SCORING SUMMARY

Nick made a statement on the first hole that he wasn't going to fade away. He won the first hole with a rabbit putt to jump into second place. On #5 he jumped into first place for the first time. At the turn, he had a four point lead on Sheebz and a fourteen point lead on JJ. Not much changed on the back nine and the score ended at Nick - 36, Sheebz - 33, JJ - 25. Again, #18 would carry over to the next day.

In previous HSI events, this was about the time that somebody made a move and would take first place by a wide margin. It would be interesting to see if there was any separation. Sheebz tried to get started early with a statement on the first hole. He hit a long drive and then almost holed his short second shot. He tapped in the birdie to take the lead back from Nick. Nick took the lead back on #14 with a birdie of his own. JJ quietly chipped away at Nick and Sheebz as he inched closer, but remained in third place. The final score was Nick - 52, Sheebz - 46, JJ - 43. The 18th hole again carried over to the afternoon.

More lead changes were in store for this round. Sheebz won #4 with a birdie to regain the lead from Nick. Nick then tied it up again on the back nine. JJ was inching closer every hole, and after hole #14 the three players were within three points (60 to 60 to 57). The round ended with Nick - 66, Sheebz - 62, JJ - 60.

Nick made a huge jump forward on #3 when he won the hole with a bogey. For much of the round it looked as if Nick might pull away, but he couldn't take advantage. Nick later admitted that he tought about purposely missing a short putt on the 9th hole in order to let JJ win the hole because he thought he had enough points that JJ wouldn't be a threat. He ended up missing the putt - not because he tried to miss it, but because he can't putt. Not much movement occurred until #12, when JJ jumped into second place for the first time since round 1 when he sank a long birdie putt on a par 3. The round ended at Nick - 83, JJ - 79, Sheebz 75.

Never before had an HSI been this close going into the final round. In the past, first place had been wrapped up before the final 18 holes, but this time anybody had a shot at the title. Whoever was able to strike first would have the obvious advantage. Sheebz and JJ pushed the first hole when JJ sank a long bogey putt. Nick and JJ pushed the second hole with par 3's. All three players pushed the third hole with bogey 6's. The fourth hole was worth 7 points and the score going into that hole was Nick - 83, JJ - 81, Sheebz 77. JJ came through with a par on that hole to take over first place for the first time since #10 of round 1.

Things were still close with the next three holes ending in pushes. JJ then won #8 with a bogey to extend his lead over second place Nick by 12 points. Somebody would have to make a move quickly or JJ was going to run away with the title. Sheebz began to make a run. Holes 9 and 10 were pushes and Sheebz won #11. Holes 12 and 13 were pushes, Sheebz won #14. After hole #16, JJ had a five point lead on Sheebz and there were six points remaining on the board.

Sheebz then made a critical error on #17 when he failed at a woof. The hole was carried over to #18, which would be worth six points. Sheebz was trailing JJ by 7 points and Nick was trailing Sheebz by 6 points. Nick would have to win the hole outright or push the hole with Sheebz to tie for second. Sheebz would have to win the hole outright and score two extras to take first place from JJ. JJ was in the drivers seat. Sheebz knocked his second shot into the trees and ended the suspense. Nick and JJ pushed the last hole with a bogey, and JJ won the points using the tie breaker formula. JJ won the HSI trophy for the first time. The final score was JJ - 106, Sheebz - 92, Nick - 86.

This was the most exciting and close HSI by a long shot. As a group, this was the best golf that we had played by far. The weeks average for all players was 89.83. The previous low had been 95.58 at HSI II. The score was amazingly close, and any of the three players could have won on the final day. This is what we intended with the skins game. It looks like we have perfected a game for our ability. We'll probably do the same scoring game for HSI VI, wherever/whenever that might be.