The Gamble Cup was played on Sunday September 8, 2013 at Puslinch Golf and Country club despite protests from
Scott Gamble and Martin Gamble who reminded organizer Gary Gamble that,”this place does nothing but screw us“. This proved to be true once again when the overbooked golf course added a twosome of strangers to one of the Gamble Cup groups.
The deceiving weather forecast created a divide amongst the competitors when all arrived at the course in shorts, except for Gary Gamble who made the distinct choice to play in black pants. Throughout the round Gary wondered aloud if he should have worn shorts?
The first few holes of the tournament were the lead-up to one of the closest finishes in Gamble Cup history. Through 6 holes there was a 4-way tie between Martin, Kyle, Jeff, and Scott at 5 points. Close behind was Gary Gamble with 3 points. At the turn, Kyle Frasier had taken a 2 point lead over Scott Gamble and a 3 point lead over Jeff Gamble.
On the back 9, the lead never changed hands but there was a tie between Kyle Frasier and Scott Gamble through 15 holes, following a series of PGA quality recovery shots and putts by Scott Gamble who admittedly struggled with his driver throughout the round.
Controversy infected the championship round on the 16th hole when co-leader Kyle Frasier may have inadvertently played Gary Gamble’s tee shot from the left edge of the fairway, after his own drive went left into the trees. A ruling by senior golfers Gary Gamble and Martin Gamble declared that Frasier would drop a new ball without penalty. The original tee shot was never found.
Heading into the 18th hole, victory was still within reach for Kyle,
Scott, and Jeff. With momentum on Scott’s side heading into the final hole, his tee-shot struggles cost him dearly when his drive went into the out-of-bounds trees on the right side of the dog-leg fairway. Close to an out-of-bounds himself, Kyle landed just shy of the markers, setting up a chip shot back onto the fairway for a 3rd shot approach onto the green.
Failing to score on the last hole, Scott Gamble conceded victory to Kyle Frasier and the tournament saw another new champion crowned. A second tier has been added to the cup.
At the post-round party, the Gamble Cup was presented to Frasier by past-champion Gary Gamble who congratulated Kyle on a hard fought victory. In his acceptance speech, Kyle thanked the late Steve Gamble for teaching him “everything he knows about golf”.
Here is the final score from the 2013 Gamble Cup:
Martin Gamble – 10 points
Kyle Frasier – 21 points
Scott Gamble – 20 points
Jeff Gamble – 11 points
Gary Gamble – 14 points