 18 landed in the bunker, forcing Scott13570 to convert a 4.9ft bogey putt to secure the back 9 victory by 1 stroke; otherwise there would have to be a sudden-death shootout. He made no mistake on that final putt.
