Sunday, August 7, 2011

Egan Cup Stays Down East!

Hi Gang,

The 5th Annual Egan Cup Champion is Steve. Steve Who? One person was heard to say "I didn't know Soo Steve was here playing." More on who Steve is later.

The Egan Cup didn't start very well when it was learned that Gaye fell and broke her hip just after checking in. The bad news was felt by everyone and we just couldn't believe it. George was parking the car after checking in and came back to find Gaye in a wheel chair. She then went by ambulance to Alliston hospital where they confirmed that her hip was fractured. They arranged for her to be taken to Stratford, close to London, for her operation on Sunday. She is now recovering in rehab and it is hoped she will be transferred to London this week. Swift recovery Gaye.

Saturday saw the first every Egan Cup Junior tournament and here is the field:


Scott planned it but couldn't be there as he was with Gaye but there was a huge crowd that showed up at 9 AM to see them tee up and play 9 holes in a golf cart. The game ended with a tie but everyone agreed it was going to be part of the Egan Cup from now on. My prediction will be that in 10 years Cooper will be beating them all.


In the afternoon Leo arranged a putting contest for everyone. There was an A and B section with Pat winning the A and Liam winning the B section. Then Liam demanded a playoff with the A & B Champions. It was a close playoff with Pat winning by one stroke. Then Pat was heard to say; "I love beating those young snots." So now Liam and all the kids learned a new word.


The weather was amazing all day and for supper we gathered on the deck. Leo, Judy & Doreen went and got a bunch of food and put in my room as we had adjourning rooms with Cooper. As the sun was setting Debbie brought out her 12 string guitar and we had a great sing along until well after midnight. Alli took the guitar for a John Prine song and did a great job for not playing the guitar for years.


I was up early with Cooper on the deck the next morning and you could hear the thunder in the distance. We all thought it was going to be a repeat of the second Egan Cup when it rained all day. Our tee offs were at 10 AM and by 9:30 AM the rain was coming down hard. I had to get my rain gear on while standing under a tree. When I drove away from the car my clubs fell on the ground as I forget to strap them on. More mud and wet clubs.


The pro shop let us start a half hour late as they said the storm was passing through and it did and we had great weather but really hot and muggy the rest of the day.


Sybil had her new Egan Cup outfit on and driving the golf cart with Judy as passenger when she put her clubs on the back while it was raining. Only Karen was there to see what happened next and she took out her IPhone and recorded Sybil's clubs falling off the cart as she didn't strap them down. She stopped the cart, walked back and picked them out of the mud and was carrying them to the cart when the disaster happened. Judy moved over to the drivers side, put the cart into reverse and backed over Sybil. She fell back on the pavement in a mud puddle and couldn't get up as her foot was stuck under the cart. Karen was still filming. Karen claims that she shut it off then but I don't think she could resist it. She did take swift action and told Judy not to back up any farther. They got the cart into forward gear and finally Sybil got up from the mud. Her Egan Cup outfit ruined. The blood from her arm was all over her shorts. But being a real golfer she cleaned herself up and was at the first tee to lead the girls in the longest drive of the day.


The day went smoothly on the course after that and we had a great day. We sat around the bar outside in the hot weather as everyone finished, Pat put the scores into the computer and the kids played on the putting green. It was great to have Ron and Arlene there for the Egan Cup all the way from Tower Hill. Randy, Rachel and Megan showed up for breakfast in the morning on their way up north. David, Juilet and Ainsley arrived during the play and it was great to see them make a short visit before heading south to Florida where it was cooler. Cooper and Ainsley stole the show on the putting green. Gerard, Marcia, Logan & Mackenzie showed up for the dinner and presentation. It was great to see them and talk to Logan and Mackenzie about their ball careers.


Then it was on to dinner at 6 PM and the presentation of the famous Egan Cup in a downstairs room. Pat did a great job as MC and he gave out all the prizes but the main prize was mine winning the closest to the pin on number 9. Allison and Alex gave a great tribute to their grandmother Gaye and wished her well in her recovery.


Now I have to talk about the Egan Cup. I was tricked by singing too much the night before and was not on my game. Pat had a 77 and Tim and I were next at 90 with Doug a distant 92. We didn't give Pat any competition this year but wait until next year.


The drum roll was when Pat had Baily and Morgan bring in the Egan Cup holding it with white gloves to the cheering crowd. Then the computer was ready. Liam, Adam and Ty were ready to push the button and announce the winner. They all hollered out the name of the Egan Cup - STEVE. The place went up. I looked around at Steve and he was the most surprised of them all. Who is this guy? Well he is Steve Martin, Anne Marie's boyfriend from Saint John. The Egan Cup was kept in the Saint John family and went back down East.


Steve, his face as red as his shirt gave a great acceptance speech and said he would honour and cherish the Egan Cup until next time. Then it was learned that he is from Cape Breton. How could that happened? How could we let a Caper into the inter sanctum. I went to work on the Cup right away and installed a sensor to alert the RCMP if the Cup crosses into Nova Scotia during the next year. If it does the RCMP will swoop down and seize the Cup and bring it to Ottawa, where it belongs.


Pat and Sybil won the longest drive contest. Annette and I won the closest to the hole. Pat won the best score and bought himself a new Ping hat. Then Pat pulled a good one on me. Remember last year when I gave him a beautiful framed photo of me winning the Original Egan Cup. He asked me to come up and he gave me his Member Tag from his golf course. He had me read the back for everyone to know that his name is engraved as the 2010 Senior Champion. He had to beat 55 to 65 year old snots to win. I then walked back to my table and threw the tag away onto the Junior golf table. The place went up.


It was a fun night and Debbie brought out the guitar and Sybil went to babysit Cooper so Dave could come out of retirement and sing some great songs to the delight of the audience. Before the singing started we were all talking and didn't realize what was happening in the back of the room. Liam, Adam and Ty had taken off a white table cloth and Little Joey made an appearance at this years Egan Cup. They did a great job and Ty said it was going to be better next year.


Then Judy took the floor and presented me with a birthday present. Why now, my birthday was not until September 14th. Because it was a special birthday. The baby will turn 65. We were then all depressed. The gift was a beautiful painting of Dingle, Ireland by a Sister from Ireland that reminded us of our trip to Ireland with Judy and Alan. Thanks family it matches Sybil's colours in our family room, whatever that means.


Cooper had a great time being next door to Papa in the hotel. He loved playing with Allison and Alex and when Tara asked him what was his favourite part of the Egan Cup was he said: "Playing with the gouls (girls)."


Hope I didn't miss anything but you must be tired of readying by now. You can click on the photos to see them better.


Original Egan Cup Champ.