Scotland's Michael Stewart finished tied fourth behind Adrian Meronk at the Alfred Dunhill Links, but a seafront putting playoff down the road claimed the front page.
Michael Stewart's career-best tied fourth at the Alfred Dunhill Links left him with a dilemma. A nineteen-attempt playoff at a St Andrews crazy golf windmill left a nation with something bigger. The seafront club has now invited Stewart to its Friday medal.
"...and when that blade came round the third time, I knew it was him or me," said Gordon Faichney, still gripping a rental putter with a chewed rubber handle. "You don't train for that. You just find out what you are."
Faichney is convener of the Links Lite Adventure Golf Club, a seafront course in St Andrews. On Sunday he survived the longest playoff in club history, at hole nineteen. The hole is a painted wooden windmill that has been swallowing balls since before decimalisation.
His opponent was Duncan Rennie, a retired plumber who putts left-handed. Neither man blinked for nineteen straight attempts.
A mile up the coast, some other golf also happened. Scotland's Michael Stewart finished tied fourth at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, the best result of his career. Poland's Adrian Meronk won, outlasting Casey Jarvis at St Andrews. Stewart is now left with a dilemma about his future. Good for everyone. Back to the windmill.
The turning point came on attempt fourteen. A herring gull landed on the felt, took Rennie's ball in its beak and walked it towards the bins. Rennie gave chase in his socks.
"Rule book says play it where it lies," said course marshal Morag Lindsay. "It was lying in a gull. We had to let the gull finish its round."
"It was lying in a gull. We had to let the gull finish its round."
Rennie took a drop by the ice cream freezer and never recovered. On attempt nineteen, Faichney threaded the blade with the patience of a bomb disposal officer. His ball dropped into the cup, then the second cup underneath, then rolled out of a pipe onto the pavement. Spectators wept into their cones.
Faichney now faces a dilemma of his own. He can keep the free lolly that comes with victory, or trade it for a second round at half price. Insiders call it the hardest decision a Fife sportsman has faced in a generation.
A seat at the table
Club treasurer Alasdair Nimmo said the committee had watched Stewart's week with interest. "Fourth is a fine result on any links," he said. "But he's never faced the windmill. Nobody knows a man until he's faced the windmill."
The club has therefore extended Stewart a sponsor's invitation to its Friday medal. Tee time is half past ten, weather permitting. Putters are provided, and the gull is not.
"We've cleared him a space on the board next to Gordon," said Nimmo. "Whatever he decides about the rest of his career, that's his business. This is the one that matters."
